Do you remember Facebook for business years ago? You would post a picture on your Facebook business page and suddenly it's reached 10,000 people organically. Comments are flowing in, shares are flying and you're sitting back with your feet up because it was all free!

We hear it all the time. "Our page isn't reaching anyone anymore, why!" There are two reasons. The main reason and most obvious is that people are advertising more than they used to on Facebook.

Local businesses are taking advantage of the low cost of advertising on the platform and in result, your news feed is competing with more ad content then ever. 

The second reason is due to Facebook's 2018 newsfeed change, Facebook made a shift to connecting people with people and less around consuming as much content as possible. This goes back to Facebook's original core business value. Facebook is (was) a social network, not an ad network.

It makes sense, Facebook is on its way out in my opinion. They have 4-5 years left unless they do something drastic. We already see the decline in the younger generation.

Go ask a 15 year old if they are using Facebook. they will laugh at you. I had it happen to me and it was awkward.  

This post will teach you marketers how to continue to ruin the social part of Facebook and how to make your ads reach more people for less money. 

1. Be Selective

A common misconception lately is that the more content you get out there the better, when in reality less is more. Instead of putting out 4-5 posts a day that each get a few thousand views, its best to take that effort towards the 4-5 posts and turn it into one kick-ass post. Interaction is the key. 

Now that you have that amazing post ready to go, target it to the right audience. People often don't know that you don't have to pay to target you

r post. You can target any post that you release on Facebook to a specific audience. So when thinking of that post, be sure it is targeted with an audience that is sure to find the post more interesting and relevant to them. 

Like I mentioned above, Facebook is more of a paid platform for businesses. Generally, when we meet with a client, they are completely aware that they are going to have to pay for ads to get their content in front of people. Now Facebook wants you to look at your current fan base (number of likes) and target your ads to them rather than relying on organic reach. So when you do that next ad, instead of targeting people who don't like your page to get more fans, target the ones that do.

Paid ads are certainly necessary to supplement your organic traffic so you can reach your goals. Ads also make sense if you are running a longer campaign where it's important that people see each part of the campaign. 

Selling online? Download this E-Book on how to get the most out of Facebook Ads. 

2. Share Engaging Video Content

Videos make people stop scrolling and see what it is. Regardless if it is muted or not, if your video is good it's going to catch people's attention more than a content post will. If you look at Facebook now from a year ago people are taking more videos regularly of their personal lives for people to share and comment on. Generally, when you look at engagement on Facebook, video comments out weight post comments drastically. 

Hot Tip Alert* If you're looking to build your SEO, take that Facebook video and post it on other platforms as well. (YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram) Leverage that piece of content as much as you can. 

3. Use FACEBOOK LIVE and Facebook Stories.

Live broadcasts are way more interesting than crafted videos that are uploaded to Facebook. Use Facebook live to see what kind of traction it can bring to your page and what works for you and what does. Not to be bias to our mayor, but he does an amazing job of utilizing Facebook live. He is reaching more people quicker and engaging with more people than he could with an image or content post. 

If you are using Facebook live to sell products, you are more likely to close a sale by doing a live video where you can engage and answer questions to your fans instantly. No longer can you mull over the idea of a purchase, you have you answer instantly, so let's buy!

4. Tell Your Fans to Change THeir Notifcations

A lot of people don't know it's there so if you have fans that are eager to see your content and don't want to miss a post. Do a post showing them how to update their settings to see your posts first. 

Click on "Following" then select "See First" under the "In Your News Feed" heading. 

*Check our post reach this week in the bottom right of the image above if you don't believe we know what we're doing. ;) 

5. Stop BOOSTING, Start Using Facebook Business Manager

Most people take the easy way out and click on the "Boost Post" button. This is fast and easy but doesn't really help competing with the Facebook algorithm. You can always boost and focus on demographics, interests, age, and location but I recommend looking deeper into Facebook Ads. 

• Conversion Tracking: Track what your site visitor do after viewing your Facebook ad.
• Audience Insights: Educate yourself on your existing Facebook audience to better target your ads.
• Website Custom Audiences: Target Facebook users that have been on your site before. Basically like Google Re-Marketing. 
• Facebook Exchange: Place retargeted ads on Facebook for users who’ve visited a certain product or service page on your site.
• Custom Audiences: Target Facebook ads based on your email list.
• Lookalike Audiences: Target Facebook users similar to your customers.

Get started with a Marketing Strategy that will work for your business! 

THE TAKEAWAY

The only constant with Facebook is that it is always changing. I am a big believer that the majority of your advertising efforts should go towards items you own (your website, blog, info-sheets, content offers) and then leverage them on platforms like Facebook, Instagram and other mediums. That being said, Facebook is a necessity for businesses so it's important to make the most of the content you do post and ensure you're getting the most value. Be selective on what you post instead of over posting. Video content is going to take over in 2018-19 so make yourself familiar with it now and become the expert. Finally, don't take shortcuts on your ads and use Facebook Business Manager to its fullest.