Can you explain exactly what the changes are and their effect on promotions?

Facebook has changed its algorithm on how it ranks what appears in the users’ news feeds. It is now prioritizing posts with interactions or conversations, while putting less emphasis or ranking on public content, such as videos or posts from publishers or businesses. In general terms, it is incentivizing conversation, and posts that Facebook users’ find engaging with likes, comments and shares, will rise to the top of your news feed.

Users will see more posts from people they’re connected to and less content from pages they follow. However, there are options for those who still want to see posts from their favorite brands. The News Feed tab has options that allow users to prioritize the pages whose posts they are most interested in. To take this a step further, you can show your followers how to become “see first” fans of your page’s content. Go to this link to learn more.

What do I as a dealer need to do differently to ensure my social posts and social promotions are still being seen?

We need to look at this from two perspectives: paid social (or Facebook advertising) and then organic content.

Facebook advertising ranking factors are a separate system from the news feed update. Engagement is a very small part of the ad’s ranking as Facebook relies on many other data points to determine what ads people see to ensure relevancy and value. Following creative guidelines for ads is one example. With the reduction in organic reach for businesses, which has been a slow gradual decline for years, it is more important than ever to have a sound paid social strategy to complement your organic efforts to ensure you are getting your message in front of your audience while they are on the platform.

For organic content, dealers will need to focus on providing content that will engage an audience. We recommend treating your Facebook page similar to your website by updating your Facebook audience with fresh content, videos or posts.

Invest in live video to create a conversation. Utilize content that will keep the user engaged on Facebook, versus solely linking out to your website, but balance this out. For instance, include some posts with links or tease content on your website for content that resides on your Facebook page.

Provide content that will spur interactions, however, it is important to remember the way you engage matters. For example, the algorithm weighs the length of the comment. If your post encourages people to tag a friend and that’s the only action they take, then Facebook won’t consider that a meaningful interaction. If your posts facilitate long form comments, then your content will be rewarded in the news feed. The more relevant and engaging content you provide to your audiences, the more likely it will be seen, and encourage them to want to prioritize your page to be seen.