In July 2022, Meta (Facebook’s parent company) announced some major changes coming to Facebook’s home page. The traditional Home page was split into two sections: Home and Feeds. The Home section allows users to discover new content and get personalized recommendations from Facebook, while the Feeds tab lets users keep up with their friends and their favorite pages and companies.
We’re still getting used to the new Facebook layout and all of the changes it’s bringing. But have you changed your content marketing strategies to match? If not, we’ve got three shifts you should be aware of when marketing on Facebook.
Why is Facebook Marketing Important?
The vast majority of businesses are already active on Facebook; a whopping 200 million businesses around the world take advantage of the site’s free marketing tools. If your company isn’t one of them, it should be!
If you’re looking to reach your audience on social media, it’s very likely you can find them on Facebook, no matter their age, gender, location, or any other demographic factor. Facebook boasts nearly 3 billion active users every month (that’s about a third of the world’s population).
Facebook makes it easy to engage with your audience, which can boost your company’s reputation and turn casual viewers into dedicated customers. The platform is also a helpful avenue for promoting sales, specials, events, new product launches, or any other information your audience should know about.
What are the Changes?
Before the changes made to the home page, Facebook users had all of their content displayed on the same Home feed. Posts from friends, business pages, sponsored ads, and more were all lumped onto the same page, making it difficult to navigate to specific content.
But now, Facebook offers two distinct Feeds to allow users to better personalize their experience. The change also lets businesses separate their content marketing campaigns based on which Feed they want to appear on (we’ll come back to that point!).
Here’s how Facebook summarizes the shift: “While Home is where you’ll increasingly find community through your passions and interests, you can continue to stay up-to-date on the people and communities you care about most in Feeds.”
The Home page is the first thing a user sees after logging into Facebook. Users can create Posts and Reels or see friends’ Posts and Stories. The Home page also takes advantage of cutting-edge machine learning technology to rank content based on how relevant and valuable it is to the individual, providing customized recommendations with every scrolling session.
The Feeds page lets users keep up with the content they’re already interested in. Here, you won’t find any “Suggested for You” posts, though you will find ads. Users can mark pages as Favorites to scroll through their content at a glance, or they can explore other Feeds categories like Friends, Groups, Pages, and more.
How These Changes Impact You
Now that you know how Facebook has changed, you can determine how your content marketing strategy should change with it.
1. Increased Reach Garners a Bigger Audience
The Home tab’s new design naturally encourages discovery, so your company’s ads and profile will automatically be recommended to your most promising users. You’ll find that your audience increases (or perhaps has already increased) without any concrete action on your part.
A few years ago, a Facebook post would only have an organic reach of around 6% of that Page’s total likes. But now, with a dedicated place to explore the platform and learn about new companies and content, Facebook has made it much easier to gain that precious organic traffic.
With that being said, it’s important to ensure you’re creating content specifically for the new viewers you’ll be reaching, which leads us to our next point!
2. Two Feeds = Customized Content for New and Returning Viewers
Now that Facebook has two feeds for users to explore, you’ll need to make sure your content is tailored for each of them. Viewers who see your content on their Home page are likely seeing your company’s work for the first time, while those who see you on their Feeds tab have probably already interacted with your brand in some way.
While the changes don’t have to be major, it’s not a bad idea to create unique content for new users (Home tab) and returning users (Feeds tab). Ads also appear on the Feeds tab, so you should consider a specific remarketing campaign here as well.
If you want to go the extra mile, you can take advantage of the various sections of the Feeds tab beyond simply running ads. For example, the Feeds tab lets users keep up with their Groups. You might consider starting a Group that’s relevant to your audience as well as your company.
For instance, if you sell cookware, you could start a Group for recipe ideas. If you run a bookstore, you could launch a Facebook Group to run a virtual book club or to encourage users to recommend their favorite reads. In this way, users can engage with your business and build a unique community at the same time.
3. The Algorithm Emphasizes Valuable, Relevant Content
The internet at large is beginning to value the user experience above all else. Google’s recent “helpful content update” is just one example. Facebook is following suit by prioritizing content that is most valuable and relevant to the individual user.
While you’re creating your content strategy, remember to make content based on what your audience wants to see, not what you think the algorithm will prefer. Not only will you come across as more authentic and human to your audience, but you’ll see a boost in your organic traffic at the same time.
There’s a good chance that you’ll want to create more social media content than you had previously been handling. To keep up with your ideas, posting schedule, and metrics, create a content calendar and share it with your colleagues. Everyone will be on the same page for every project so nothing slips through the cracks.
Need Help with Your Facebook Content?
Facebook’s new Home tabs are causing many companies to re-evaluate their current content marketing strategies. If you’re seeking guidance in updating your strategy or creating relevant and lucrative content, consider working with a content vendor like WriterArmy. With a decade of experience in the industry, their team and dedication to customer service make them one of the most trusted content agencies in the country.
