As Facebook continues to remain a highly valuable platform with over 2.07 billion monthly active Facebook users worldwide (according to Facebook), MirrorMe luxury PR included, it’s too much of a significant channel for savvy marketers to ignore so as Facebook’s latest announcement that it will be penalising pages which use ‘Engagement Baiting’ on posts, what exactly does that mean for business pages?
Here is what you need to know/now what/how/when and why:
Engagement bait? What’s That Then?
Well, it comes in many different forms, but basically asking people to react to a post, asking people to share, like or asking people to vote using reactions are all classed as ‘engagement bait’ and are now banned by Facebook.
So, What Happened?
On December 18th, Facebook announced that they were introducing an algorithm change, which ‘will begin demoting individual posts from people and Pages that use engagement bait.’
Why Did Facebook Do This?
What they say:
“To help us foster more authentic engagement, teams at Facebook have reviewed and categorized hundreds of thousands of posts to inform a machine learning model that can detect different types of engagement bait. This model is built off of certain guidelines, which we encourage Pages to learn so that they can avoid inadvertently posting engagement bait in the future.”
So, What Does It Mean For Your Business Page?
Well, firstly no more posting contests or content that is seen as engagement baiting on your page and more importantly ensuring that you have a creative and intelligent marketing strategy in place to ensure that you can still maximize your engagement levels, run contests legally and use your social media luxury PR advertising budget while being savvy.
Posts seeking help, advice and recommendations won’t be affected.
But I Didn’t Know About This Until Now?
Don’t panic! The Facebook machine model is still learning so if you have been running this type of content since 18th December till today (2nd January), its highly unlikely that your page’s reach will be affected and as Facebook says:
“Pages that repeatedly and systematically use engagement bait as a tactic will be demoted more than individual posts from people and Pages with engagement bait.”
What Does This Mean For Me Now?
So, going forward you will need to stick to the new rules if you don’t wish to harm your page’s reach and create quality content, which naturally engages with your audience through creative storytelling.
Why Should I Take Notice Of This Update?
Because it affects the way you run your page but it should also magnify just how quickly the world of social media is changing and why appointing someone who is experienced, qualified and knowledgeable to look after your social media is more than just paying them to create ‘pretty posts’.
Our clients’ pages have continued to thrive and on average engagement levels of between 10 – 14% well above the average of 0,5% – 0.99% and because we are creative and methodical in planning with our clients’ advertising spend, they are continuing to grow their Facebook communities successfully and with realistic spend.
Isn’t it time you placed your social media in the hands of qualified experts in Social Media Marketing & PR?
Hello@mirrormepr.co.uk
