Or was it never really alive????
Recently, I was at a meeting where there was a social media leader from a larger local company providing some tips and trends that are going on in the social media arenas. One comment caught more that a few people off guard. Here was a response, “You mean that when I post something on Facebook my 1000 fans don’t see it in their newsfeed?”. This was in response to the presenters comment that less than 10% of a Facebook business page fans will see a post organically. This conversation has resurfaced due to the algorithm change that Facebook recently announced.
In talking to this person after the meeting, I told him that I felt the number was under 5% and closer to 1% than 5%. So, instead of being one of those guys that just throws out stats, I thought I would do some research. It was somewhat interesting to learn what I learned. Bottom line is that I was right, but it surprised me how long ago organic reach has been limited.
I found this on Facebook’s own business page. As you can see, this post was back in 2012 and Facebook stated there was only 16% organic reach. If you wanted greater reach to your fans and beyond, boost posts. That still holds true today.
In this article in 2014, the author suggests that the organic reach, based on research, is closer to 6% and trending towards 1-2%. Again, that was 2014! FOUR years ago! So, many of the stats that I was offering around the organic reach in Facebook was/is very accurate. I just did not realize how long ago the decline actually happened.
I won’t summarize this article, but it does provide some best practices for organic posting in Facebook. I am just not buying that a brand will have much luck getting wide ranging reach. You can read and make your own conclusions.
So should brands give up on Facebook? Stop trying to acquire fans? NO! It is still a fantastic marketing channel. Once you define your overall marketing objectives, develop key performance indicators, and ultimately your goals, determine if Facebook is the right marketing channel for your brand. If it is, determine what type of campaign makes the most sense: awareness, consideration or conversion. Determine the right marketing message and call to action to match that type of campaign and then, target appropriately.
Know that even though you have little organic reach in Facebook, you have tremendous targeting option for paid acquisition.
Who ever said marketing was free??
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