2014 Facebook Changes and How this Effects Inbound Marketing Strategies, specifically related to Facebook Brand Pages and how this change has seen a decline in engagement by up to 80% for some brands.
This presentation looks at these changes and also supplies recommendations on how to strategically work around them.
The 2014 Facebook Algorithm Changes and their effect on Brand Pages
1. 2014 Facebook Changes and How
this Effects Inbound Marketing
Strategies
Jay Bowen, Director of Digital Content
2. 2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
Jay’s marketing and advertising career began 17 years
ago in her home of South Africa. She went on to
graduate with her marketing degree from the London
School of Marketing, and proceeded to manage and
grow clients such as British Telecom, yell.com BMW &
HSBC in the UK and throughout Europe. Since arriving
in the States four years ago she has worked with
brands such as Nike, CenturyLink, Schlage and DHL.
Jay is highly adept in developing digital content to
generate interaction and grow traffic and engagement
online.
Jay Bowen, Digital Content Director
3. • How Does Social Media Determine Buying Behavior?
• What Does the Research Say?
• Social Media Usage Statistics
• Facebook – The Writing is (no longer) on the Wall…
• The 2014 Facebook Changes - How Brands got a Raw Deal
• Advice from Facebook
• Recommendations for Brands
• Content
• To Sum Up – Its Not ALL Bad News!
3
Contents
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
4. • 81% of US respondents indicated that friends' social media
posts directly influenced their purchase decision (Forbes)
• Facebook is the #1 online channel for influencing the
purchase of baby products (Mashable)
• 38% of consumers say they will consult social media in
making their next car purchase
• 23% of car buyers say they use social media to communicate
their purchase experience
• 44% of social media savvy women said their trusted/favorite
blogger influences their purchasing
decision (Business2Community)
• Clicks on Facebook auto ads climbed from 16% to 39%
between October 2012 and April 2013
• Up to a 1/3 of all car buyers consult online reviews sites
before choosing a dealer
4
How Does Social Media Determine Buying Behavior?
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
5. 5
What Does The Research Say?
Source: MarketForce
Source: Forbes
78% of Respondents
said Posts by Companies
they followed on Social
Media impacted their
Purchases.
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
6. 6
Social Media Usage Statistics
Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn & Google+
Social Media Global Stats for 2014:
• Facebook = 1 Billion
• Twitter = 560 Million
• Pinterest = 70 Million
• Instagram = 150 Million
• Google+ = 400 Million
• LinkedIn = 240 Million
Source: Leverage
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
8. • In December 2013 Facebook admits: “Expect organic reach
for Pages to continue to decline.” ~ source
• They went on to say: “We’re getting to a place where because
more people are sharing more things, the best way to get
your stuff seen if you’re a business is to pay for it.” ~ source
• Facebook January 2014 Blog Announcement: “Page admins
can expect a decrease in the distribution of their text status
updates, but they may see some increases in engagement
and distribution for other story types.” ~ source
8
Facebook – The Writing is (No Longer) On the Wall…
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
9. A week after Facebook made its change agencies and brands
were seeing a decline in Post engagement:
9
The 2014 Facebook Changes – How Brands
Got a Raw Deal
44% drop on
average for Page Posts
with some reporting up
to 88%
Source: Ignite
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
10. 10
What Happened with Some of Our Clients?
Client A – November 2013
Client A – March 2014
60%
decline
on
average.
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
11. 11
What Happened with Some of Our Clients?
Client B – November 2013
Client B – March 2014
80%
decline
on
average.
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
12. 12
What Happened with Some of Our Clients?
Client C – November 2013
Client C – March 2014
55%
decline
on
average.
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
13. 13
What Happened with Some of Our Clients?
Client D – October 2013
Client D – March 2014
60% decline on
average.
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
14. • “Brands should bring valuable content to
consumers and Facebook is a great channel to
do that.” ~ source
14
Advice Directly From Facebook:
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
15. • The amount of Likes don’t matter – if you don’t have engaging
content or pay for sponsored posts no one is going to see it.
• Make sure what we post is Engaging and Interesting to
Followers.
• Manage your Facebook ads/Promoted Posts like you do your
SEM.
• Define a budget and allocate it accordingly.
• Grow your Email lists – why not control what your customer
sees instead of Facebook…
• Use other Social Media platforms who are still performing for
Brands such as LinkedIn, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest,
Twitter.
• Create OUTSTANDING Content!
15
Recommendations For Brands:
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
16. SEO
16
Content
White Papers
Social Mentions
Email
News Sites
Word of Mouth
Direct Links
Forums
Social
Bookmarking
eBooks
Video
News/Media/P
R
Case Studies
Mobile Apps
Blogs/Articles
Research
Solution
Guides
Memes/Images
Infographics
Podcasts
FAQs
Reviews
Webinars
Syndication
Partners/Affiliat
es
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
17. • Blogging: easiest way to start your content machine
• Companies that blog more regularly have…
17
Content – Where do I start?
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
18. • Create a content strategy – not just a blog.
• Offer different types of content that will appeal to
different preferences (webinars, white papers,
infographics, video e.g.)
• Put all of your content on ONE domain. Don’t make
the microsite mistake.
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/understanding-root-domains-subdomains-
vs-subfolders-microsites
• Distribute your content via ALL Social Media channels.
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Content: Best Practices
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing
19. Facebook's algorithm is going to favor posts that have
links to content, specifically ones that use the link
tool in Facebook to generate the post. So, a post
that links to a YouTube video of a song about the
weekend, with text that says "Happy Friday," will work
far better than just the text itself.
Facebook has told us very clearly what it thinks good
marketing is: Content. Fresh, relevant, unique
content. If you create and post content, they will
reward you with exposure. Create a content strategy!
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To Sum Up – It’s Not ALL Bad News!
2014 Facebook Changes & Inbound Marketing