Not a week goes by that we don’t hear about or read another story on how Facebook has become more difficult for marketers to navigate. With an advertising budget now de rigueur for businesses who wish to gain from the site, we at The Practice are exploring just how and why Facebook has become less beneficial.

At the end of last year, Facebook again changed its algorithm, meaning that not all posts would appear on a user’s newsfeed. The determining factors for exposure were how much engagement a post received, whether from comments, clicks or likes, and the amount of high-quality content included. Since the changes, marketers have been steadily reporting on the apparent decrease in organic reach, with some noticing figures as low as a 1 per cent fan reach.  Concern lies most with the fact that Facebook prioritises advertising businesses with a large ad spend, meaning many smaller companies ultimately lose out if they simply try to grow organically. And it’s this which has come under scrutiny in a new report by Social Media Examiner, revealing that many marketers have lost faith in Facebook’s reach to their target audiences. The survey, which interviewed 2800 marketers who use Facebook for both B2B and B2C communications, found that there was a definite uncertainly as to the site’s effectiveness, with around 20 per cent unconvinced.

So how can marketers improve the level of success they see on Facebook with only a limited daily ad spend? It really boils down to the fact that content will always be king- understanding where your audience is and what they want to see is crucial for constructing successful posts. Since Facebook’s algorithm, EdgeRank, came into play, we’ve all been guilty of trying to manipulate the system, with tactics such as posting more images, figuring out optimum post timings, and imploring fans to like and share. However, if your advertising budget is modest, the only way to improve success rates is by consistently publishing great content- with dynamic posts such as videos, info-graphics, links and multiple images. And with news that Facebook is set to update its algorithm yet again, quality and well-thought posts will surely be all the more important.

While we don’t think that a business’s Facebook page is the best way to boost sales, it is certainly one of the best ways for fans to gather information on products and companies. For this reason, there’s definitely no need for marketers to abandon their Facebook efforts- rather, they can continue to be aware of how to make the best of the system, and integrate this as part of a wide-reaching social media strategy. And it’s also worth remembering that Facebook is still the largest platform to connect with fans, and also the most popular social media smart phone app; pulling the plug on it entirely would definitely be detrimental to a brand’s overall online presence.

Do you manage one or more Facebook business pages? Have you noticed any significant changes over the last few years? We’d love to hear your experiences, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital and share your thoughts on our Facebook page too.