What’s Up in Social Media with D: Facebook’s Disappearing Page Posts

social-media-with-dQ: I have 2,317 Likes on my Facebook page, but suddenly no one is seeing my posts. My Reach has dropped to almost nothing. I hear I’m supposed to pay now. Why? What do I do?

A: It’s true. This process began almost two years ago, but small businesses are really feeling the pinch now. Facebook is restricting Page and Post views in earnest, and some businesses have seen their post Reach drop anywhere from 40 to 90%. That can translate into thousands of lost views for some pages. Facebook says the best way to improve your Reach is to pay to Promote, and many businesses are crying foul. I find this a puzzling response. No one complains that they have to pay for ads in a newspaper or magazine or on high-visibility websites, but there is a persistent belief that social media marketing should be “free.” It isn’t, and it never was. Facebook is a business. All that’s really happened is Facebook has raised its ad rates.

The brands who have used Facebook most effectively all along were already paying for it. They were paying to take advantage of Facebook’s powerful targeting tools and for improved visibility in News Feeds. They were paying social marketing experts like D. Cohn Communications to analyze their Insights data and to create the most effective posts. Now Facebook wants the little guys to pay up too. Don’t panic. These changes don’t necessarily mean death for your business’s Facebook Page. They do mean you need a shift in strategy. First of all, stop worrying about Page “Likes.”

Naturally you want more people to like your business, but social marketing rarely creates linear conversions – one new Page Like for one new paying customer. Likes are a vanity metric. We feel good when we get them, but they actually have relatively little bearing on our posts’ Reach. Instead, focus on creating really interesting posts. What matters on Facebook is whether people are interacting with your Page and posts, a.k.a. “Talking About This.” If you want people to interact with your posts, you have to give them a reason to. Instead of simply telling people to buy your widget, inspire them to. Be exciting, provocative, funny, odd, and different. Be your brand. Be yourself. Use your business’s personality to reach your customers and their friends. Do not simply tell your followers to “Share this Post.” Facebook’s algorithm penalizes that now. Instead, put effort into creating posts that your followers will want to share all on their own.

It’s not your Page Likes that matter on Facebook; it’s how many people are Talking About You. Resist the urge to give up your Facebook Page altogether. Keep right on posting at least two or three times a week – even if those posts only reach 12 people. Just like the stock market, your numbers will go up and down each day, but what matters is the overall trend. The fewer posts you make, the more your Reach will suffer over time. So be patient and keep at it. Don’t disappoint the fans you already have.

Remember, too, Facebook is more than just a place to make posts and sell your products – it is a search engine, and it contains links to your business’s website. More than 80% of customers find services on their mobile devices now. If I want to find a new pizza place to try in LaPorte, I don’t pull the Yellow Book out of my purse. I use my smart phone to text my friends for recommendations, or search Facebook or Google or Foursquare or UrbanSpoon – or LaPorteCountyLife.com. If you give up on your Facebook page, you’re losing more than just Reach. You’re losing a powerful way for customers to find you. You’ll lose your ranking in Facebook’s search algorithm. You may hurt your website’s Google ranking, too. And you’d be losing a convenient venue for clients to rate your service and tell their friends how awesome you are. “Just tried this restaurant and loved it! 5 stars!” Don’t give up.

As you can see, strong social marketing isn’t free. Whether you pay in dollars or time, it takes patience, education and effort. If analyzing your Insights data and creating effective posts sounds like too much of a time investment for you, consider hiring someone to manage your Facebook page for you. Consider paying Facebook to Promote the occasional post. I could write a whole column about what kind of Facebook advertising you should purchase. Short answer: Don’t pay to get new Page “Likes.” Pay to Promote a Post instead, and only for a few days. Make it an important, interesting post, and don’t pay for more than a week at a time. It’s always frustrating when Facebook changes the rules on us. It’s also a really good idea to have more than one social network account for your business. But don’t give up on Facebook just yet. It still matters.