There has been some serious social media changes in the past couple months, some of which are exciting and a few of which – I’ll admit – are not so exciting. I’ve collected a list of the most crucial changes that businesses utilizing social media marketing should know about.
1. Facebook No Longer Sharing Promotional Organic Posts
Shockwaves have been sent through the social media world as Facebook puts the final nail in the coffin for organic reach. After doing a “survey”, Facebook has entrusted its EdgeRank algorithm to decipher which organic page posts are promotional so they can further decimate the reach they already weren’t getting.
Is this a major change affecting brands? Yes and no. Let’s be serious, it became crystal clear back in December 2013 that the game was changing to pay to play.
My advice? Invest more in your owned channels (email, blog) and in paid advertising through Facebook for your best content. The upside is that Facebook still offers the most targeted advertising available so use it where you need to drive a result and measure it to ensure you’re getting an ROI.
Read Facebook’s official article on reducing promotional page posts.
2. LinkedIn Removes Ability To Easily Connect With Group Members
LinkedIn has always been a unique social network in the way it requires you to say how you know someone when requesting to connect. Up until recently the best way to connect with people you don’t know on LinkedIn was by sharing a similar group in common.
You previously had the ability to select a shared group as an option when asked, “How Do You Know This Person” but that’s no longer available as of recently.
