How Facebook’s news feed changes will affect businesses

Recently, Facebook announced a major change in the news feed algorithm.

facebook news feed changes

Written by Smokeylemon Team

1 February 2018 | 2 Minute(s) to read



Recently, Facebook announced a major change in the news feed algorithm. In Mark Zuckerberg’s words: “The research shows that when we use social media to connect with people we care about, it can be good for our well-being. We can feel more connected and less lonely, and that correlates with long-term measures of happiness and health. On the other hand, passively reading articles or watching videos -- even if they're entertaining or informative -- may not be as good.”

Newsfeed gif

The new algorithm will help users have “more meaningful social interactions”, which is great news for humans but not very exciting for brands.


The update: less space for public content

According to Zuckerberg’s statements, news feeds will replace branded content with “relevant content” and updates from friends. Adam Mosseri, Head of News Feed explained that instead of prioritizing posts based on comments and shares, Facebook will now “push content to the top of your News Feed that its algorithms predict will spark meaningful back-and-forth discussion.”

This means that the limited feed space will be showing less public content, including videos and other posts from publishers or businesses: “Page posts will still appear in News Feed, though there may be fewer of them.”

 Facebook news feed change people to people


What businesses should be doing

If you have a Facebook business page, you should be planning a new social media strategy. Shifting from generic and one-way messages to appealing interactive posts, live ideos or events will be a smart move to keep you alive in your follower’s news feeds.

Zuckerberg wrote that “live videos often lead to discussion among viewers on Facebook—in fact, live videos on average get six times as many interactions as regular videos.”


Facebook Ads

Since organic reach for Facebook pages keeps decreasing and Facebook Ads won’t be affected by the new algorithm, we highly recommend to increase your ad budget if you want to reach a decent-sized audience.


Smokeylemon can help!

We can develop a tailor-made social media strategy for your business and manage your online presence, targeting the right audience to ensure you make the most of your budget. 

Contact Smokeylemon