Social Media Examiner - Improving Facebook reach...

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In today’s edition:

Plus, we’ll cover:

• Shoppable Shorts ads
• Twitter advertising tracking
• Google Analytics 4
• Web3 business models

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8 Tips to Improve Facebook Reach With Unconnected Distribution

Facebook started as a platform for connected distribution. In other words, users would only see content from profiles and pages that they followed. When FB launched ads in 2007, they remained the only reliable way for brands to deliver content beyond their follower base.

For years, an unconnected distribution system has been used to expand the reach of public organic posts. Historically, this system has delivered content that connected profiles and pages have engaged with. For example, users might see content from a business page they don’t follow, prefaced by a note that a person they do follow commented on the post.

Although this unconnected distribution system has its limitations, it’s allowed businesses to reach more people like their followers, which is helpful for visibility and brand awareness. However, it’s also contributed to an influx of engagement bait. Meta officially discourages engagement bait, which it describes as encouraging followers to react, comment, or share.

In mid-2022, Meta began expanding its unconnected distribution system. Now users can see content from business pages and public profiles that they have absolutely no connection to but that may be of interest, according to Meta.

Content from Facebook’s unconnected distribution system may display in a couple of different ways in a user’s news feed: 

Image, video, link, and text content shows a Suggested for You label at the top of the post. 

Suggested reels display in a dedicated panel at the top of users’ feeds and in reels-only panels that appear randomly throughout users’ feeds.

For social media marketers, the struggle to get results from organic tactics isn’t new. Studies show that organic reach has declined for years. In 2022, the average organic reach for a Facebook page post is only 5.2%, down from 7.7% in 2018.

In most cases, FB reach is just a small part of marketers’ goals. Instead, actions such as likes, comments, shares, messages, and clicks are much more valuable because they can increase reach and lead to conversions. But the average engagement rate for Facebook pages—0.13%—isn’t particularly encouraging either.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that continuing to rely on FB’s connected distribution system won’t help marketers improve these rates. Instead, understanding and using Facebook’s unconnected distribution system is the most effective way for marketers to generate value and reach their goals.

If you’re marketing businesses but you’re still relying on connected distribution, it’s time to revisit your strategy.

To learn how to adapt to Facebook’s unconnected distribution system, read the full article.

And here is more great content for you:

• How to Run Shoppable Ads in YouTube Shorts
• How to Improve Twitter Ad Tracking
• How to Use Google Analytics 4 for Marketing
• Creating Sustainable Businesses With Web3