If you don't want your Facebook Page to be buried in 2015......

1. 69

   makingamarkposted 9 years ago

   Facebook has made an announcement about action it is going to take in January 2015 to curb "free" (ie unpaid) promotional activity on Facebook Pages.
   
   The link the official announcement is this one https://www.facebook.com/business/news/ … -news-feed
   
   Hence if you want to promote a link to a site which generates income for you (e.g. a hub), it could appear that you run the risk of Facebook burying your FB Page in the newsfeed.  Not definite - but definitely risky. It will all depend on the words you use, how often you post such links etc etc.
   
   I've written a very detailed blog post about this - and the implications for people using FB Pages for marketing - but obviously can't post a link here.
   
   In my post I characterise 2015 as "the year of the advertising wars" - for a variety of reasons, spelt out in the post. Seems to me now that it's more likely that Panda etc was about advertising rather than search. Never ever forget how Google generates its income - or how much the other big players want a share of it.

   replyreport
   1. 78

      neosurkposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I'm outraged and shocked! We build a following on the topics we are passionate about and we don't get to promote the same?
      
      
      This statement does not make sense to me. If I don't like a promotional post from a FB page, I simply hide it. If they are doing repeatedly, I hide all their future posts or unlike them. It's simple. Facebook is just butting in to make more money.
      
      I tried to search the post you said but couldn't find it. I would love to read it, Kat. Thank you for sharing this.

      replyreport
   2. 56

      Shinkickerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Facebook is no big deal for me, I get a few hits initially but it's never sustained. Once in a blue moon I get an unexpected boost in hits when someone has shared a Hub but that hardly ever happens. Only Google searches generate the regular hits and the income

      replyreport
   3. 83

      peachpurpleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      i share links at Facebook and twitter and google plus. If FB kicks me out, I will try TSU instead.

      replyreport
   4. 67

      relacheposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      This was readily apparent if you were here two years ago.

      replyreport
      1. 69

         makingamarkposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Well, first, I wasn't here two years ago
         
         Second, if it was "readily apparent" then people wouldn't be doing the sort of stuff which annoys people (as per their survey)
         
         and, third, Facebook wouldn't be making these sort of announcements.
         
         The fact of the matter is that it is actually quite difficult to find the rules of what you can and can't post on your Facebook Page if you look through the Facebook Help section
         
         Although, funnily enough I did find a reference this morning which clearly stated as a "best practice" something which they are now going to "bury" - as per their announcement of the rule changes as from January 2015.
         
         So IMO "readily apparent" isn't quite the way I would describe guidance from Facebook on this matter.

         replyreport
         1. 67

            relacheposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            I have never used Facebook.
            
            It's awesome.

            replyreport
            1. 69

               makingamarkposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               Huh? I'm afraid I don't understand either your first comment or this one.
               
               e.g. why were you posting in a thread about Facebook which to my mind is really only of relevance to those using Facebook Pages for highlighting their hubs?

               replyreport
   5. 92

      Kylyssaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I'm so happy they are doing this!
      
      Social media has become almost useless for people trying to use it as intended due to businesses pretending to be individuals and spamming users with self-promotion links to hell and gone.
      
      I may use facebook more after they implement this change.

      replyreport
   6. 82

      misterhollywoodposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for sharing. I suspect a lot of people do not know this. What's disturbing to me is that a person can bypass this filter by paying money to "boost" a post. My sense is that FB long ago stopped being a fun, organic place to share and has turned into another extension of Wallstreet's marketing whizzes.
      
      Is it any wonder teens people are leaving FB in droves and heading over to other social media sites?
      
      Thanks again for this post!

      replyreport
      1. 69

         makingamarkposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         oh dear - did you not understand that anybody can take out AN ADVERT to boost a post?  Just as people take out adverts via Google AdSense to boost their products
         
         Adverts are a fact of life - you want a higher profile you pay for it.  What none of the advertising hosts like are people who try to advertise without paying for it.  The big meanies!
         
         I'm afraid it's true - Facebook is being taken over by silver surfers with cash to spend. Shucks.

         replyreport
2. 66

   Arachneaposted 9 years ago

   This makes no sense. FB is forever generating add posts themselves. Ad posts that folks have to wade through to get content that interests them or the ads from other FB users that they want to bypass. BTW, the link posted above works fine.

   replyreport
3. 69

   makingamarkposted 9 years ago

   The thing is the action they are taking is based on surveys of what people found really annoying about Facebook.
   
   Lots of people really don't want advertising "in their face"
   
   PLUS Facebook doesn't want their platform used for advertising if it's unpaid.
   
   The trick is going to be about working how you can use Facebook Pages without infringing the rules - because once this happens your Page will be comprehensively BURIED in the newsfeed after which writing posts for your Page will be a waste of time.

   replyreport
4. 92

   lisavollrathposted 9 years ago

   According to the numbers Facebook shows me about my page, my posts currently reach about 10% of the people following me. As a promotional tool, Facebook is only minimally useful.

   replyreport
   1. 69

      makingamarkposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      However you can increase that percentage if you study their guidance and what they say is and is not OK (excluding the "best practice" stuff which they've now changed their minds about)
      
      I had a go at changing the way I posted on my Page when the newsfeed rules changed a while back - and followed their guidance - and it very clearly had a beneficial impact on my Facebook Page.

      replyreport
5. 84

   FatFreddysCatposted 9 years ago

   (shrugs) If you're blasting hundreds of links to every one of your Hubs all over Facebook, eventually you're going to piss people off and be viewed as a spammer, so this was bound to happen sooner or later.
   
   I only post links to my Hubs in a couple of Facebook groups which are relevant to the topics I write about, in a couple of other groups devoted to HubPages itself, and of course on my own personal page. In total, we're talking maybe a half dozen links each time I post a Hub.
   
   I've been doing it long enough that the people in those topic groups know me and my status as a wanna-be writer/columnist and they're fine with it. I'm not particularly worried about getting a smackdown from FB.

   replyreport
   1. 69

      makingamarkposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I think the issue is going to be about the frequency of posting links to HubPages to your Facebook Page and/or how much other non-commercial content you have on your Page.
      
      My general rule has been to post infrequently to Facebook - and often only in relation to an event.

      replyreport
   2. 69

      makingamarkposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I should add that the changes have nothing to do with Facebook Groups per se.
      
      The only people affected are those with Facebook Pages.
      
      That said I'd expect the change to generate more spamming of Facebook Groups and I'd certainly expect Moderators to tighten up as a result.

      replyreport
6. 0

   AJ2008posted 9 years ago

   Why is it that when someone genuinely wants to share something that may help others, someone nearly always has to join the thread and slap them down?
   
   This information is recent and, more importnatly, accurate. It applies to those of us who use Facebook pages for business and who may be adversely affected by the NEW announcement.
   
   I have just broken my vow to not participate in this forum because there seems to be a CABAL on here that is determined to post snippy, unhelpful comments. As Thumper's Mum used to say:
   
   "If you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all" (corrected for poor grammar LOL)

   replyreport
   1. 78

      neosurkposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Exactly! If you have nothing helpful to say other than wasting others' time, don't participate. I'm baffled that these hubbers participate in forums only to slap others down and boost their ego. As if that would help.

      replyreport
      1. 58

         Dale Hydeposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         To those that know me and know my previous forum posts, umm....does this sound familiar?  The same issue I brought up in a very popular forum post of recent times.  Those that know it all and have to drop in with their authoritative voice simply to look down and speak down upon others.

         replyreport
         1. 78

            neosurkposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Yes Dale. This is so ridiculous.

            replyreport
7. 58

   Dale Hydeposted 9 years ago

   Thanks for sharing the information.  I use Facebook on various levels and more than one is a business account.  One that I am an admin on is worth well over several million dollars.  So these types of posts put out by Facebook become very important.
   
   On a personal level, I have linked to my hubs as well as some of my blog posts on my Facebook account, but not on a regular schedule and not to the point of being spammy at all.

   replyreport
8. 68

   WildFacesGalleryposted 9 years ago

   in my opinion this is simply about facebook forcing businesses to pay to be seen. it's spam when it's free but advertising when paid for.  It's just so much spin.

   replyreport
   1. 69

      makingamarkposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      That's actually a pretty good definition!

      replyreport