Facebook making changes from time to time is nothing new. However, new changes to the social network will impact us all. While they will be welcome for individuals, for legal entities such as companies, organizations, and others, these changes will not be as positive.
What we see in the Facebook timeline is selected by a set of algorithms that try to ensure we receive the news we care about. In January, the social network announced new changes to its content policy. In the coming months, Facebook will change its news feed so that we see more posts from friends, rather than news from media outlets and companies. The social network wants to improve the user experience over the long term; it wants us to feel good about spending time on social media. In December, a study was published examining whether time spent on social media is harmful. The conclusion was that if people spend their time on social media watching videos and reading news, then using social media leads to negative feelings. But if there's active participation, posting your own photos, or discussing content posted by friends, then using the social network evokes positive feelings.
Facebook's founder announced that he's given his team a new mission: to foster meaningful relationships between users, not just help them find interesting content. The goal is to ensure we see more of what our friends post, rather than what various organizations and companies post.
Video streaming will also be limited, despite Facebook's recent focus on promoting video content. This is because users are less engaged with video content, and engagement isn't meaningful. Facebook wants to reduce this type of time spent on it.
As mentioned earlier, these changes won't please businesses and media outlets. To reach their audience, they'll have to pay more. Media outlets may face the biggest challenge, as advertising investments don't always pay off, despite the significant and important traffic from social media.
Facebook also announced that it will crack down on "like" and "share" hoarders. The social network will limit the reach of pages and posts that use techniques such as "like" if you like cakes. They believe that if a page wants to reach a large audience, it should opt for paid posts. Incidentally, pages that frequently publish such posts may be penalized in the long term, reducing their reach.
To avoid being caught off guard by these changes, it's time to start thinking about how to make your content more engaging. It should be something that people want to share and engage in discussions about. If a company or organization can or will provide valuable, genuinely good, and interesting content, there's no need to fear these changes. Ultimately, we're all expected to benefit from these changes, as we'll see higher-quality, engaging information on the social network, as well as foster meaningful relationships not only among friends but also with media outlets, companies, and organizations.