Facebook business pages have proven exceptionally popular since their inception, offering businesses of all sizes a free opportunity to tell their story - who they are, what they do (and sell). As you might expect, the nature of these business pages change all the time. Here’s what to expect in 2019.
Changes To Video Ranking
Facebook is changing the way that it ranks video. It’s prioritizing three factors: originality, loyalty/intent, and viewing duration.
Many of the videos on Facebook are repurposed versions of other content. Facebook says that it wants to put an end to videos that don’t add much new value by themselves and give preference to those that do.
Facebook also wants to capture loyalty - for instance, people who watch a video and then return to the same business page intentionally to watch another. So, for example, if you create a bunch of “how to” tutorials on topics related to your business and people return to your videos later, then Facebook will reward you.
Finally, Facebook is taking a leaf out of Google’s search ranking algorithm, promoting videos that capture more of the user’s attention (higher than a minute).
Reviews are Now Recommendations
Facebook wants to transition away from the five-star rating system to what it’s calling a “recommendations.” The system works a little bit like YouTube ratings. Instead of giving a company a five-star rating, Facebook now asks users whether they’d recommend the business to others with a simple “yes” or “no” option. Facebook will then take all of the reviews, crunch the numbers, and then give a business its own star rating.
Stories Are More of a Focus
Facebook wants stories to become more of a focus in 2019, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has been following the activities of the platform. Stories, the platform claims, help to add interest and value to users and are a great way to get your content rising through the ranks on user feeds.
Combining video with stories is likely to prove a highly effective strategy. Facebook has already rolled out the mobile version of the algorithmic change and expects the desktop version to arrive in the next few months.
Firms, therefore, should use stories whenever they want to create a promotion. Stories help to boost visibility and are an excellent way to promote events. If you can find a way to take advantage of these changes to Facebook’s system, then you put your business in an excellent position to benefit.
Facebook Jobs Coming Soon
Facebook says that it will be expanding Facebook jobs and that businesses worldwide will be able to use it soon. The social media company claims that Facebook jobs will take the work out of hiring, make it easy for firms to spread the word about a job opening, and find applicants from a wider pool of people.
For years, companies have used Facebook to check up on the people they employ, so it’s to be expected that the platform is going in the direction of LinkedIn and offering more services for businesses looking to hire on the cheap.
