The 2019 Facebook Annual Developer Conference (F8) has recently been held and wow there are some exciting developments up ahead. Mark Zuckerberg’s focus this year has put a big spin on privacy and security, community and Groups. Find out what this means for your business marketing.
Facebook updates:
- A complete redesign for a more modern lively experience.
- Making communities as central as friends with the new Group look and focus of private messaging, small groups and stories.
- New messenger app for desktop.
- Messenger and Whats App integration.
- Facebook Dating.
- End to end encryption for safety and security.
- Transparency (your name and location as well as the year you created your page will be visible, and those who manage your pages).
- Dedicated Events tab on desktop.
Instagram updates:
- Create Mode.
- Shopping from Creators - providing the ability to tag brands they’re wearing in posts that can lead to a checkout page where users can purchase tagged items right within the app. Benefits of less clicks to purchase.
- Redesign of the app with less focus on followers, and hidden like counts.
- A place where you can feel safe and supported, with lots of new features eg. take a break.
- Aim to lead the fight against online bullying - which they say will take years, but they are starting. (I saw sponsored content last weekend around bullying at weekend kids sports.)
Source: https://www.facebook.com/goneon.lu/videos/2050235228418519/
What this means for your marketing
If we keep using Facebook the way we have been, businesses will be left behind. While some of the features are rolling out and others are in development mode, here are some insights you can take on board to use as a guide for planning your future marketing.
PAGE ROLE MANAGEMENT AND TRANSPARENCY
Primary country locations of people in all existing Page roles will be shown, in addition to their names if you have added them already. It doesn't matter what their role is or how much they interact with the page.
Action: Review the pages you manage, and those who have access to manage yours and remove those no longer applicable.
USER EXPERIENCE
Steering away from the traditional blue (perhaps people subconsciously we relate it to privacy theft, bullying, and the recent Christchurch attacks), the redesign of white, looks modern, and intuitive to manoeuvre, you may of seen some features on mobile already. Again, subconsciously this may prove positive if users are feeling a positive experience on Facebook when seeing your content. And who doesn’t want to be associated with a company out to make a change in the world in regards to bullying, safety, privacy and security?
REACH
We all know Facebook changed its algorithms a while back, which has been a proverbially pain for business owners as reach continually declines. The new look is set to make it harder still to reach our audiences organically, with business content being given even less priority especially over Group content.
GROUPS
On a positive you will be able to share to groups the way you share with friends and family. Group content will continue to feature higher organically in news feeds.
Action: Consider creating a Branded Group, even if it just sits there waiting to be used while you get your head around the changes.
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING
With this focus on Groups and the decline in organic reach, businesses need to learn to love Facebook advertising to help ensure content is being seen.
Action: Review your current post reach and see how far you are going organically. Consider brushing up on your Facebook ad skills.
Facebook Dating anyone?
On a fun note, if you are single and looking for love the new Facebook Dating app could be for you. Mark Zuckerberg tells us the aim of Facebook dating is to build real, long term relationships, and it’s not just for hooking up. With the massive amount of personal data Facebook holds on over 2 million people around the world and the advanced algorithms for matching, you could find your one true love.
Check out the Facebook Dating app here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1801820696520932
