Last week we jumped into the conversation about the way Facebook is showing less content from organizations in the newsfeed with two posts: Is Facebook Losing Its Effectiveness for Businesses, Nonprofits & Churches? and Facebook’s “Secret Sauce” for Engagement Unveiled.
Ken Manesse shared a couple of other articles this week in the Christian Micro-Entrepreneurs Facebook group which added some additional insight on this important topic.
EdgeRank Research
First, there’s Reverse Engineering Facebook EdgeRank – Beyond the Theory, which is a very long, very detailed article about the results of some testing Thomas Baekdal did with Facebook pages to see how various types of content and engagement impact how long and how high on the page Facebook displays them.
Digital Sharecropping
Second, Sonia Simone published a great post on CopyBlogger hitting on 3 important principles to remember when it comes to Facebook:
- Facebook owes you nothing
- Understand why people use the platform
- Facebook is an outpost, not your home base
The bottom line is that a Facebook page amounts to “digital sharecropping,” the practice of building your online business on someone else’s (virtual) land. Digital sharecropping is very risky because if the landowner (Facebook in this case) decides to alter the landscape, you could suffer significantly. You can read the full post titled Is it Time for Content Marketers to Abandon Facebook?
There’s nothing wrong with using Facebook, Google, or any other site, just don’t put all your eggs in one basket or let your all chickens roam free on Zuckerburg Farms. Make your website the hub of your communications and leverage other platforms when it makes sense.
Have the changes at Facebook caused you to rethink the role it has in your communications strategy?
3 Comments
Great post Paul… where do you find ALL this GREAT content?
You talked about not putting all our eggs in the Zuckerberg basket.. or facsimile there of.. how do you feel about Pinterest and it's benefits for business? (We are a Christian Counseling Center, with a worldwide focus).
Hi Dr. Don, I think Pinterest has a lot of potential for business but it really depends on the type of business (whether it lends itself to sharing images) and whether its clients and target audience are on there. As a Christian Counseling center, what kind of images would you post that would create interest in what you do?