You plan events. We get the word out.

relevent/ marketing ideas


How do I stay on top of the new Facebook algorithm?

It’s been an emotional roller-coaster for marketers and content creators since The Zuck made good on his 2018 personal challenge to fix his platform. This came in the form of a new Facebook algorithm.
In case you’ve missed the madness, Facebook recently announced that it would be drastically changing its News Feed Algorithm to prioritize family and friends as well as content that encouraged a deep level of interaction and engagement.
And the collective *gasp* of content creators could be heard around the globe.

Amid proclamations that Facebook is dead, many marketers took a step back to gain perspective on what the future of Facebook marketing will look like. Spam bots and fake news propagators notwithstanding, all marketers and content creators (we like to include our team amongst them) strive to deliver a message they believe their target audience will take interest in. This is especially true in the event marketing space, where we often represent clients promoting educational content and work to bring communities together.

So what will the Facebook News Feed changes mean for event marketing? How can event marketers adapt their strategy to work a new algorithm-friendly magic that ensures their message gets seen?

? Here’s the Major Key: You need to start offering something of VALUE ?

Facebook wants to prioritize posts that spark conversations and meaningful interactions between people, so you have to ensure that the content you put out there ignites and delights your audience. Ideally, your audience will actually WANT to engage with your messaging without you engagement baiting them to comment, tag, or share.

So what does valuable content look like? We’ll share a few strategic content avenues you can explore to make sure you’re creating the kind of value that fuels conversations.

Consider this: “What if instead of trying to be amazing, you just focused on being useful? What if you decided to inform rather than promote?”
― Jay Baer, Youtility: Why Smart Marketing Is about Help Not Hype

Video is Key in the Facebook Algorithm Change

Video has been on the rise. An increasing number of platforms offer native video, ephemeral video options such as Stories, and live video, meaning this trend isn’t going to die down. Facebook is particularly interested in encouraging the use of live video and this will be a BIG part of a winning Facebook strategy.

The time is NOW to embrace the live video trend and dive in.

Worried you don’t have the chutzpah for video? Don’t. People are more interested in authenticity than your Kardashian game. Just point, shoot, and talk about what you do best and what makes you passionate. Alternatively, you can invite a guest to chat about their specialty or passion.

Sharing your knowledge and passion through video not only positions you as an authoritative source in your field, but also provides your audience with valuable knowledge or inspiration to take into their own lives.

Check out this great Hubspot Guide to creating EPIC video content.

Make the Attendee the Hero of Your Story

User-Generated Content (UGC) is defined as any form of content that is created by your audience. It’s a powerful tool for producing engaging content that actively celebrates your loyal brand ambassadors. As Ann Handley informs us, UGC is an ongoing commitment to a culture of contribution. With the new changes to the Facebook News Feed, the notion of “curate, don’t create” is especially relevant.

Consider encouraging submissions and featuring your community members prominently. Share and engage with your community, be humble and make them rightfully feel like they are the most important part of your endeavour.

Content Marketing Institute put together a Content Marketing guide on how you can fit UGC into your current strategy.

Rise of the Influencers

With its newfound focus on posts from family and friends, it is predicted that influencer marketing will dominate Facebook marketing. Influencers are people known to share, discuss, or otherwise engage with the rest of their community at a high rate; in other words, they have a wide circle of influence online and off. Start developing and leveraging relationships with them to gain access to their community and build your trustworthiness.

Influencer marketing is the ultimate way to establish authority, trust, and loyalty among your target market. 92% of people trust word-of-mouth, and now that the Facebook algorithm is looking for more Human-2-Human interaction, the time is ripe to connect with the members of your community that have social clout.

ICYMI, we recently launched a sister company that makes Event Influencer Marketing easy, accessible, and fully scalable. If you’re curious, come take snöball for a whirl.

Group Up

More than 1 billion people use Groups every month. Yes, you read that right!

Marketing through Facebook Groups has increased traction, and with the Facebook algorithm changes, this will become an effective marketing strategy to target a specific audience. Alec Piliafas, social marketing director at 360i, explains that pages were great for pushing content, but groups can now serve as engagement.

Engaging groups will require time and effort. Your strategy will fail if it involves solely dumping links and promotional content. Consider prescribing a community manager to engage, encourage and facilitate conversation. Make sure your primary objective is to build that all-important sense of community if you want to successfully adapt to the new Facebook algorithm. You will be amazed by how quickly your tribe will be willing to carry your message when you take the time to care for the community.

Check out this Complete Guide to Facebook Groups from Buffer.

Tweets From Our Community

Share this post