As we ease our way into what will hopefully be a slightly less tumultuous year, there’s one thing we know for certain – Facebook will always be unpredictable! As Facebook continues to be an undeniable force in the world of Digital Marketing, they continue to make significant changes that impact the way businesses use the platform.
We’ve compiled 4 of what we think are the most important changes on Facebook. You can use this to better understand what they may mean for your business and how you advertise on the platform.
1. The launch of Facebook Business Suite
Hooray! A huge positive for business owners, Facebook launched Facebook Business Suite to bring all professional functionalities under one roof to make post management far easier. Facebook has voiced their intentions of making Business Suite “the main interface for businesses of all sizes who use Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp.”
Business Suite enables users to:
- Save time – Post to Facebook and Instagram at the same time and manage posts in one place to stay connected to both communities.
- Stay up to date – Get all your Facebook and Instagram messages, notifications, and alerts in one place so you can stay up to date and respond to all your customers more easily.
- Realise business results – See what is working with Facebook and Instagram insights and learn what your customers are looking for. This is helpful to analyse data and get a better understanding of what posts are working well and why.
2. Changes to Attribution Settings
Facebook will be removing the 28-day attribution option and instead, defaulting to 7-day attribution. The initial change was set for October 2020 but has now been implemented as of 19th January.
Attribution allows us to see the actions a user takes after clicking on an ad and prior to converting. The window of actions we could previously collect data on was 28-days prior to the conversion, but this update minimises the attribution to a 7-day window. This large window was immensely helpful in providing a detailed view of the customer journey and path to conversion.
Why did this happen and what will the changes mean for you?
Facebook made this change to attempt to “… limit business’s ability to measure people’s interactions across domains and devices.” This is in accordance with the move to protect users’ privacy as browsers such as Google Chrome and Safari move away from third-party cookies to first-party cookies.
This may mean a drop in reported conversions from Facebook and Instagram for your accounts as the attribution window narrows. This will be especially true for business advertising products or services that demand longer lead times.
We would recommend downloading all of your Facebook Ads conversion data beforehand from past records to help you benchmark and understand historical trends to use as comparison later.
3. Facebook pages redesign with new admin controls.
Another good change! Facebook Pages has had a revamp!
The new Pages has a more streamlined look that makes managing a page far simpler. Moving away from Facebook’s original style, the ability to “Like” a Page will be removed, leaving just “Followers” as a choice.
There is also a neat new Q&A feature. You can interact with your followers as they choose topics for you to discuss. This provides opportunities for further engagement with your followers and to promote relevant content to them.
If you’re logged in as your Page admin, you’ll also now have access to a dedicated Pages News Feed to enable users to discover more relevant content, as well as interact with peers and friends. This News Feed will also suggest new connections specifically for your page, whether relevant public figures, groups, or other Pages.
4. Facebook’s change in interface.
Well Facebook teased us with it’s pending changes last year and it looks like things are now set in stone!
The redesign of the platform has come with both positivity as well as criticism, but we might as well get used to it because it has now become permanent. The main change has been that the new design places a larger importance on Groups and Events. According to Facebook these are becoming the “two biggest reasons people visit Facebook every day.” It’s imperative to note for upcoming business strategy on Facebook, how you can utilise these features being pushed by the platform. There’s no doubt, these changes will impact how your content will be consumed by users this year.
Have anything Facebook related that you’re struggling with? We don’t blame you! With constant changes being made, it’s our job to stay on top of it all and we’re here to help. Contact us today and see how we can help.
