NEWS from Facebook: Cleaning up News Feeds

We shared with you last week that Facebook was making changes to reduce spam. This means it’s vital to have relevant & fresh content, visuals & media to not only tell your unique story, but to engage & interact with your customers, followers & supporter.

The bottom line is this… “Develop a publishing strategy that uses original content and is not copied from other sources AND Marketers who are linking to their own legitimate websites will not be affected by this update.” Good news: we specialize in real, raw, authentic & HONEST organic marketing, therefore our clients will thrive more than ever on facebook!

Here are the changes from Facebook:

*click on image to view original post from Facebook*

Cleaning up News Feed Spam: What it Means for Businesses

Earlier today we announced a series of improvements to News Feed to reduce stories that people frequently tell us are spammy and that they don’t want to see. The goal of these changes is to make sure that News Feed delivers the right content to the right people at the right time, so everyone on Facebook sees the stories that are important to them. We’d like to now explain how these improvements will impact businesses on Facebook.

First, a bit of context. Many of these spammy stories are published by Pages that deliberately try to game News Feed to get more distribution than they normally would. The vast majority of publishers on Facebook are not posting feed spam, so should not be negatively impacted by these changes. If anything, businesses may see a very small increase in News Feed distribution.

Publishers who are frequently and intentionally creating feed spam will see their distribution decrease over the next few months. In particular, we’re targeting three broad categories of feed spam:

Like-baiting

“Like-baiting” is when a post explicitly asks News Feed readers to like, comment or share the post in order to garner additional distribution.

People often respond to posts asking them to take an action, and this means that these posts get shown to more people, and get shown higher up in News Feed. However, when we survey people and ask them to rate the quality of these stories, they report that like-baiting stories are, on average, 15% less relevant than other stories with a comparable number of likes, comments and shares. Over time, these stories lead to a less enjoyable experience of Facebook since they drown out content from friends and Pages that people really care about.

The improvement we are making today better detects these stories and helps ensure that they are not shown more prominently in News Feed than more relevant stories from friends and other Pages. This update will not impact Pages that are genuinely trying to encourage discussion among their fans, and focuses initially on Pages that frequently post explicitly asking for likes, comments and shares.

What this means to businesses: Focus on posting content that is relevant and interesting to your target audiences. It’s OK to encourage discussion about your posts’ content, but you should avoid asking for likes or shares to get more distribution.

Frequently circulated content

People and Pages on Facebook frequently reshare great content, but people tell us there are occasionally instances where photos or videos are uploaded to Facebook over and over again. We’ve found that people tend to find these instances of repeated content less relevant, and are more likely to complain about the Pages that frequently post them. We are improving News Feed to de-emphasize these Pages, and our early testing shows that this change causes people to hide 10% fewer stories from Pages overall.

What this means to businesses: Develop a publishing strategy that uses original content and is not copied from other sources.

Spammy links

Some stories in News Feed use inaccurate language or formatting to try and trick people into clicking through to a website that contains only ads or a combination of frequently circulated content and ads. Often these stories claim to link to a photo album but instead take the viewer to a website with just ads.

We’ve been able to better detect spammy links by measuring how frequently people on Facebook who visit a link choose to like the original post or share that post with their friends. The update we are making today reduces cases of these spammy links. In our early testing we’ve seen a 5% increase in people on Facebook clicking on links that take them off of Facebook. This is a big increase in the context of News Feed and a good sign that people are finding the remaining content in their News Feed more relevant and trustworthy.

What this means to businesses: Marketers who are linking to their own legitimate websites will not be affected by this update.

Organic Social Media Marketing Takes Center Stage!

We specialize in Organic online marketing. Organic means real, raw & authentic. We build & strengthen brand while engaging & interacting with customers & followers through Social Media. This means CONTENT reigns supreme! Not just content, but relevant, fresh, on trend & VISUAL content. Content & marketing is the Art & Science of Storytelling & now the Social Media powerhouses are changing their algorithms & ranking to support real, raw & authentic marketing & sharing of your story online! This means our clients are years ahead of this new trend & they’re about to get noticed even more.

We’ve been surfing the facebook, twitter, youtube, pinterest, wordpress SEO waves for our clients & now Google+ is joining the crowd to better help businesses & people connect & interact in a new & more visual way. We’re always ahead of the curve & trend, paying for ads & begging for likes is not the way to build long term success online. Paid SEO is old news & out, while getting real & listening is where businesses & non profits will soar past their competition, when they manage & marketing social media the correct way… the Organic way! Social Media management & marketing is like gardening or farming… prepare & plan, then plant the seeds, watering & caring for your crop, watching to see what will happen, constantly taking in the good & bad to quickly adjust or problem solve for a better harvest. Online marketing takes work. It take constant dedication & daily work of executing a plan of action.

We’ve been keeping you updated with changes & there are 2 blogs from Entrepreneur that we want to share with you, that reinforces what we do & where Facebook is going… please take the time to read this valuable information so you don’t get clobbered on Facebook over the next few months…

If You Ask for ‘Likes’ on Facebook, You’re About to Get Clobbered

By Jason Fell

If your M.O. on Facebook has been to directly solicit likes and shares for your posts, or to post the same thing over and over again, you might want to reconsider.

Facebook says it is on a mission to clean up spam from the News Feed. The goal, it says, is to only show the content that is most relevant to readers.

Don’t think your page is spammy? OK, although might help know what Facebook is defining as spam, lest you get penalized and see your traffic die off.

There are three categories of spam Facebook says it is targeting in the News Feed. The first is called “like-baiting.” It defines this as explicitly asking readers to like, comment or share a post “in order to get additional distribution beyond what the post would normally receive.”

While these types of posts can drive engagement, Facebook says responses to these posts show that readers find them 15 percent less relevant than other stories with comparable “Like” and share numbers.

Facebook is also coming down on “frequently shared content.” While sharing a re-posting content on Facebook is encouraged, the company says users complain about brands and individuals who regularly upload the same photos or videos, over and over again.

Lastly, Facebook says it will be watching out for spammy links. This refers to pages that post “inaccurate language or formatting to try and trick people into clicking through to a website that contains only ads or a combination of frequently circulated content and ads,” Facebook says.

In other words, don’t bait and switch. It’s annoying and not good for business.

Facebook says that any regular offender will likely see their distribution on the site decrease over the next few months. Meanwhile, Facebook says pages that don’t post spam might actually since an increase in distribution.

Read original blog… http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/232992#

The Year Ahead: 5 Social Media Trends Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know

by Jason Demers

The social media landscape is evolving rapidly, and therefore, your social media marketing strategy cannot remain static. Instead, it’s important to reevaluate business goals, social media campaigns, platform results and revise your strategy at least once a year — if not quarterly.

Being aware of trends in the social sphere can help you design better strategies, apply the most effective tactics and choose where to invest your staff as well as financial resources. Here are the top five social media trends every entrepreneur needs to think about for 2014 and beyond:

1. Diversify. You’ve probably seen headlines about Facebook’s algorithm changes. If you currently operate a brand or business page, one study found that only six percent of followers currently see your posts. Experts suggest that that number will continue to plummet, eventually reaching one percent.

This bid by Facebook is aimed at increasing advertising dollars. But it highlights a potential weakness in many business’ social strategies: overdependence on any single platform puts you at the mercy of that platform’s whims. Whether it crashes or simply changes its rules, too much is at stake.

2. Google+ is for real. If there’s one social network businesses should pay specific attention to, it’s Google+, which is already playing a more important role in Google’s organic ranking algorithm. I expect this trend will continue.

To the surprise of many across theSEO industry, Google’s Matt Cutts confirmed in a recent video that Facebook and Twitter have no impact on SEO rankings as a result of crawling and accessibility issues. So it stands to reason that if Google wants to use social signals for organic search rankings, it could easily mine Google+ data, where its crawler access is unhindered.

Google+ is also the best way to get access to Google Authorship, which will play a huge role in SEO by the end of the year. Google Authorship helps the search engine identify your content, attribute it to the correct author and build a portfolio for each author that may include what many are calling “Author Rank” — algorithmic scoring based on author expertise and publishing history.

In most cases, an image of the author appears next to their content in search results, which also increases visibility and click-through rates.

3. Integration of social media, SEO, and content creation. The online marketing industry is moving away from the idea that social media, SEO and content marketing happen in isolation. Social media marketing decisively impacts how content is seen and shared.

Content creation and marketing have direct implications for your SEO performance — especially in light of Google’s latest algorithm updates. It’s important that you think of the three pillars of online marketing — SEO, content and social media — as a system that works synergistically to increase visibility, build your brand and ultimately garner customers and sales.

4. Visual content will win. An estimated 63 percent of social media comprises imagery. As such, visual platforms are playing an increasing role in social media for businesses. One study found that 29 percent of Pinterest users bought an item after posting or re-pinning it on the network.

Video content is also hotter than ever, with the addition of networks like Vine and Instagramfeaturing microvideos. Infographics are another effective promotion tool for businesses with both a bounty of data and absorbing stories to tell.

Not every platform will be right, but spending the time to find the visual angle to your business’ story and experimenting with different content formats can help revitalize your social media marketing strategy.

5. Social media as a brand builder. Social media channels should be managed according to a brand-oriented approach. Building your brand on any platform impacts your SEO and improves sales over the long term.

Are the visuals of your social media accounts consistent with the rest of your visual branding? Is your account name or any other copy branded? Are you regularly filtering your status updates to ensure they’re on-message and consistent with the overall brand that you’re building? Focusing on building your brand through your social interactions should be a key focus this year.

If evolutions in social media have taught us anything so far this year, it’s that entrepreneurs with flexible and engaged approaches will have the highest ROI. Take the time to understand general trends and focus on core goals, but also take action to experiment with specific tactics that will grow and change as your business evolves.

Read original blog… http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/232738

Again, all this backs up what we’ve been doing for our clients for 5 years online! Give us a call to get you noticed locally in DFW oe globally around the world with Socially.

What’s the Worth of a Facebook LIKE?

Why do we specialize in Organic Social Media Marketing? Because it’s real, raw & authentic. Organic marketing is story telling at it’s best.

We want to provide you with all the vital information & changes regarding online marketing. Social Media is here to stay, however it will always be changing & adapting based on technology, trends & communication needs. Facebook was created to CONNECT people, to know what they LIKE. This amazing marketing tool has fueled small business. Watch the video & discover why we specialize in organic online marketing & do NOT pay for LIKES.

We love the report from Mashable (below) & YouTube Video (above) with a perfect example of how PAID Likes don’t pay off! They give us a wonderful overview of PAID Facebook Ads & LIKES & why we never need to BUY ads or likes when we execute an effective online marketing strategy…

From Mashable…

Derek Muller longs for the days when his Facebook page had only a few thousand likes.

“The other day I was just Googling, ‘How do I delete these likes?'” he said to Mashable in an interview. “There’s no tool to do that.”

Muller is the man behind Veritasium, a YouTube channel dedicated to producing informative videos on science. He has a strong following on the video site with more than 1.1 million subscribers (his second channel has more than 150,000).

He also has a reasonably popular Facebook page with 131,000 likes. Those likes have turned out to be a barrier between him and his fans, and he explains why in a video uploaded to his YouTube page entitled “Facebook Fraud.”

Click on image below to learn more about “click farms” & why organic online marketing is the only way to build long term success… this video & report from Mashable is vital information in making online marketing decisions…

 

Happy 10th Birthday Facebook

Happy 10th Birthday to Facebook! What an amazing story! We love this from Marc Zuckerberg, their founder, who gave everything he had to what he was called to do & how he serves others through sharing his gifts & talents…. “Why were we the ones to build this? We were just students. We had way fewer resources than big companies. If they had focused on this problem, they could have done it.

The only answer I can think of is: we just cared more.

While some doubted that connecting the world was actually important, we were building. While others doubted that this would be sustainable, you were forming lasting connections.

We just cared more about connecting the world than anyone else. And we still do today.

That’s why I’m even more excited about the next ten years than the last. The first ten years were about bootstrapping this network. Now we have the resources to help people across the world solve even bigger and more important problems.

Today, only one-third of the world’s population has access to the internet. In the next decade, we have the opportunity and the responsibility to connect the other two-thirds.

Today, social networks are mostly about sharing moments. In the next decade, they’ll also help you answer questions and solve complex problems.

Today, we have only a few ways to share our experiences. In the next decade, technology will enable us to create many more ways to capture and communicate new kinds of experiences.

It’s been amazing to see how all of you have used our tools to build a real community. You’ve shared the happy moments and the painful ones. You’ve started new families, and kept spread out families connected. You’ve created new services and built small businesses. You’ve helped each other in so many ways. “

We believe facebook has changed our world for the better! We can be the light to others & share live saving information in seconds. Facebook & social networking is here to stay, however it will forever be evolving & changing. The buttons will move to better serve it’s users. Facebook works because they have so many users & it’s an amazing platform. It’s no longer about reuniting with lost loved ones & high school friends, it’s about connecting & networking. Social media has allowed anyone to get in front of their audience & share their story. Businesses have started thanks to Facebook providing this unique platform for our voices, products & services. Social Media for GOOD is here to stay! So embrace it & make it a positive environment & experience.

Have fun getting social & get noticed in the process! Keep it relevant & ride the social wave through a plan of action & consistent posting of engaging & informative information, images & links. Make it more fun & network with others online like us!

Read entire facebook post from Marc…

“Today is Facebook’s 10th anniversary.

It’s been an amazing journey so far, and I’m so grateful to be a part of it. It’s rare to be able to touch so many people’s lives, and I try to remind myself to make the most of every day and have the biggest impact I can.

People often ask if I always knew that Facebook would become what it is today. No way.

I remember getting pizza with my friends one night in college shortly after opening Facebook. I told them I was excited to help connect our school community, but one day someone needed to connect the whole world.

I always thought this was important — giving people the power to share and stay connected, empowering people to build their own communities themselves.

When I reflect on the last 10 years, one question I ask myself is: why were we the ones to build this? We were just students. We had way fewer resources than big companies. If they had focused on this problem, they could have done it.

The only answer I can think of is: we just cared more.

While some doubted that connecting the world was actually important, we were building. While others doubted that this would be sustainable, you were forming lasting connections.

We just cared more about connecting the world than anyone else. And we still do today.

That’s why I’m even more excited about the next ten years than the last. The first ten years were about bootstrapping this network. Now we have the resources to help people across the world solve even bigger and more important problems.

Today, only one-third of the world’s population has access to the internet. In the next decade, we have the opportunity and the responsibility to connect the other two-thirds.

Today, social networks are mostly about sharing moments. In the next decade, they’ll also help you answer questions and solve complex problems.

Today, we have only a few ways to share our experiences. In the next decade, technology will enable us to create many more ways to capture and communicate new kinds of experiences.

It’s been amazing to see how all of you have used our tools to build a real community. You’ve shared the happy moments and the painful ones. You’ve started new families, and kept spread out families connected. You’ve created new services and built small businesses. You’ve helped each other in so many ways.

I’m so grateful to be able to help build these tools for you. I feel a deep responsibility to make the most of my time here and serve you the best I can.

Thank you for letting me be a part of this journey.” ~ From Marc Zuckerberg posted on facebook