Creativity Is The New Currency for Facebook

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Many of us know that having an active presence on social media is critical for our brands and businesses to remain competitive and relevant. It is equally as important to stay current on what it means to be relevant.

For some time now brands and businesses have focused on attracting “likes” on their posts. These days the playing field has changed.

Earlier this year, Facebook revised the algorithm that decides what posts users see on their news feeds. Now, users will see more posts from companies that include a picture or video. This change was made in response to research showing higher rates of social engagement, specifically comments, were found on more creative posts.

What Does This Actually Mean?

It indicates that pictures and videos, which traditionally are the posts that garner the highest number of comments, will be more effective than words.

This change is also an opportunity because now a post with more engaging content will have a better chance of making a continued impression on the user.

Here are a few tips to help navigate this new environment.

Comments Are King

When you post on Facebook do so to engage and encourage conversation, not just inform.

Find a funny or even controversial, though not offensive, photo to post.

Post a video from your smartphone – it doesn’t need to be a Hollywood movie, just something you made that will engage your community. Be sure to ask for comments on your post.

Get Bumped

A post that generates lots of comments is “bumped” by Facebook and this is a good thing. Being bumped means your post is moved to the top of a news feed, allowing people to see it more often.

This allows your community to post even more comments and provides another chance for your post to be bumped again.

Sharing Is Caring (About Your Brand)

Link-share is also new and is now the default when you share an article or website in your Facebook post. This new way of posting will include a photo or preview of the link to stimulate visual interest and comments.

Make sure you share links often using this visual tool, and you should see more engagement with each post.

These changes are better for companies and users because they emphasize the social aspect of social media. Being social in our offline worlds means interacting with others – starting conversations and participating in a genuine two-way dialog.
It is nice to see that kind of behavior is being nurtured online too.