Unless you have been on a digital detox lately, you know that Facebook has made some major changes to the way their news feed works.
I went live on January 31, 2018, to share three things and take questions from schools across the country.
In this video, I covered three main topics:
- What has changed on Facebook
- What we’ve learned so far for our schools
- What you can do on your school Facebook page
It’s been viewed over 1,300 times and had over 80 comments – which for my little Facebook page is a LOT! That’s why I thought it was important for you to get access to the video, along with a quick recap.
What Facebook Has Changed
When I boil down the changes that Mr. Zuckerberg and his team have made with the January 11, 2018 announcement, this is what I see as the most important for you. The news feed determines what Facebook users see when they open the app since most users don’t specifically visit your school’s Facebook page each time they want to get updates.
- Facebook wants to nurture more people to people interaction.
- Facebook will be showing less content from businesses, brands, and media.
- Facebook will be showing less video.
- Facebook will show posts where people have longer comments and interact with one another.
What We’ve Learned So Far
We manage Facebook pages for more than 50 school districts. As such, we have already learned many things since these changes went into effect.
- Our school pages still matter – they are still being seen, but there is significantly less reach per post: half as many people compared to before the change.
- Quality trumps quantity of posts. Share good stories and they will be seen. If you share “filler material” that doesn’t generate comments, your post will not be seen.
- Links to websites or news articles are not being seen by many people at all.
- Some posts are receiving a much longer lifespan. Posts that we’ve shared several days ago will continue to drive comments and interaction. We think this is because there is less junk in the news feed and people DO care about our school posts!
- Weekends are not a great time to post. Unless it’s breaking news, we are not going to continue to push out content on Saturdays and Sundays.
- Multiple photos can do better than just one photo.
- Staff recognition rocks!
What You Can Do For Your School
Here are just a few suggestions for your school Facebook page going forward:
- Keep sharing awesome content. The world needs your stories, and it is worth your time to keep sharing them via Facebook.
- Encourage your staff and your community to make longer comments on your posts. It will help your stories be seen by more people. “Way to go” is a nice comment, but “Way to go #NewAuburn! I’m so proud of the students who are making a difference in our community. Keep it up!” drives more engagement and interaction.
- Teach your staff and community to “see first” the updates from your school. This article was created for you to borrow, steal and share. Get these simple instructions out to your followers! It even includes a short video you can use.
- Video reach will be down, but Facebook Live is a great way to improve your reach! Grab a handy checklist and instructions on how to assign Facebook Live contributors in this article.
- Pay attention to your Facebook insights. What time is the best time for your school to post where people will comment? What types of posts are doing best? This is really important. We still believe that the best time to post is between 7-8 pm Sunday through Thursday night.
- Continue to collaborate with your peers. We need to stick together. I share great tips and tricks in my bi-weekly newsletter. Sign up now. You can also stay connected through my Facebook page.
For further information, listen in to my video, where I elaborate more with examples on each of the items above. You can also ask any lingering questions in the comments section!
Be sure to read through the comments – there are great suggestions and resources for you to use.
If you have more that you’d like to share on what you’ve learned so far, comment below.
