How to Survive the New Facebook Algorithm Changes

The 3 Strategies your Health and Wellness Business Needs to Know

We can’t ignore Facebook algorithm changes.

Because no matter how other shiny busy platforms distract us consider this: Facebook has over 2.2 billion monthly active users worldwide.

That’s more than Instagram (800 million), Twitter (330 million) and Pinterest (200 million) combined.

It’s safe to assume that whatever our niche is in health and wellness, our market is on Facebook. Guaranteed.

But with the latest Facebook Algorithm Changes, reaching them isn’t as easy as it used to be.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg made that clear in his January 2018 announcement.

He mentioned that users should “expect to see more from friends, family, and groups” and less from “businesses, brands, and media”.

Thus, health and wellness business pages may see their reach, video watch time and referral traffic decrease.

But now we’re not the least bit pessimistic.

First, this guarantees an improved experience for Facebook users. Hence, customer satisfaction in the long-term will ensure patronization of the platform.

Second, we might have hit a speedbump but this is just short-term. There are ways to adapt and tailor our Facebook content strategy.

Thus, we’ve put together the 3 secret strategies for every health and wellness business to survive the challenges in connecting with your prospects and clients.

But first, here’s a quick rundown on the Facebook Algorithm Changes.

Consider the Four Key Algorithm Factors

In their private newsfeed Webinar, Facebook broke down the algorithm into four components:

1. Inventory. This is the total amount of available content that could potentially show up in newsfeeds.
2. Signals. This includes the considerations about content which determine its visibility in feeds.
3. Predictions. This considers the person posting a piece of content.
4. Overall score

Among all four factors, “signals” are the only component we can control. Let’s understand which top signals make our posts reach more people on Facebook:

1. Comments. Interactions with our Posts are the ultimate deciding factor in the algorithm. Posts with more comments and longer conversations get a good bump up in newsfeeds.
2. Shares. Two types of shares get our posts points. That include links or content shared within Messenger and post shared by friends (in newsfeeds). In fact, when friends of friends share that same content (and illicit comments), reach is massively wider.
3. Reactions. This factor is the third contender in the Facebook Algorithm Changes.

The bottom line: Facebook favors meaningful engagement or active interactions that spark engagement (as conversations involving friends and families do). Moving forward, any free content we come up with can extend its organic reach if it can get people commenting and sharing or interacting “actively”. That’s versus passive interactions as clicks, watches or views.

Which content practices to avoid?

As content that is trustworthy, informative and local will be prioritized along with posts that spark conversations and meaningful interactions, posts that do not pass the criteria get de-prioritized in newsfeeds.

The best advice comes from Facebook and it’s, to avoid sharing content with:

• Clickbait headlines
• Engagement bait (vote baiting, react baiting, share baiting, tag baiting, comment baiting)
• Fake news
• Outdated information
• Short videos (less than 10 seconds)

It’s not as bad as it sounds. The 2018 Facebook Algorithm Changes doesn’t mean our posts will be phased out on Facebook. It just means we need to up our game and focus on meaningful interactions too.

As we are in the health and wellness industry, aren’t quality connections naturally part of our business anyway?

Apart from this, if you want to grow your health and wellness business and reap high ROI from Facebook, we laid out how coping strategies look like in action.

Let these 3 actionable steps serve as your survival guide on Facebook, this 2018 and beyond.

Survival Guide No. 1 – Share High-quality content with Real Value

The 2018 Facebook algorithm changes favor content that engages actively. The more your audience like, share and comment on your posts, all the more Facebook will show it to other people’s newsfeeds.

To boost your engagement on Facebook, try these tips:

• Use Facebook Live

It is predicted that by 2021 live videos will account for 13% of all online videos.

Think about it, a single minute of video content is worth 1.8 million words. Facebook even found that “People spend more than 3x more time watching a Facebook Live video on average compared to a video that’s no longer live.”

A good success story here comes from Australia’s Sunshine Coast yoga instructor Lauren Verona.

She confessed to the Sydney Morning Herald that the “raw, live, candid element” of live streaming her classes provides an experience that is very different to simply following a DVD. Uncertain of the outcome in the beginning, she braved live streaming anyway.

“I kept turning the camera, and I’m sure I was missing my body half the time,” she admits. “But my Facebook friends said it was amazing and they really enjoyed it… It made me realize this was the way forward.”

Indeed, 70% of her clients prefer to take the class on the live stream.

• Ask questions to spark discussion

Research suggests that asking questions achieves learning and liking. As a Buzz Sumo analysis revealed, questions were among the most engaging post types on Facebook.

So get your audience talking as you ask open-ended, thought-provoking or emotionally-charged questions.

Everybody loves to share their opinion on social media. Questions can be light-hearted, fun or educational, depending on your niche and your audience.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with the questions that your audience respond to because the right questions guarantee engagement. Regardless of further Facebook Algorithm changes your questions will get more answers, reach and visibility.

• Share Quotes

Sometimes all it takes to lift up our day is to read the right quote. Whether it’s from a historical figure, a motivational speaker or words of wisdom from anyone to live by quotes command intrigue and they are easy to digest.

That makes Quotes highly likeable and more importantly, shareable. If you want to boost engagement make it visual or add a beautiful image behind your favorite quote.

Check out the motivational quotes at Healthinomics to get your creative juices flowing.

Survival Guide No. 2 – Actively Engage with your Audience

By now you may already have a clear understanding of what “meaningful interactions” are and how they’re key to surviving the latest Facebook Algorithm changes.

Ensuring your own deeper meaningful interactions with your content is as simple as this—respond to people’s comments.

Not only does this skyrocket traffic, but acknowledging a comment or a person gives them a feeling of validation. Which in turn strengthens relationships and build trust.

Thinking ahead, if you acknowledge people who comment on your posts, your encouraging more engagement in your future content.

Survival Guide No. 3 – Promote and Advertise Wisely

If you’re going to promote or boost a post, choose your best performing post in the past.

You’ll know which are the top performers based on your insights data. If there isn’t much going on in there, Facebook’s “Top Posts from Pages You Watch” can help you spy on your competitor’s best-performing posts.

This way you’ll get actionable ideas to craft your next blockbuster post on Facebook.

On the other side is Facebook ads. Even before the decline of organic reach, Facebook ads have always promised a higher ROI and cheaper rates than other means of advertising.

This makes Facebook ideal even for small businesses in the health and wellness industry.

Use Facebooks ads with the right goal in mind which is to target a large number of your ideal potential clients.

We all know how extensive and specific Facebook ad targeting can be. We can maximize that to survive Facebook Algorithm Changes. 

Change is Good

Overall, regardless of how many significant changes Facebook makes, you can always find ways to adapt and grow your health and wellness business. You can count on us to share the right strategies.

To sum it up, don’t be discouraged to spend your time and resources on Facebook. if you want to increase your content’s reach, engagement and traffic always offer real value in what you share.

Now you don’t need to post many times a day. In the new Facebook Algorithm Changes, it is quality, not quantity. That means posting more than two or three times can compromise the quality of your content.

Finally, if you want to ensure the quality of your posts, easily manage and schedule them using SocialOmm and put the zen back into your social media marketing.