The Facebook Page Notifications Debacle

Another day and another major change to Facebook page notifications potentially making promoting posts even tougher without shelling out cash for advertising. Many page admins recently got the sneaking suspicion that Facebook quietly changed their notorious EdgeRank algorithm yet again.

The evidence at hand:

1. Photo updates, widely known as the best way to maximize post impressions, started showing significantly less impressions than usual
2. After my own tests, I was able to conclude that I was getting approximately half the amount of impressions on photo posts vs. plain text updates
3. Renowned Facebook expert Mari Smith saw a drop in the “People Talking About This” metric from 5500 to only 1900 in a week

Facebook Pages: Going Premium?

Social Identities made a post on their Facebook page showing a few screenshots of a Facebook survey indicating the social media giant is considering launching a premium service for page owners that could possibly include email and chat support.

Here is a partial the list of some potential services that might be offered:

1. Prominent listing in Facebook Search and local directory
2. Ability to respond to people who comment or post on your page using private messages
3. Ability to change the name of your page and protect against others creating copycat pages
4. Access to email and chat support for help with your page at any time
5. Setup groups on your page to help manage conversations with customers

At the end of the survey Facebook asks if you would be willing to pay $50 a month for this service. Sadly, it makes no mention of increased news feed exposure for page posts.

It seems that Facebook investors have become restless and are hoping to see the light at the end of the tunnel with a comeback on the network’s plunging stock price. If this service gets the green light, it could very well be the glimmer of hope that could rebound Facebook’s position on Wall Street.

Getting Facebook Page Notifications & The “Pages Feed”

Facebook giveth, Facebook taketh away. It seems a bit coincidental that the changes to EdgeRank and the whisperings of a premium page service are in tandem with the new “Get Notifications” feature showing up for pages.

You can now specify pages you want to get Facebook page notifications for, similar to the way your “Close Friends” list works. That sounds great, right?

Well, Jon Loomer brought up a great point in his recent blog: notifications can get pretty annoying. Anyone who has taken advantage of the “Close Friends” list will eventually become bombarded with every single status and activity update from friends put into the list. When this is considered, the idea of every one of your followers doing this becomes more of a fantasy.

Another valid point Loomer raises is whether or not this is another step in the direction towards shoving pages completely out of the news feed without ad spend. Many users might have already noticed the “Pages Feed” that is accessible from the home page and it’s purpose is to exclusively display content from pages you have liked.

These changes might get page admins weak in the knees thinking all their Facebook efforts have gone to waste but I remain optimistic. Here are a few ways you can maintain control as Facebook continues to crack down:

1. Start using Facebook Groups for engagement
2. Use plain-text status updates for maximum impressions
3. Incorporate the Facebook commenting system on your website and blog to maximize organic exposure
4. Consider a promoted post instructing interested followers to enable Facebook page notifications and your page posts in their news feed

It’s easy to admit defeat when Facebook makes a big change like this but that’s the name of the social media game. It changes. Fast. You might as well get used to it because as long as your customers are using it, it’s not going away!

How do you plan on dealing with these new changes to Facebook page notifications? Leave a message in the comments below!

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