I’m so excited when massive change comes to a platform because people freak out and worry that the sky is falling and they can’t recover.
Facebook just announced massive changes that will begin to prioritize the new feed and pages in the coming months. These changes will make groups and video & events the priority, helping people engage in the communities they love, not just the pages they follow.
I’ve made a pretty bold claim here. The sources I am citing are Mark Zuckerberg himself, as well as the video he showed (see at the bottom of this article) and what was on screen.
Facebook Watch (the TV portion of Facebook App) was not mentioned, but it was highlighted and the new app design is making video and content more important than ever, along with groups!
Source: Facebook
Facebook is becoming more of a content driven, consumer based app similar to the psychology of Netflix or Hulu, where it will become a destination to watch your favorite show and to engage with your favorite content.
For those who aren’t putting out content, you will be missing out on the opportunity, and struggle greatly if you don’t shift and adjust.
What this means is simple: You can no longer get away with a cute quote graphic, a photo, looking cute, or your old following tricks that got engagement, likes and shares before!
NOW - You must contribute to the world around you and make content, building a community first!
For those who don’t know how to do this and skated by for so long on old school 2012-2016 tactics of Social Media marketing, they will begin to cease to exist. The facebook platform will return back to what it originally was for:
Friends to interact in small close knit communities.
For you to thrive as a business you must learn how to shift with what’s happening, instead of being reactive - TAKE ACTION!
Facebook Groups will be where people congregate and start to take a larger role than the news feed.
To get your content in front of people from a page, you WILL have to advertise, and won’t be able to just rely on organic content anymore - UNLESS your content is truly a destination, not just information.
What does this mean?
Think about Netflix, Hulu, your favorite TV stations, you turn to these when you CHOOSE to watch what you want to. Facebook is taking on this model, where people will CHOOSE who they want to see content from and engage with based on what they want as the only priority.
If you are not making content and building a community that truly brings value, you will lose!
Expecting to succeed off of some likes, comments & shares will no longer work anymore. Instead, producing content that shifts the hearts and minds of people, grabs them by their heart strings, and contributes lasting results and transformation for those who watch your content will be key.
Getting lots of likes for existing - because people “Like” your content or how you look won’t work anymore!
Instead - we must innovate, we must create content that helps people, that people want to watch, engage with and grow with.
I’m urging you right now, stop doing things the old way. Posting photos, and quotes just to get likes without contributing to the lives of those who are on your page will not work anymore! You must think about what drives your audience, and what they want most from you.
What can you do to create a cosmic force of nature that people can’t help but visit on a daily basis with the same level of draw that their favorite TV show or coffee shop has to offer?
If you aren’t a destination, a place people want to visit every day to get the latest content update, you will not survive, and you will have to rethink everything that has been working for you up to this point.
Now that groups are a priority, people will have an opportunity to choose which communities they want to engage with the most. As content creators, we have to create the community our audience wants to engage with. Dedicated group communities to stay relevant will be key.
Free groups and paid groups will now have a place side by side together. Where as the Facebook Page & Newsfeed were more of a priority to keep your content in front of your target audience, putting it into a group will be a vital new step. Top content creators and destination driven brands will need to adopt this method.
The future is bright. How will you respond?
Tonight, as I write this, I just launched the Grow Your Life community group where we can engage and grow. I will share EXCLUSIVE content with you that you won’t find anywhere else!
Join the #GrowYourLife Community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/growyourlife/
Reference for more research, this is another great article on this topic, also I suggest watching the video below: https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/30/18523265/facebook-events-groups-redesign-news-feed-features-f8-2019