Selling more advertising is undoubtedly one reason that Facebook is making this move, and it’s a continuation of changes to its algorithm that have been ongoing for years. The Facebook algorithm has also recently been applied to its subsidiary Instagram as well, with a big impact on retailer visibility on that platform, according to the Huffington Post.
But another reason that Facebook may be making this change is to make it look like its users’ friends and family are just as active on the platform as they’ve ever been. The problem is, they’re not. In April a report surfaced that original content (as opposed to posts about public information) posted by Facebook users declined 21% year over year as of mid-2015, a pretty massive change in user behavior, according to Advertising Age. So when Facebook boosts those original posts by friends and family above business posts, they’re making visiting Facebook a more personal experience, something that’s been declining over time.
The changes to the Facebook algorithm, whatever their impact over time, illustrate that as a platform it’s ultimately out of the control of the business user, and while using social media to communicate should undoubtedly remain part of the strategy, collecting email addresses may still be the most stable way of communicating with customers.
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