20 Dec Is It Time To Shift Your Online Advertising Budget?
The Decline of Facebook
Many of our clients have noticed that their reach on Facebook posts has been decreasing. Facebook has admitted that the organic reach of business posts are declining, and stated, “We expect organic distribution of an individual page’s posts to gradually decline over time as we continually work to make sure people have a meaningful experience on the site.”
Although we’re not exactly sure what this means since customers opt-in to these posts by ‘liking’ a business page, this seems to be Facebook’s way to get businesses to continually increase their advertising budgets on Facebook. A year ago when Facebook first changed its algorithm on who would see business pages posts they stated that they were weeding out content that wasn’t engaging, but that the median reach of posts wouldn’t be affected.
Many pages invested advertising dollars into Facebook to get more fans, with the assumption that those fans would then receive their message. Now Facebook has reframed the platform completely. While free distribution of content is possible, in order to improve advertising effectiveness you must pay to have your posts seen by your fans.
Facebook states that less and less of companies’ content will be displayed because of increased competition for limited space, since “content that is eligible to be shown in news feed is increasing at a faster rate than people’s ability to consume it.” A Facebook spokesman said: “We’re getting to a place where because more people are sharing more things, the best way to get your stuff seen if you’re a business is to pay for it.”
For companies to maintain their average rate of reaching the same number of people on Facebook companies will be required to up their game on posting content that engages users and budget for paid reach.
The Rise of Pinterest and Twitter
As Facebook’s reach has decreased Pinterest and Twitter have increased. According to recent statistics by Gigya in the third quarter of 2013 the number of people sharing content on Facebook decreased by 9% while Pinterest increased by 4% and Twitter increased by 6%. In the crafting industry Pinterest is the most important growing social network. Large brands like Michaels and Martha Stewart have built large followings and many boards on Pinterest, and the target demographic for Pinterest is the same as those for most craft businesses.
Don’t Forget Ravelry
According to the recent TNNA The State of Specialty Needlearts 2013 report 83% of stores use Facebook and 75% use Ravelry. Although retailers rate Facebook as more effective than Ravelry, consumers see it differently. Among knitters 50% chose Ravelry and 21% Facebook. Crocheters also preferred Ravelry, at 35% over Facebook at 28%. Furthermore Ravelry is the #2 information source that knitters use when purchasing yarn. “[Knitters] are more likely to consult Ravelry than online stores, magazines, or Facebook postings. 86% of knitters (and 69% of crocheters) said they look at Ravelry regularly for fiber arts inspiration, learning, and information.”
Conclusion
We’re not suggesting you stop posting on Facebook. It’s important to maintain your audience on Facebook and continue to keep them engaged, but instead of focusing all your energy on a social media platform that’s getting less attention and costing you more, we suggest expanding your social media efforts. Put the time into building your Twitter and Pinterest followings. And if your in the fiber industry than Ravelry is a must. Start a group, maintain active discussions, and advertise! Advertising on Ravelry is very affordable, and has the focused customer base that you want to attract.
References:
http://adage.com/article/digital/facebook-admits-organic-reach-brand-posts-dipping/245530/
http://allfacebook.com/infographic-gigya-social-sharing-3q-2013_b127489
http://www.thesocialmediahat.com/article/why-you-should-opt-out-facebook-advertising
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