Mark Zuckerberg, the man who brought us endless high school photos, online neighborhood disputes, and an overwhelming amount of baby pictures, announced yesterday that Facebook’s News Feed is getting a major makeover. He believes that endlessly scrolling through articles and videos is detrimental to our well-being. Therefore, Facebook is shifting its focus from being a platform that consumes our time to one that fosters “more meaningful social interactions.” This might be great news for users, but it’s not so great for businesses.

What’s Changing with the Facebook News Feed?

Zuckerberg’s announcement explains that the News Feed’s purpose is evolving from simply “helping you find relevant content” to facilitating those meaningful social interactions mentioned earlier. Consequently, the constant stream of posts from news sources and brands you follow (or love to hate) will be replaced by updates from your friends, family, and groups.

This doesn’t mean that branded content and—importantly, in my opinion—ads are disappearing entirely; they’re just being moved to the back burner in one of Facebook’s many placements. It’s been speculated by some (including nexus-security founder Larry Kim) that Facebook will relocate “all publisher page posts out of the news feed into a separate ‘Explore’ tab.”

Facebook experimented with this last year, and it appears increasingly likely that a future where posts from people you know and posts from news outlets/businesses are separated is on the horizon. However, it’s important to note that as of today, Facebook is not removing your Business page content from the News Feed entirely. We’ll delve into where it is going shortly.

How Will This Affect Your Organic Facebook Presence?

In a post called “Bringing People Closer Together,” Adam Mosseri, Facebook’s Head of News Feed, elaborated on the upcoming changes. Instead of ranking posts based on comments and shares, Facebook’s algorithms will now prioritize content predicted to spark engaging “back-and-forth discussions.” But then he throws us a curveball: “Since space in News Feed is limited, prioritizing posts from friends and family and updates that spark conversation means we’ll be displaying less public content, such as videos and other posts from publishers or businesses.” This translates to seeing more updates like your cousin’s triumphant flag football game or notices from your homeowner’s association, and less of the valuable content you’re used to:

I know, it seems a little unfair. However, people who actively want to see your page’s content can still do so by adjusting their “See First in News Feed” settings. To encourage your followers to prioritize your content, you’ll need to up your game. The limited News Feed real estate available to businesses will now be allocated to those whose content generates the same level of meaningful engagement that prompted these changes. Creating live videos, hosting events, producing regular how-to series, or sharing news addressing significant issues—anything that could ignite discussion and offer genuine value to your audience—is the most reliable way to maintain some level of organic reach (which was already declining in favor of boosted posts and ads).

Growing Your Business on Facebook Is Still Possible

So, organic reach Facebook’s stock is, well, going down…

However, that doesn’t seem quite logical to me. Neither Zuckerberg nor Mosseri explicitly mentioned “advertising” in their announcements. Yet Facebook generated more than $10.3 billion in ad revenue last quarter alone; it’s their primary revenue stream. It’s understandable that people are concerned by this shift away from business-related content. But Facebook still needs to generate revenue, meaning ads aren’t going anywhere. The competition for those coveted ad placements will likely increase now that the News Feed is becoming a haven for friendship and positivity. With that said, here’s how you can establish, sustain, or expand your business’s marketing efforts on Facebook in a world beyond the dominant News Feed.

Creating Highly Engaging Organic Content

This significant change aims to enhance the user experience by improving the quality and engagement of content shared on Facebook, partly by reducing the sheer volume of posts. Brands relying on “engagement-bait,” superficial listicles, and similar content will likely fall behind those who prioritize creating truly valuable content.

In their recent article about the winners and losers of Facebook’s news feed changes, ShareThis recommends supplementing the creation of engaging content with, you guessed it, even more engagement. Empowering your audience to share your content and collaborating with influencers in your niche can create more opportunities for meaningful conversations. According to Facebook, this level of interaction—genuine discussions rather than mindless likes and shares—is what the News Feed algorithm will prioritize going forward.

Optimizing Ads for Placements Beyond the News Feed

It’s no secret that the News Feed is the prime location for ad placements. It offers advertisers the most space to showcase their product or service compellingly. If Facebook intends to reduce the number of business-related posts in the News Feed, it’s reasonable to expect a surge in competition (and cost) for ads within this space. Fortunately, Facebook provides a wealth of alternative ad placement options across desktop, mobile, the audience network, and Instagram.

These options include:

• Groups
• Right column
• Instant articles
• In-stream video
• Instagram (feed and story)
• Sponsored messages
• Audience network Consider how you can effectively utilize these alternative placements in your Facebook advertising strategy!

Maximizing Your Ad Spend and Activity

If organic reach for most businesses takes a hit, the importance of Facebook advertising for SMBs will significantly increase. Even with the uncertainty surrounding ad visibility and frequency, understanding where to advertise on Facebook is only part of the equation; the how remains crucial.

To evaluate your performance against competitors, identify areas of wasted ad spend, and pinpoint your ideal target audience, try the Facebook Ads Grader today!