Facebook news feed shakeup “no shock” for radio

Former Assistant Editor

Mark Zuckerberg has confirmed the long-held suspicion that Facebook’s news feed is set for a major revamp, but with the change expected for some time, radio is prepared to cope with what could be a destructive move for business pages.

In a recent post, the Facebook mastermind said the platform will begin downgrading posts from media outlets and brands, in favour of posts from friends.

The new move will see content prioritised when it’s shared by users or actively engaged with.

By moving focus to content that generates meaningful engagement, Facebook hopes to reduce content that’s consumed passively.

“The first changes you’ll see will be in News Feed, where you can expect to see more from your friends, family and groups,” Zuckerberg said.

“As we roll this out, you’ll see less public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media.

“And the public content you see more will be held to the same standard — it should encourage meaningful interactions between people.”

There’s been plenty of doom and gloom predicted for the changes, but what is occurring is far from a surprise, at least for those in radio.

“This doesn’t come as a shock to us, it’s another example of Facebook pushing publishers that they need to pay to play to reach the audiences they’ve built up for years,” Southern Cross Austereo social media director Chris Ledlin told Radio Today.

“The more Facebook continue to change up the news-feed, the more likely publishers will shift resources away from Facebook in 2018 onto platforms like Apple News, Twitter, Google and YouTube.”

“Changes to the platform are nothing new,” agreed Sam Korotov, strategy director of Jaden Social.

“As digital marketers and social boffins we’re used to frequent tweaks, updates and new features so we’ve all known a shakeup was coming.

“We encourage our clients to keep ahead of the curve by creating meaningful and engaging content across all channels and in particular on Facebook.

“Cheap tricks won’t work and a like hasn’t equated to a dollar since Kony.”

As these changes unfold over the coming weeks and months, only experience will tell if this new strategy by the social media behemoth will actually lead to Facebook being more driven by “meaningful interactions.”

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