How the Crackdown on Click Bait Benefits Online Marketers

According to an eMarketer report, approximately 1.73 billion people around the world use some form of social network. A stunning 72% of all internet users are active on social media, which means that if you’re not using social marketing as part of your online strategy, you’re missing out on a huge target market. However, recently, social media users everywhere have started to grow tired of the numerous ‘you won’t believe what happened next…’ headlines that are dominating their newsfeeds. As a brand manager the chances are that you’re going to want to get yourself a piece of social media success, and it can seem impossible to stand out amongst the sea of click bait spam. Fortunately, however, Facebook are making efforts to crack down on this low-quality marketing scheme, which means that companies will have more opportunities to reach valuable consumers. The update to the news feed algorithms in Facebook should mean that sellers will no longer have to compete with viral click-bait for their audience. However, if you really want to get the most out of social marketing, then you need to know how to react to these updates for the best possible results.

Adapting to the Facebook Adjustments

Perhaps the most relevant adjustment that Facebook is making to the content promoted on newsfeeds is a stronger consideration of bounce rates. This means that the number of clicks your article gets will not be as important as the level of engagement your readers offer that content. Facebook is running on the understanding that if a lot of readers click through a link simply to return back to Facebook immediately, that content is probably click bait. Similarly, Facebook values shares, comments and likes over the number of clicks your link receives, as the more social interaction a piece of content gets, the more likely that content is to be valuable and interesting. Another important update to the Facebook algorithm is that it will now be favoring links that are displayed as a description, headline, or cover photo, over links that are embedded to photo posts. It is especially important for social sellers to be aware of this change, as posting links in the wrong format could lead to them being marked as spam. They may seem complex, but these changes could impact your social marketing strategy in an incredibly positive manner, by cutting down the waves of noise that are cluttering up your market’s news feed.

Consider your Social Marketing Portfolio

Today, Facebook continues to be one of the most effective and successful social networks for marketers to use. However, like various other aspects of business, you should never allow yourself to simply rest on one format when it comes to expanding your audience. Facebook is regularly altering algorithms, and if you were to make a mistake, you should have other lines of social networking open for your marketing needs. The social universe online is constantly evolving and expanding, meaning that markets can make use of various channels for attracting new customers and improving their business, including Google+, Twitter, and even visual sites such as Instagram. All you need to do is look for the locations where your target market is already gathering, and get involved in their network.