Hi ,

Professor Higgs famously said "It's very nice to be right sometimes." after the Higgs Boson particle was discovered by scientists using the Large Hadron Collider in 2012.

Now I want to say, It is not nice to be right sometimes. No, I am not going to gloat and say “I told you so...” but I think many of you can attest to the fact that I make no secret that I am not a big fan of Social Media and have always said: “do not rely on Facebook” alone for your marketing and communication with your clients.

Facebook Newsfeed overhaul.

On Thursday, 11^th January, Mark Zuckerberg announced the biggest overhaul of the Facebook News Feed in years. 

Facebook users will see fewer posts from businesses and brands in the future.

Messages and photos shared by friends and families will take priority instead, the social media company announced on Thursday. 

The move is an attempt to make users more engaged with the site by having “more meaningful social interactions”.

You can read more here straight from the man himself.

So what does this mean?

If you are a “Brand” or “Publisher” you are in trouble if you rely on your Facebook Page feed to keep in touch with your customers.  I can not find a specific date for this changes to be implemented but rest assured it is coming somewhere in 2018.

So what can you do?

In order to reach your existing customers, you need to “hope” they are interested enough or loyal enough to your brand to come and visit your page on a regular basis. As for finding new customers on Facebook, well that is going to be a LOT harder after this.

I found these 5 tips in a newsletter from AddThis a while ago and thought it summarises thing nicely. Number two in the list is the option I usually promote.

1. Continue to encourage Facebook engagement
   You will still have a couple of “die-hard” loyal customers that will visit your page once in a while. So make sure to interact with them and keep on posting news and other information.
2. Focus on building your email subscribers list
   XMS Systems has a built-in newsletter module with an easy way to allow new subscribers to add their emails. Get all your current Facebook fans to subscribe to your list and add anyone that has been in contact with you via email, for whatever reason, to the list. If you need a means at your shop, where you can easily add new emails, use this link and adjust the domain name to your own website. https://www.xms-systems.co.uk/subscribe.php
3. Remain active on other social media channels
   Social media is bigger than just Facebook. Make full use of Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn and the rest.
4. Don’t forget about SEO
   Easy enough with XMS Systems overall. But make sure to keep on adding new fresh and relevant content to your website that will attract new customers/subscribers. 
5. Pay attention to other trends and plan for them.
   Do not get caught out again. Do your research and know what is going to happen next on Facebook and other social media platforms. Make sure you are aware of “new” ways to communicate with your clients.