Nothing lasts forever.

Facebook is making a huge change to its news feed so that it prioritises friends and posts that spark comments between them at the expense of public content, news outlets and ads. Zuckerberg writes, "I want to be clear: by making these changes, I expect the time people spend on Facebook and some measures of engagement will go down. But I also expect the time you do spend on Facebook will be more valuable." Facebook is clearly taking a stand: Personal connections trump business reach.

This has implications for all that use a Facebook page for their business. Pages will be seen less and their reach will decrease.  

What to do? It will now be more important than ever to ensure that your Page posts are relevant and create discussion. Facebook have made it very clear that engagement will be a crucial factor in determining whether your Page’s content deserves to show up on your audience’s news feed.

Test the idea of creating a Facebook Group
Facebook has already started hinting at all the different uses of a Group. An increased focus on the community and bringing people together makes Groups more engaging. It’s an easy way to connect with like-minded people over any topic and focus on the conversations that matter most to you.

Businesses can explore the benefits of creating a Facebook Group to build engagement and develop a relationship with its existing audience. What makes Groups more appealing to the users is that they can feel more involved. 

The most important thing businesses need to remember is that Facebook is all about the people. Show your human side and create content that resonates with your target audience. If you manage to develop a relationship with your audience, then you shouldn’t be afraid of any upcoming changes.

It's all about the content, always!

Here are ways to combat declining reach and continue to build your community and social presence.

1. Continue to encourage Facebook engagement
   Regardless of whatever the news feed changes bring, you do not want to give up on a community you built. Continue to post and engage your active Facebook fans. Let them be your bridge to their networks.
   Another idea is to warn your followers of the changes and ask them to click the “see posts first in news feed” on your page, especially if they worry about missing something from you.

2. Focus on building your email subscribers
   Every digital marketer knows that the most effective strategy is in email. An opted-in customer is a valuable customer.
   Don’t have our List Building tool enabled on your site? Now’s the time to make it happen. Email lets you reach your audience directly in their inboxes.

3. Remain active on other social media channels
   Facebook is not the end-all, be-all of social. A smart social media strategy looks at the full picture and decides which communities are right for its business.
   Are you a news organization pushing out lots of timely content? Invest in Twitter. Are you a cooking blog that posts scores of pictures? Get on Pinterest.
   Can you turn your cooking blog into a new YouTube channel? Taking advantage of niche channels is a great way to better target your customer and get more return on your social posts.

4. Don’t forget about SEO
   It’s easy to get caught up in social and forget about its less sexy counterpart, SEO. But search is still one of the most important discoverability tools on the web. If you’re not paying attention to keywords, SERPs (search engine page results), and all the other key aspects of a good search strategy, you are missing out on a huge opportunity.

5. Pay attention to other trends and plan for them
   Things move fast on the web and it’s in a marketer’s best interest to stay ahead of the curve. Be sure you plug into what is new and changing in your industry and are ready to make moves accordingly.