Facebook’s Latest News Feed Changes: How to Move Forward

If you’re an author relying on Facebook to reach your readership, last week’s announcement from the site, which has two billion plus users, was not a welcome one. They’re once again making changes to the News Feed that will emphasize posts from friends and family and reduce content from Pages—with the added note that Page posts that lead to genuine engagement between friends will be favored.

For anyone who thinks prompting more engagement is the answer, don’t forget the other recent Facebook announcement: any “engagement bait” will be demoted in News Feed rankings. Engagement bait is asking people to like, comment on, or share posts—and this includes posts that ask people to “vote” on something (like a cover design) in the comments.

The change is hardly surprising, given the criticism of Facebook during and after the last US presidential election. There’s a growing sense that Facebook is bad for you—and thus people may be spending less time on the site.

So how should authors adjust their strategy? It’s still quite early to understand how hard hit the publishing community might be, but here are a few options.

• Establish or participate in Facebook groups. Facebook, for now, remains committed to showing posts from groups in News Feeds. If you run a group for readers, consider how you can usefully increase your engagement there and attract more people to it. If creating or nurturing your own group isn’t feasible, then participate in groups related to your genre or community, and look at how you can be a key moderator or contributor. Big caveat, though: don’t expect group numbers to exceed your page numbers, and once groups overwhelm the News Feed, expect Facebook to de-prioritize them as well.
• Build a more direct relationship with readers. Ben Thompson of Stratechery wrote perhaps the most incisive advice: “Success [with Facebook] depends on building a direct relationship with readers; monetizing that relationship (likely through subscriptions, but not necessarily); and leveraging Facebook as an acquisition channel for those long-term relationships, not short-term page views.” In other words, never assume you’ll keep reaching your readers through Facebook; experiment with strategies that transition them onto your email newsletter list, Patreon, or someplace where you have more direct control.
• Become skilled at Facebook advertising for lead generation. Indie author Mark Dawson has long offered both free and paid courses on how to use Facebook for successful lead generation (as described above). Learn more.

Authors aren’t the only ones affected by News Feed changes, of course. Everyone, particularly the media industry, is holding their breath. Laura Owen at Nieman Lab explores the ramifications from a journalist’s perspective, with an emphasis on fake news and politics. Joshua Benton, at the same site, also offers interesting commentary.

Bottom line: It’s well-worn advice not to put all your eggs in one basket, but in the case of Facebook, it’s hard not to, given its size and influence across every type of business. While it’s always a good idea to diversify your channels, now more than ever authors must take steps to strengthen their long-term, direct reach to readers through a strong website, email newsletter list, loyalty clubs, and other forms of direct engagement.