The Facebook Fan Page-pocalypse is finally upon us! Fanageddon is here! The news feed is sorted and customized based on a ranking system.

Facebook recently announced they want you to see more stuff from people. As a result, you will see fewer posts from pages.

Is this the end of Facebook Fan Pages as we know it? If so, what should small businesses do?

The Update

First off, marketing on Facebook is not dead.  More than 89% of users access Facebook on their mobile devices and they check Facebook 14 times a day.

But the old ways of self-promotion of your business on Fans and hoping to get people to your webiste, get optins, or get purchases are probably over.

This phenomenon is not all that surprising.  Facebook is a publicly traded company that wants to generate revenue and profits from it’s advertising.  Also, it’s stock value is based on the number of people with active Facebook accounts.  Active users of Facebook don’t really like seeing self-promotional ads from Pages; rather, users would rather see posts from friends and family.  Therefore, the perfect storm is to reduce the reach of Fan Pages… unless the Fan Page pays to get their message out.

The days of promoting specials, offers, and just how awesome your business is on your Fan Page and hoping to get this out to the masses is over.  Your new goal for posting is to get replies and engagement, which basically means that you can’t promote yourself at all.

What You Can Do To Reach Your Customers

There are some alternative ways to reach your customers:

  • Facebook Live Videos – Last year, Facebook’s focus was on furthering live video.   Facebook Live lets people, public figures and Pages share live video with their followers and friends on Facebook.  Videos will appear in News Feed and on the broadcaster’s Page or profile while they are live. Once a broadcast has ended, live videos are eligible to show up everywhere that other videos appear.  Facebook Live videos is probably the best organic way to engage and connect with fans on your page.  It’s simple to set up and free to use.

  • Facebook Messenger –  Messenger for Business is an excellent tool for instant contact and connection with prospects and customers.  You can even create automated responses to your most commonly asked questions so you don’t have to have someone manning the messenger posts 24/7.  Plus, you can place a link to your Facebook Messenger on your website as another way for people to reach out and connect with you.

  • Facebook Groups – Did you know that you can create a Group and publish content to the group as your Brand?  When implemented smartly (as in – not spamming people relentlessly), Facebook Groups can be a great way to communicate with people interested in your product or service.  A big challenge for brands is that a post to the news feed is a one to many conversation, but groups give all members who share an interest equal standing to start or join a conversation.  This can lead to better engagement.

  • Facebook Paid Ads – Of course, the best way to get your message in front of your idea audience is to pay for ads.  Facebook’s demographics are superior to any other digital marketing platform when it comes to placing ads in front of the most interested audience.  You can control your budget, stop and start whenever, make any necessary changes quickly, and manage to your own ROI.

Conclusion

The days of using the Facebook Fan Page to try to self-promote or drive traffic to your blog / website are done.  However, it doesn’t mean that Facebook is no longer an effective marketing tool.  If you want to reach the masses without paying for it, then Facebook Live Video is probably your best bet. You can still connect with your Fans & customers with Facebook Messenger.  And Groups is a great way to engage. Finally, if looking to obtain new customers, your best bet is to invest in Facebook Ads (or hire a professional agency to do this for you)!