Facebook has recently made changes to their algorithm that, for businesses, may ultimately lead to less people seeing your content in their Facebook news feed.  So, what does this mean for us as marketers?

A couple things, first, Facebook and social media are still great ways to communicate with your audience.  Second, Facebook and other social sites cannot be the only touch points you have with your audience — your campaign needs to be a multifaceted campaign that includes social media, email, print and other forms of communication.  Finally, start asking for people to sign up for your email lists — whether it’s a weekly update, blogging or other email or mailing lists that you offer your customers or clients — get them on an internal list, that way you do not need to rely on social sites to spread your message.

Facebook will continue to offer your brand an ‘easy’ way to communicate with your audience — even if it’s indirectly.   Google’s algorithm has also recently been update to include  social searches and social keywords and activity in their ranking system, therefore, social media will remain important to keep updated and active for Search Engine purposes.  Additionally, Facebook and social media will still help drive traffic to your website and even to your brick mortar establishment.

While social sites are great ways to communicate, they’re limited in both their reach and the amount of clutter a person would have to go through to find your brand’s content.  For this reason, it’s important to include print in your marketing mix.  Print media not only allows you to break through the clutter of digital media, but print ensures your message is seen by your target market.  With direct mail your message has to be handle by your audience — as over 80 percent of direct mail pieces are read by its intended recipient.

Social media, digital media and print all offer unique ways to reach your audience.  It’s important to use a combination of all these forms of marketing to gain the best reach and frequency and, ultimately, get people ‘in your door.’

Timothy Freeman
President
Print & Graphic Communications Association