Arts companies must adapt to changes at Facebook, report reveals

αναδημοσίευση από http://www.theguardian.com/

• 58% of companies have seen a decrease in reach of posts
• 52% intend to use Facebook's promoted posts
• 25% have experienced an increase in organic reach

• Download the report here (pdf)

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Facebook still remains a quick and simple to way to reach an audience, for free. Photograph: Rainier Ehrhardt/Getty Images

For some time now, marketers in the arts and culture sector (and beyond) have been worrying that updates to Facebook have resulted in their messages reaching fewer and fewer people. A new report released today by digital consultancy One Further reveals that these fears are justified and that a new approach to Facebook page management may be necessary. However, it's not all doom and gloom; opportunities still exist and arts marketers are adapting accordingly.

What's the problem?

Facebook has been changing the way that content is displayed in people's news feeds, and many Facebook page owners feel that they have borne the brunt of these changes. Updates from users' friends have been made more prominent, as have adverts.

Facebook made a statement at the end of 2013, saying:

"People are connecting and sharing more than ever. On a given day, when someone visits News Feed, there are an average of 1,500 possible stories we can show. As a result, competition for each News Feed story is increasing. Because the content in News Feed is always changing, and we're seeing more people sharing more content, Pages will likely see changes in distribution. For many Pages, this includes a decline in organic reach. We expect this trend to continue as the competition for each story remains strong and we focus on quality."

The statement went on to recommend that page owners use a combination of engaging posts and paid advertising to promote their messages more broadly. So, is this really what the new landscape looks like? Has Facebook become a pay-to-play channel? Is it worth maintaining a presence on the platform at all?

Eve Nicol, digital associate at National Theatre Scotland, was moved to ask her followers on Twitter that question in June:

Seeing this, I offered to conduct a survey to dig into the issue. Some 48 organisations responded, mostly from the UK but with contributions from the US, Canada and the Netherlands as well. The respondents are as diverse as the sector itself, from the very large to the very small, with theatres, ballet companies, museums, orchestras and more. There's a full list in the report, which you can download here (pdf).

Key findings from the report

• The majority of survey respondents (58%) have found their Facebook posts are now reaching fewer people.

• This downward trend isn't seen across the board; 25% of organisations have seen their organic reach increase.

• Organisations that post updates at least daily are more likely to report that their reach has either increased or stayed the same.

• Despite the drop in effectiveness, 79% of respondents plan to spend the same amount or more time maintaining their Facebook page.

• Only 10% indicated they would post to their Facebook page less often.

• 52% of respondents intend to use promoted posts to help their updates reach a wider audience, with a further 19% open to experimenting.

So where does this leave us? For a while, marketers had a good thing going. Facebook offered a free platform to talk with audiences or push information at them. However, as networking platforms such as Facebook continue to grow and evolve, it's inevitable they will change. Sometimes those changes won't be in marketers' favour and they will need to adapt to the new landscape. You could say this was ever the case and that willingness to engage with fresh challenges comes through in the report's findings.

But it's not all bad news. The platform still offers plenty to the savvy arts marketer:

• It remains a quick and simple to way to reach an audience, albeit a diminished one, free.

• Facebook has always been at its most powerful when audiences share content with their friends independently, rather than engaging with updates put out by an organisation. Smart folks will continue to give their audiences content worth sharing (and a little encouragement never hurts).

• Facebook's paid advertising platform can be a very targeted and effective tool, especially for reaching new audiences: the people who don't already know and love the work that you do. Chances are you can already reach your existing audiences through other channels anyway.

The report highlights trends that have emerged. However, it also shows there's no one-size-fits-all solution. The best approach is to try things out, see what works, what doesn't, and then make informed decisions about where time and resources are best spent.

Some Facebook tips you can use right now

• Use ShareGrab to see how updates on your Facebook page compare against others.

• Away from Facebook, give your audiences something to share. If they're on your website then perhaps ask them to share images that you know will resonate with them. If they're in your venue, think about how you can create shareable moments.

• Use the targeting features of Facebook ads to zero in on specific geographical areas (especially if you're touring) or new audiences: people who don't already like your page.

• Read this great tips roundup from a previous Guardian Culture Professionals live chat about Facebook.

Chris Unitt is founder of One Further – follow him on Twitter @ChrisUnitt