Facebook has been making some changes, and marketers maintaining the status quo should be too. Facebook is putting the onus on brands to approach it with greater sophistication.

The Minimum Isn't Enough.

Marketers can't get by with text-based updates anymore, at least not successfully. Facebook recently announced changes to its News Feed algorithm. It will now deemphasize text-based updates from brand Pages because they tend to receive low engagement from users, even though brands have enjoyed fairly high reach from them in the past.

What's a brand to do? Heavy-up on images, videos and link shares with Facebook content. Facebook has made images stand out on Pages and within the News Feed. This is an approach Facebook has emphasized in the past, but now, it's saying text just isn't going to cut it anymore. It's about visuals.

Their updates haven't stopped there, however. In December, Facebook admitted that organic reach of brand content is dipping, at least for most brand Pages. To overcome the decline, Facebook recommends paying to promote and boost the reach of content. In other words, they're decreasing the reach of content for most Pages. This change can be offset by paying to promote content.

The News Feed is a marketer's best way to get user attention on the platform. If you aren't there, you're invisible. Go visual and set aside dollars to achieve reach.

Facebook Is Demanding More

Facebook never gets simpler. It just gets more complicated, and it has the user numbers and loyalty to entice marketers to evolve. Facebook wants more from brands. More visuals and more money.

Visuals can be a challenge for some brands. It's an asset that sometimes doesn't exist, so look for low-hanging opportunities to create visual content. Get on Instagram and visually capture your organization. Look at what's working there and take your best content over to Facebook. Also, use Facebook's link-building tool to your advantage. Don't just embed a link within the text of your update. Let Facebook pull a visual to accompany your update.

The other challenge is the ever familiar allocation of funds. Facebook marketing isn't free. It requires quality content and funds to promote that content, but the good news is Facebook doesn't require a great deal of investment. Set aside test dollars and see what works for your brand (e.g., right spend, right targeting, right content).

Facebook has become a more sophisticated platform, expecting more from brands. To break into the News Feed brands need to lean forward and evolve based on Facebook's changes or seriously consider whether or not the platform is right for them. There's no in-between.