It’s Ageddon Hot In Here
It was the week of Armageddons, and yes, there apparently can be more than one.
It started with Google’s mobilegeddon. That’s when it started factoring in mobile-friendliness in how it ranks websites in search results. Websites not optimized for mobile are now being negatively affected with lower rankings.
Not to be outdone, Facebook followed up with an Armageddon of its own with yet more updates to its News Feed algorithm. It shared that it would be emphasizing updates from Facebook friends over other content. It will also show friend interactions with brands and publishers less often, meaning Facebook is going to show more content from Facebook users’ friends and less from brand and publisher pages.
Changes like these keep marketers on their toes. They have to constantly follow what these tech behemoths are doing, so they’re ready to optimize their efforts to reach consumers effectively. That can be frustrating.
Good Medicine
These changes can be frustrating, but they are being made for the right reason. It all comes down to developing a positive user experience.
Google has no desire to send mobile users to sub-optimal experiences where they can’t find the information they want or need on their mobile devices. And Facebook users want to see content from their friends. If they don’t see what they want in their News Feeds, they won’t keep coming back. Facebook’s challenge right now is it has multiple stakeholders to keep happy: users, brands and investors. What they want can be very different things.
Taking Our Medicine
Change is always a tough pill to swallow. There’s nothing stopping it, so marketers might as well benefit:
- Appease the Platforms: Platforms like Google and Facebook make headlines when they make changes because people use them. They are almost essential places to be in order to reach a significant number of consumers, so marketers in many instances need to do what they say (within reason). Websites should be mobile-optimized, and content in social News Feeds should be relevant and engaging for consumers.
- Learn from their Lead: Google and Facebook aren’t making these changes for no reason. They’re making these moves because its what their users are asking for. Marketers can take hints from these changes about what works and what doesn’t. Then apply those learnings to all of their marketing efforts, not just what they do on Facebook and Twitter.
- Grow Your Own Garden: Don’t let Google, Facebook and other tech companies dictate how your brand has to behave. Drive people to experiences you can control, such as an email list, owned community and website. That way these platforms can change, but your brand doesn’t have to alter what may already be working.