Ah, the Facebook Page. Brands loved them when they rolled out years ago, and why not? They offered a way for brands to recruit advocates and even customers with loose connections and communicate them for free on the Facebook platform. It was a dream come true, but as the marketing world is well aware, that panacea was short-lived. The algorithm kicked into gear, reach plummeted and pay-to-play became the law of the land.

That’s the danger of marketing on rented land. There’s eventually going to be trouble if it’s a platform worth being on because that platform will scale, monetization goals will demand being achieved and the rules for brands change.

The lesson has been learned by brands (for the most part). Organic reach is a fallacy. Now, publishers are starting to come to terms with that fact as well.