Facebook has just posted a demo video about Promoted Posts. This feature basically allows a Fanpage owner to make sure that more of their fans see timeline posts. Currently only a small fraction of fans actually receive Fanpage posts because of Facebook’s News Feed filter algorithms. Facebook revealed recently that only 16% of your fans usually see your posts.
When I first heard about promoted posts and the 16% filter, I really had to laugh. Two of the comments on the demo video page today really hit the nail on the head as to why:
“When like pages first started the whole idea was that people joined the like page so they could see your updates and engage with services they like. I dont understand when or why updating members of the like page has now become a lottery?? The features of the page have been reduced and handed back to us at a fee?? Not good” by Keysha Lrd Jordan.
and
“come on please… you first take 1/3 of my reach, now you take 2/3 of my reach again !!! i have built up my fan page, with my content, doing your page impressions for your advertisements, and now you take even that little from me for my work? making me to pay $5 for 5000 impressions? come on lol… just ruined months of MY dedicated, hard work. good job. i hope the money you earn with this will bring you joy” by Rudolf Bagi.
Both points are very true. If someone liked your fanpage, they did that so as to receive ALL your posts. Is it not then quite ridiculous for Facebook to limit that reach? Secondly, it’s just wrong to make Fanpage owners believe that by buying ads on Facebook that redirect to the fanpage, the Fanpage owner is buying reach. He is clearly not – he is just wasting his money, because he’ll have to buy that reach all over again with promoted posts.
As with all good things, maybe Facebook is coming to an end. These kinds of business practices just don’t seem right to me and I believe advertisers will quickly realize that pumping more money into this system makes no sense at all. Therefore Facebook please stop any filtering of Fanpage posts reach. If the fan does not want to receive a Fanpages posts anymore, they always have the unsubscribe button.
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