Last week, Facebook announced plans to change its News Feed algorithm. As with any change that Facebook makes, this was met with some backlash from its users — even before it’s been initiated.

Usually, I’m one to wait things out, but with Facebook promising to make personal content more important than brand content, this will undoubtedly have a negative effect on brands across the platform. So, as photographers, how do we keep our Facebook pages relevant to this change?

First, the Facts

The news came from Mark Zuckerberg himself, writing the following on his Facebook profile:

“…you’ll see less public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media. And the public content you see more will be held to the same standard — it should encourage meaningful interactions between people.”

In a nutshell, content from your personal profile will have a higher likelihood to be seen as opposed to content from your brand page.

What’s the Strategy?

As working photographers, we’re brands just as much as we are individuals. This means sharing content to our personal profiles in addition to our brand pages — especially that content that’s important to your growth as a business.

For instance, I might publish a few photos from my recent trip to Grand Haven on my brand page. Then I might choose to share that post to my personal profile or publish some different variations of the photos on my personal profile directly, with a link to view more photos on my brand page. Be sure to tag current and potential clients that are relevant.

What About Separation Between Brand and Personal Profile?

In the past, I rarely posted content related to my photography business on my personal profile. But now, this separation should go away. If you want to keep using the world’s most-visited social network, you need to publish your content where people will see it — which is via your personal profile.

What Else Can I Do?

In addition to using your personal profile more, you might want to consider Facebook advertising. While the reach of your brand page might go down, it doesn’t look like Facebook advertising is changing. If you have a piece of content you want to go out to your brand followers and beyond, advertising might be your best bet, as you can tailor your reach specifically to whom you want to see it.

Additionally, stay active on the other social networks you use. While Facebook might be the most popular network out there, don’t forget about Twitter and Instagram. Continue to build your following across your mediums.

 

For more on Photography Marketing, see our weekly column.