Facebook is no stranger to updating their terms and conditions, their algorithms and everything else in-between. You might have noticed that your Facebook is looking a bit different than before! In April, Facebook released its Facebook Five update which will be permanent this week. 

This was the start of the latest and arguably biggest Facebook update that started with design and it has moved to other aspects of Facebook such as advertisements and yet again, the content that is showing on user’s feeds. 

Here are the latest updates and how to continue fb marketing efforts even with these drastic changes for some updates.

Facebook Groups 

Facebook Groups is nothing new on the social media platform, but this is the year of groups on Facebook! This is because groups are getting priority on a consumer’s Facebook feed and Facebook is in the midst of working on sponsored content within a Facebook Group! 

This means that fb marketing should include a company or their marketing members to constantly update and add to Facebook Groups! Our marketing agency Omaha suggests starting your own Facebook groups or joining relevant ones that your target audience would be interested in. 

If you go to your business’s Facebook page, and in the top bar of the Facebook feed, click on the very last icon!

From there all of the groups that you voluntarily or involuntarily were invited or joined will appear! If there are none, you can easily add or find new ones on the left hand side of the page. 

A Facebook group is kind of like email marketing subscriptions. A consumer accepts the invitation or asks to join a group because they are interested in that subject or content. The other benefit for businesses is that it provides you with organic reach without any extra work. The same topics and content that is being published on the Facebook Business page can be added to specific groups! 

In an effort to continue to prioritize this content, Facebook is planning on allowing branded advertising content within groups as well which does hurt the entire purpose behind Facebook groups, but that seems to be further in the future. 

With that in mind, and COVID-19 continuing to cancel events, a great idea that our marketing agency Omaha suggests is that companies utilize the latest event features on Facebook! 

Online events 

With the pandemic continuing in the United States, it is important that companies stay connected to their consumers and Facebook can make a bit of money! Companies will be able to sell their event tickets, promote online events, virtual events and stream online fitness classes! 

As of now, Facebook is not putting a fee or claiming a percentage of anything that is made with the latest features now available for events, but as we all know with fb marketing, this could all change. 

Facebook Messengers takes over Instagram Messages

After Facebook bought Instagram, the changes were almost immediate with some of Instagram features. This is one update that any marketing agency Omaha can agree is the most convenient update that Facebook has ever done! This is because Instagram and Facebook messages are all in one spot which allows for a company to answer their direct messages from Instagram right from their Facebook Messenger or on their Facebook Business page! 

The downside is that the messages do not always show on Facebook Messenger the correct way which can be a glitch. 

The other added bonus of this is that all comments on posts on Facebook and Instagram are in the same area as the messages! This means that a company that has its Facebook up periodically can easily send and respond to messages, engage with their followers and react to anything they are tagged in on either platform! 

Election ads and posts 

In an effort to stop confusion with voters, the last week of the presidential campaign political, social or electoral ads will be stopped and not able to run. All of these advertisements can run until Oct. 27, without any issues, but it will not be able to change their audience or other targeting features. 

Over 1,000 removed targeting options on ads

In an effort to “simplify and streamline” their targeting options, one of the largest and possibly hardest updates for any marketing agency Omaha is the targeting options on their advertisements.

In the last two years, Facebook has removed over 1,000 targeting options, and while some were very necessary, others make it challenging for the Housing, Employment and Special ad categories.  

What does this mean? This means that a company who is running an advertisement that falls under the categories listed above cannot change the age range, gender, targeting details, implement a lookalike audience, customize the audience on any level or use any previously saved audiences from other advertisements. 

What can you do? Well, add in the “interests” of your audience but that is it. You can’t change anything about the pre-selected options that Facebook provides. 

What would our expert recommend for those companies who are part of the special advertising section of Facebook ads? Start to run Pay-per-click (PPC) ads on Google, run advertisements with Zillow or  brand awareness ads. 

This is because these special ads are created under the Facebook Ad Manager account! This means a company needs a Business Manager account and an Ad Manager account. The ads will be created under their ad manager account which is a process all within its own. 

Updates to Customer List, Self-serve ads and Commercial terms

This is another update to Facebook’s advertising section which went into effect on Aug. 31, 2020. When it comes to Customer List Custom Audience Terms, Facebook has recently updated its features. For more information, read here.  For information regarding the latest self-serve ad changes, read here. For the commercial terms and products, read here.  

When it comes to anything regarding advertising updates, it is imperative that a company understands the latest updates to not get their company page or business manager disabled. With Facebook not updating information as frequently as we would like, it is important to keep up-to-date with an agency! 

For help with your social media marketing strategy, give our experts a call today!