Practice Management Alert

Question: Social media sites and apps like Facebook seem to be constantly updating their algorithms. Just when I think I have things figured out and am having consistent interaction with prospective patients, I read about a change in policy or some other adjustment that means our practice’s posts aren’t getting as much exposure. Is there a way to keep on top of this?

North Carolina Subscriber

Answer: You aren’t imagining the change or the decrease in traffic. Earlier this year, Facebook rolled out updates to its algorithm that prioritize content from individual users’ friends and family and lessen the reach of pages, including from businesses.

“Because space in News Feed is limited, showing more posts from friends and family and updates that spark conversation means we’ll show less public content, including videos and other posts from publishers or businesses,” says Adam Mosseri, head of News Feed at Facebook in Menlo Park, California, in a release.

“As we make these updates, Pages may see their reach, video watch time and referral traffic decrease. The impact will vary from page to page, driven by factors including the type of content they produce and how people interact with it. Pages making posts that people generally don’t react to or comment on could see the biggest decreases in distribution. Pages whose posts prompt conversations between friends will see less of an effect.”

This may mean you need to expand or create a budget for digital marketing if Facebook is a primary means of establishing and maintaining a presence and relationship with patients beyond the office.

“The days of organic reach are over,” says Lara Nour Eddine, brand journalist at Kuno Creative, a digital marketing firm in Avon, Ohio, in a post. “Now, Facebook is a pay-to-play platform. Yet it is still the best social network businesses can use to reach their audiences—they just need to create more meaningful ways to do it, instead of using engagement bait.”

You probably remember “engagement bait” on your personal Facebook newsfeed — maybe a photo of a romantic Caribbean beach posted by a boutique resort in the last days of January with the caption “Wish you were here? Tag your sweetie.” Facebook’s 2018 algorithm update basically eliminates exposure to those kinds of posts (which you probably weren’t using anyway, as a medical practice.)

“The way reach is measured has also changed as a result of [Facebook head Mark] Zuckerberg’s plan. Each time a person logs in, their newsfeed loads approximately 250 posts. Previously, all of those 250 posts were counted as reach—even if the person didn’t actually see it. Now, reach is only measured if the post appeared in the person’s timeline and they scrolled through and saw it,” Eddine says.

While you may have a tough time staying abreast of breaking news out of Facebook headquarters concerning how Facebook feeds will continue to evolve, one thing you can do now is stay committed to sharing on quality content.