Facebook Does It Again. Making the Case for Owned Media

Since 2006, the year it allowed the general population to sign up and use its service, Facebook seems unable to go 90 days without pissing off either its personal page users, its business page users or its advertisers.  In its most current faux pas, Facebook is beta testing a new section on business pages, as some of you might have noticed, called ‘Featured for You’.  Besides failing to inform any of its business page owners of the new feature, it has limited an admin’s ability to edit and create what could be a great component for business owners. Unfortunately, Facebook decided to go back to the well and use algorithms to serve what it thinks the users want to see. Unfortunately, it is distracting and sometimes counterproductive to the business owner’s goals.

The thing that burns many business owners is the lack of notice or communication, even to its advertisers.  Facebook’s typical M.O. is to beta test a feature, then ask for feedback on its new feature.  This isn’t the type of relationship any company wants to have with its community.  Unfortunately, FB likes to do things their way.

Reading the comments and questions in its help section, it’s apparent that business owners and admins are getting tired of Facebook doing things to its business pages without the consent of the page owners.  Or at the very least, as mentioned before, communicating with biz owners beforehand, to get input prior to launching a new feature.

Most comments revolved around the fact that Facebook’s fancy algorithm doesn’t necessarily understand what is best for the business.  It doesn’t know what products the business makes the most revenue on, and it doesn’t know what the business’ priorities are in communicating with its audience.

I would never walk into a business with charts and graphs and assumptions and tell the business owner I know their audience better than they do.  Yet in this case, this is exactly what Facebook did.

As each month and year passes, FB slowly proves that owned media should be a company’s number one priority.  Owned media refers to such things as websites, blogs, visual and audio media, and most importantly e-mail lists.  These media are the property of the business, and a business owner doesn’t need to worry about waking up one day and finding these items changed in anyway without their consent.

As a digital marketing consultant, I continuously try to drive home the concept that e-mail lists and developing a company’s owned media should take precedent over any type of social marketing.

How much more will business owners tolerate when they have no control over their own marketing channel?  It’s hard to tell.  Many businesses, especially local ones, depend on the social network and its ad platform to engage local customers and prospects. So, at this point, mass exodus is an unlikely scenario.

On the personal side, I love Facebook because it keeps me entertained and in touch with family and friends around the world.   But my marketing professional side struggles with them daily.  Whether its reformatting pages forcing you to once again figure out where everything is, to changing its ad platform without notifying advertisers

I have likened Facebook to an old pair of sneakers.  It’s old, worn out and at time uncomfortable. But you have had them so long you just can’t pull yourself to throw them out.  That’s Facebook.  The once darling of the social media world has given rise to anger and frustration by its users both on the consumer and business side.

What are your thoughts on Facebook’s new ‘Featured for You’ component?

Shadi Khattab is owner of Shadi Ranks Digital Marketing, a digital marketing firm specializing in complementary medical practices, eCommerce, vegan restaurants and food products, and renewable energy companies.