Facebook, along with all other social media networks, are continuing to change the way users interact with their platforms. As marketers, it is our job to stay informed of these changes, so we can best tailor our social media strategies to reach and engage our target audience. Over the past several months, Facebook has announced some pretty heft changes. Read on to learn the must know Facebook updates of 2016.

1. Facebook Expands Audience Network

Previously, Facebook’s audience network included all 1.65 billion active users on their platform. Now, Facebook has expanded its network to be visible on third-party sites and apps to anyone who has visited Facebook, not just registered users. How will this help marketers? By ensuring ads only display to relevant audiences, and enabling them to reach interested audiences they may have otherwise missed.

2. Facebook Changes the 20% Text Rule

In the past, advertisers were only permitted to have 20% of an ad to be made up of text. This left a lot of confusion on the side of the marketers, as we had to guess what was considered 20% text. Facebook has now decided to help eliminate the confusion by changing the rule.

Based on their research, Facebook says their users prefer ads with little to no text. To ensure they provide an optimal experience for their users, they are requiring ads to show as little text as possible. Ads will be judged on a scale from OK to high. You can test their ads by using Facebook’s Text Overlay Tool.

3. Instant Articles

Instant articles are designed to keep users in the Facebook app as long as possible and maximize exposure for publishers. This is a win for everyone, with readers getting faster content, publishers getting more readers, and Facebook getting more users to remain on their platform.

Initially, Facebook launched instant articles to a limited number of publishers, but it has now extended instant articles to all publishers, so everyone can get in on the action. Learn more about how to use instant articles for your business.

4. Organic Visibility

Over the past few years, Facebook has chosen to show less and less of our organic posts. The consistent excuse is that they want to provide a better user experience to its users by showing only the most relevant content. But, we can all read between the lines, and know this is a ploy  to force businesses to pay for advertising. You can count on visibility for your organic posts to continue to decline throughout 2016. If you are still relying solely on organic social media, you may want to consider revising your social media strategy.

Make sure to take advantage of all the new updates, but always remain flexible, as Facebook is sure to change things up again soon. Let us know how you are taking advantage of Facebook’s new features in the comments below.

Need help with your social media strategy? Give us a call today at 615-292-8642.