Facebook Changes Creating Headaches for Businesses

Facebook Changes Creating Headaches for Businesses

In an effort to decrease the amount of false news and fraud spread across the platform, Facebook has added another obstacle businesses must overcome when posting their content to the social media channel. Though we can appreciate this from a security standpoint, it does pose extra challenges for businesses regularly posting to Facebook. Social Spice Media reveals the new changes and what businesses can do to overcome them thanks to the help from our Facebook account rep.  
What is the change?
Last summer, Facebook took away “…the ability to overwrite metadata for previews attached to link posts.” What is metadata? It is simply the data pulled from the website that displays as the title and caption in a linked post. Sometimes, metadata can contain code, repetitive information, or be optimized for SEO instead of social. Facebook’s Advertiser Help Center provides various questions and answers explaining the most recent change of a complete loss of customization. Headlines, display links, meta descriptions and images that populate from the website can no longer be altered. Businesses have slowly lost features like this while Facebook works toward a solution to create a safer social space. Without the ability to customize link previews, businesses are left with two options: post custom photos in place of the link previews or continually post the images and text that auto populate from the links you share. Both of these options can reduce your engagement and create a drop in traffic. Uploading photos in place of link covers can cause users to select the photo, zooming in on the image and directing them away from the link you want them to click. Continually posting the same photos and images that auto populate from your website demonstrates repetition and users can easily begin ignoring your posts if they already know what to expect.  
What are the goals?
We got the specific details from one of our Facebook experts, revealing that the changes are a product of security and transparency in an informational guide. The document revealed their goals, why the process changed, and how businesses can overcome the changes. After the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, Facebook has been tirelessly coming up with new ways to enhance their platform for all its users. This includes decreasing the amount of false news that is spread as well as controlling fraudulent activity. People pose as legitimate sources when, in reality, the links and photos create a misleading post that redirect users to fraudulent sites. As a result, business and personal Facebook users are unable to add any level of customization to their posts unless they have the secret key to regain access to these features.  
What is the workaround?
After many emails and calls with our Facebook contacts, Social Spice finally found the missing ingredient to a very important recipe. A domain verification process is required for businesses to gain control of editing link previews and images. The process can be difficult for small businesses who do not have the knowledge or resources to make the change, putting your company at a greater risk for loss of engagement and reduced brand exposure. Our experts have experience working directly with Facebook to resolve the issue for our clients.  
Why does this matter for social media?
Social media has made it easy to share information with people, which means repetition can be difficult to avoid. Customization gives your business an advantage in posting unique content that stand outs and grabs attention. With custom links, images, and copy that attracts your demographic, you foster greater success across Facebook’s platform. As Facebook continues to take the lead as the most popular social networking site, it is crucial to create custom content that will leave an impression on users. You have the opportunity to reach over 2.2 billion active users. What will you do to reach them? Get in touch with Social Spice Media to develop and manage your business’s social media presence. Our team has the secret ingredients to success to ensure your business is at the forefront of the competition.