Must Read: Why You Should Quit Facebook Advertising

If you do have a Facebook page, you’re probably aware that Facebook uses an algorithm called EdgeRank to limit who sees your posts. So even though you may have 1000 people who have liked your brand Page, only a fraction will be shown your latest post. Like I said in this post about the swift declination of facebook ads outcome and post reach algorithm.

But now, that reach is getting even worse. Facebook has admitted that organic reach for Business Pages is declining. And instead of helping businesses to reach more fans organically, is urging businesses to pay for ads.
Let me say that again. Facebook is hiding your posts from more and more of your fans, and telling you to pay more to get those posts seen again.

According to comments obtained by AdAge.com, Facebook says that,

"We expect organic distribution of an individual page's posts to gradually decline over time as we continually work to make sure people have a meaningful experience on the site.”

Is This The End of Facebook for Business?
So here’s the problem with using Facebook for Business. You must create a Page, not a Profile. In order to get more eyeballs on your Page, you need to pay Facebook for sponsored posts and ads. And once you’ve paid to get targeted fans to Like your Page, you have to pay again to get them to see your updates. Anyone not named Zuckerberg have a problem with this formula?

Many Companies and businesses spend a lot of Dollars to run adverts on Facebook without meeting their targets.
Below is an annual summary of one Business Page:
Dollars Spent: $392.00
Clicks Received: 1223
Cost Per Click: $0.36
One might argue that, as a purely Per Click analysis, that wasn’t a bad ad spend.
But let’s do some comparison analysis as well.
Website Traffic for Alltechtutors in 2015
Facebook: 1,488
Twitter: 3,039
Google+: 4,828

That means that my paid advertising on Facebook only resulted in 10% of my Facebook traffic, the rest was organic. And when I look at the monthly Facebook traffic over the past year, I see it declining.

(January, 2016 was particularly high due to one article revealing upcoming changes to Facebook's timeline.) On the other hand, traffic from Twitter and Google+ is not only dominating my referral traffic, they’re also continuing to grow. And guess what, I haven’t spent a dime on Twitter or Google+. Results may vary.

Of course, not everyone will have these same numbers. In fact, I daresay my own site is a bit unique to have this kind of mix from social networks. But the fact remains, even if you’re having success on Facebook, how long will that continue? What does your organic traffic from Facebook look like in comparison to your paid traffic. And more importantly, how much more are you willing to pay?
I’ll be the first to admit that my ad spend on Facebook hasn’t been a large investment. I’m sure there are many businesses spending more. And I’m also sure that other businesses have been more successful, either through better crafted ads or because the nature of their business is more compatible with Facebook.

But the real problem, I think, is that businesses are allowing Facebook to perpetuate this system and encourage it. Facebook is creating a Pay to Play system and everyone who participates is feeding the system.
Think I’m exaggerating? Maybe. How long before businesses have to pay for every post to be seen by even one person? My average reach right now for a shared link is fifty. FIFTY! Out of 1,100+ fans, I am getting an organic reach of 4%. That’s not a fraction, that’s a joke.
It’s like a city that keeps raising taxes on residents. As taxes go up, more and more residents decide to move someplace else where the cost of living isn’t as high. But that results in lost tax revenue for the city so to compensate, they raise taxes on the remaining residents.

As businesses flock to Google+ and Twitter to find more intuitive ways to use social media for marketing and networking, will Facebook continue to squeeze the remaining businesses?
What’s the Alternative?
For businesses that are having a lot of success on Facebook, by no means am I advocating that you stop. If you have a large, engaged following, continue to build on that! And if you’re having success paying for ads and reach, feel free to continue.
Photo: KATIELANCE.COM

Recommended: How To Create a Facebook Business Page