The era of organic reach on the Facebook platform has seemingly come to an end, giving rise to an era in which paid reach is the only method for guaranteed reach. This paper examines how brands and marketers can adapt to this new era.

1. NAVIGATING TH E
N EW ER A OF
FACEBOOK
JULY / 2014

2. FOR QUITE SOME TIME
NOW, BRANDS HAVE
BEEN ACCUSTOMED
TO THE PERKS OF
ORGANIC REACH ON THE
FACEBOOK PLATFORM.
WE ADAPTED NEW TOOLS
AND TERMINOLOGY
RELATING SPECIFICALLY
TO ADVERTISING ON
FACEBOOK, INCLUDING
ENGAGEMENT, BRAND
PAGES, AND A NEW
CREATIVE CANVAS
COMPRISED OF APPS AND
CUSTOM BUILDS. ALL OF
THIS WAS PREDICATED ON
THE POSSIBILITY FOR
ORGANIC REACH.

3. BUT NOW, AS FACEBOOK
SHIFTS ITS NEWSFEED
ALGORITHMS TO ADJUST
FOR THE MASSIVE
AMOUNT OF CONTENT
IT FEEDS TO USERS,
WE ARE WITNESSING A
STRATEGIC SHIFT AWAY
FROM ORGANIC REACH
AND TOWARDS PAID
REACH, WHICH BEGS
THE QUESTION:
HOW HAS THE
OPPORTUNITY FOR
BRANDS EVOLVED
ON FACEBOOK,
AND HOW CAN
WE ADAPT?

4. HERE IS A BRIEF OVERVIEW:
YOUR CREATIVE CANVAS IS
NOW A :15 VIDEO.
Facebook has clearly hinted that the new creative canvas for
brands should be about images and videos, particularly the :15
video format. And no, this is not an invitation from Facebook
to begin slapping traditional TV ads into the newsfeed. Rather,
they are inviting custom created content that abides by the
usual rules of branded social media – entertain me, educate me,
and add value.

5. YOU NEED TO PAY
FOR PEOPLE TO SEE IT.
Paid support of Facebook content is no longer just encouraged;
now, it’s a requirement. This shouldn’t come as any surprise, as
the earned reach model has been on its way out for some time.

6. ...AND GET SMART WITH
TARGETING.
At 1.28B monthly active users, Facebook is still the most widely
used social media platform, and with its vast user data, it has the
potential to rival Google in its targeting capabilities. For instance,
using a creative and scientific approach to Facebook targeting,
it would be possible for a home improvement company to target
users who have been browsing real estate content, or for a shoe
company to identify users who have been posting about an
upcoming marathon.
GET CREATIVE...

7. CONSIDERING THESE
DEVELOPMENTS ON THE
FACEBOOK PLATFORM,
HERE ARE THE STEPS
YOUR BRAND TEAM
CAN TAKE TO PREPARE
FOR A NEW FACEBOOK ERA,
ONE IN WHICH PAID POSTS
ARE THE ONLY PATH TO
GUARANTEED REACH
$=

8. STEP 1: REFLECT
This is as good a time as any to take a step back and reflect upon
your brand’s earned-first Facebook strategy and the equities
you have as a result. In order to fully capitalize on the unique
demographic data that Facebook can provide, brands will need a
better understanding of the assets they have already accrued on
the platform, generally consisting of:

9. A STRONG FAN BASE.
The beauty of your brand’s Facebook
community is that every single person liked
the page on their own accord. These people
shouldn’t be forgotten about and it is in your
brand’s best interest to learn as much as
possible about these people and why they
follow the brand. You may learn that these
people should be calculated into future
targeting efforts.
AN UNDERSTANDING OF
THE TYPES OF CONTENT
THAT DELIVER RESULTS.
An earned-first Facebook strategy is a grind;
there is a constant fine-tuning of the brand’s
strategy and content in order to deliver
results. The endurance built up during this
process will serve your brand well in the new
era of Facebook.
A PULSE OF THE
CONSUMER BASE.
Facebook has opened a direct line of
communication between consumers and
your brand, effectively illuminating your
consumers’ concerns, needs and desires.
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10. STEP 2: REDEFINE
The demise of earned reach also means that your team needs
to redefine:

11. THE APPROACH.
It’s no longer earned.
It it’s paid.
THE SUCCESS METRICS.
They are no longer engagement and
fan acquisition; they are now trials
and conversions.
THE AUDIENCE.
It’s not your fans (although you should take a
long, hard look at who your fans are to help
define your new audience); it’s your best
potential customer.
THE CONTENT
It’s not about engaging existing fans;
it’s about resonating with a narrow
consumer base.
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12. !
STEP 3: RESTRUCTURE
In order to transition into the new era of Facebook, your brand team
will need to restructure around:

13. RENEWED CONTENT
CALENDARS.
Many brands won’t be able to support all
seven planned posts per week under a paid-
only structure; the good news, however,
is that you don’t have to. In this new era,
Facebook is telling brands that it is more
important to post great creative that
resonates with a specific audience rather
than just posting for the sake of generating
content.
NARROWER TARGETING.
Start working with your digital strategy and
planning teams. Together you can begin to
evaluate the equities from your Facebook
efforts to date, the opportunities to engage
with key audiences on the platform, and the
new approach to the channel.
RENEWED CONTENT
STRATEGY.
Leveraging the learnings from your earned-
first content strategy, your team will need
to refocus content around the new audience
with tighter messaging that speaks to their
needs. Similar to an earned-first approach,
you should continue to experiment with
different types of paid content using efficient
tactics like A/B testing and dark posting.
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14. FACEBOOK’S SHIFT AWAY
FROM EARNED REACH HAS
PROVEN FRUSTRATING FOR
MANY BRANDS, AND SOME
HAVE GIVEN UP ON THE
PLATFORM ALTOGETHER.
HOWEVER, IT IS IMPORTANT TO
RECOGNIZE THAT FACEBOOK
PROVIDES AN UNPARALLELED
OPPORTUNITY TO REACH
CONSUMERS WHERE THEY
ARE MOST ACTIVE. AND FOR
MARKETERS WHO CHOOSE TO
USE THE PLATFORM IN THIS
WAY, FACEBOOK PROMISES
TO OFFER BEST IN
CLASS TARGETING
CAPABILITIES. $

15. Paid Reach:
NAVIGATING THE NEW ERA OF FACEBOOK
by
AVA SIRRAH
STEPHANIE TROW
edited by
REBECCA NADILO
DANIEL CHARNESS
designed by
NAOYUKI SUEMURA (AKA NINJA)
WHITTLINE BLANC JEAN-PAILLANT
WWW.BBDO.COM
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