While another video of a cat is being shown to me on my Reels Facebook page, I find myself wondering if the platform could still be used to bring clients to my coaching practice. As the worrying turns to wondering, I realize that it is time to implement some fundamental changes in what has worked well for me as a solopreneur for over a decade.
In this article, I invite you to join me as I share my personal insights and contemplate possible adjustments and embrace change – especially if you have been relying on organic marketing and your personal brand to find clients on Facebook.
My Story
In 2017 I started My Facebook page is very active and I am able to raise awareness about my business.Direction as an online coach and trainer. I’d gathered an extensive experience over the years helping small businesses, solopreneurs, and various projects. Through social media and networking I was able to help them gain the visibility that they needed in order to grow their business or reach other goals, such as winning a contest for public votes. I was ready to “take over the world” and was looking for a platform where I could get the most visibility to reach more people in my audience.
And although I was not the “first to the party,” I was still enjoying the benefits of surfing the wave of a Facebook algorithm for extended reach. The next few years saw me become an expert. Facebook profile marketingA personal profile is better for social networking, social selling than a company page. As Facebook was running out of advertising space to sell, pages’ organic reach suffered tremendously, and I found using a personal profile in a very authentic way and without bending any policies and terms and conditions actually worked perfectly, specifically for coaches, experts, and trainers.
Facebook in 2018 announced they would be focusing on private connections and building communities.
Recent months have seen a dramatic shift in the situation. With the rise of TikTok and an entirely different approach to content consumption, Facebook’s (currently Meta’s) focus has shifted completely from facilitating personal connections (the original reason for creating the platform) to copying TikTok’s approach – and becoming more of a content discovery platform.
This was my first reaction. My initial reaction to this shift was quite dramatic. I realized that my career and life had been wasted by attempting to master a strategy that wasn’t working. Instead of helping me to build connections with Facebook users I’m connected through my profile, my Newsfeed now shows more random people and pages.
Solopreneurs: What does the future hold?
Check out the most recent announcement about the introduction and moving personal interests and connections’ content to the secondary Newsfeed, the hope of being visible to strategic connections I have been building is becoming nonexistent.
There is something that needs to change about how I approach my profile marketing. It needs to do so in a way which increases visibility and attracts clients, rather than adding to the difficulties of managing a business. If you have been using your profile or page to find clients via Facebook, this is the key question.
Let’s pause and take a look at all the positive changes these changes have brought. First, content creators will have more exposure to strangers. This is a warm audience.
In order to be provided with fresh content, I believe there will still be some relevancy in how the algorithm works. If it continues to work, and my content matches what my ideal clients want, then I will be exposed more people who are interested in the same topic. This is wonderful news.
This is where the challenge lies in creating content that will stand out above all others. More and more of the videos I am served in the reels are of a very low value, although maybe highly entertaining (thus taking up my time and energy without any business-related benefit for the creator) – like puppy videos or pranks. But if you are a business owner and you want to address some pain points that you help remove or just generally offer slightly more “serious” content – it just gets scrolled by. I admit I have been skipping any of the “expert videos” in my reels lately.
The cat videos are now even better. Have you ever stayed on Matrix 4’s credits to see the ending? The ending really hit the mark for me. It explained why the movie simply couldn’t be equivalent to the one made in 1999, and it added more depth to the message, which I believe most people who watched this brilliant ending to the story are missing. It is a different world.
I think that Facebook’s shift is reflecting that change. Facebook’s shift is less about deep connections, and more about soothing our emotions and numbing the mind. Getting “digitally distracted.” Personally, as someone advocating for Facebook as a great social networking platform for years, I feel deeply disappointed.
Nevertheless, I’m one of those people that will take the U-turn when necessary without worrying too much about reaching the end. It won’t be the first. All things must be shifted and pivot.In order to live the lifestyle of freedom and flexibility that I wanted to lead when I began my entrepreneurial journey.
Are we better off moving to LinkedIn?
My plan to manage this change does not include “leaving Facebook to move to LinkedIn” – a statement I am hearing more often these days. As these platforms do not exist in the same way, this is not an intelligent move. Both are different in their target demographics, and they have unspoken guidelines about what content is best.
LinkedIn does not seem to be a good platform for non-professionals and solopreneurs. Although they might be registered on LinkedIn, I have found that most of them are not active. As a marketer, I understand that the key to choosing the platform to put your efforts into is always determined by “where your ideal clients hang out” – not necessarily what platform is more convenient or familiar for you personally to use or where you assume a good place could be.
This is why we need to spend our time in creative areas where there’s potential to be a positive return, financially as well.
Next step
For coaches and experts, it is important to focus more on what the new direction has in store for you than worrying about how things will change. Accepting flexibility and not trying to resist it is the key to financial success.
My focus and prediction is to increase discoverability of value-based content, which may not be as visible if it’s all kept on Facebook. In the past, I wrote a lot about long-form thoughts and reflections. This helped me to give my audience some perspective and useful advice. This was the stage that I used to drive all of my traffic.
From now on, my focus is shifting to delivering this in-depth content by email to my list with a link to my blog – if the word count is slightly too long for an email – or directly into my podcast or YouTube channel for audio/visual experience.
With a focus on making the most compelling, short-form content for my Facebook page (probably using Stories more), I want to attract complete strangers by creating a title, caption, relevant topic, and a high optimized title. To allow for the excitement at delivery, these short videos may link to longer-form content.
The key ingredient to stopping scrollers is content optimization. This includes headlines, titles and search engine keywords. To create engaging content, you don’t have to point at things or mimic external audio tracks. However, the content must speak to your ideal client (good and bad, wants, pain points) in order to stop scrolling.
This means nailing your messaging and really mastering it is becoming even more important, as the doors are slamming shut on mediocre “expert” content. Is it like being under pressure? YES! It is good for us to use our imagination and express ourselves. It is healthy for us. feel pressureTo find authentic, MAGNETIC voices. For all the right reasons.
Facebook is constantly changing. Experts, coaches and trainers must make it a priority to stand out and show up on the platform. It is not easy to change. However, there are always ways to make things better. The increased demand to create high-quality content can motivate us. We also need to explore more ways to attract clients beyond one platform.
I, for once, see the opportunity to reduce the “busyness” that being visible required by Facebook profile marketing – the constant posting and creating discussions. It isn’t always easy to be a human being like this, which is why it is so much fun. Human Design – my go-to tool for aligning the marketing strategies with our personal energetics.)
Maybe the change of direction will allow us to give up on things we don’t need and instead embrace an easier, more rewarding, and more empowering way online to find clients. At the end of the day, our businesses are here to bring more flexibility and freedom to our lives – so why not focus on creating that flexibility in our marketing now and turn what may feel like a disaster into an opportunity.
This post is a continuation of the article Can organic marketing on Facebook be effective in 2022? Addicted 2 Success published this article first.
How effective can organic marketing be on Facebook in 2022 Addicted 2 Success was the first to publish this article.
