Is it Time to Say Goodbye to Facebook?

So, you finally got your public sector organization on Facebook, you set up a page, and over a few months or years you slowly cultivated a strong group of engaged stakeholders. You were gaining fans, your posts were getting better and better, and everything seemed to be going swimmingly. Then one day you began to notice that the likes and comments didn’t seem to roll in like they used to. You were posting the same types of content at the same times, but it just didn’t seem to be effective as it once was. No matter what you did, the engagement on your agency’s Facebook page continued to plummet.

Sound familiar? If it does, don’t worry: you’re not even remotely alone.

In December 2013, Facebook changed the algorithm that determines what posts users see in their News Feed. Unless you were able to pony up the cash to pay for sponsored posts, the vast majority of your organization’s posts would only show up in the News Feeds of roughly 10% of your fans. So, if 1,000 people liked your page, only 100 of them would actually continue seeing your posts.

This move effectively ended organic reach on Facebook for organizations and negated why many of them joined it to begin with. While it is still possible to hit a large number of people through paid ads, unfortunately that isn’t always the best option for public sector agencies. The age of Facebook as a free, useful tool for communicating with your stakeholders is dwindling. As many young people choose to delete their profiles or avoid joining in the first place, a fair number of organizations are beginning to follow suit.

So, what does this mean for your organization and how can you start preparing for your agency to possibly make the move off of Facebook?

In our upcoming webinar with GovLoop, “Does Government Need an Exit Strategy for Facebook?” we’ll address just that question. Presenters Derek Belt, Social Media Specialist in King County, WA; Maurice Chaney, Media and Communications Specialist in Sacramento, CA; and Amy Larsen, Client Success Consultant at GovDelivery will discuss the changing trends in digital communications, how their organizations’ combated plummeting social media engagement, and strategies your agency can apply to its own digital communications plan given the current climate.

Register for the webinar here and feel free to tweet in your questions for the panelists to @GovDelivery with the hashtag #GovD14 before the webinar, or bring them along for the live chat.