If your Facebook business page updates look like ads, your customers will be seeing fewer and fewer of them beginning in January. In an announcement on Friday, Facebook said the new policy comes after research that reveals (drum-roll, please) people get tired of things that look like advertising in their news feed (the posts from friends and companies you follow). “People told us they wanted to see (in their newsfeed) more stories from friends and Pages they care about, and less promotional content.”

As we’ve shared before, the only way you can be sure that customers who “like” you will see your posts and status updates are to pay to “boost” their appearance (translation: pay to play).

Here’are samples of the types of updates or posts Facebook says will have less visibility beginning in January:

Facebook ads that aren't encouraged

Facebook is trying to shift the perception of users that a business page should be a destination (like a company’s website), not just a platform to send out promotional messages to customers (like a Twitter account). To underscore this strategy, the company says it is adding more features to business pages, including “messaging to (allow customers to) communicate with a business directly or browsing video and photo content (and) customized pages based on the industry a business is in.”

Related Articles