The recent changes to Facebook and Instagram, which have led to lower users’ reach through business posts, are expected to have a major impact on the marketing policies of travel agencies on social media.
In his announcement, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, informed users that in the coming weeks and months they will see less public content from businesses, brands and SMEs.
These changes, he said, began last year so that in 2018 they will be fully implemented across the whole platform.
The first changes will be applied to the News Feed where users will see more updates from friends, family and groups.
It is estimated that changes will also affect Facebook’s Instagram.
According to a Travelport survey presented in the autumn of 2017, 82% of American travelers aged 25 to 34 are affected by the content published in social media by travel brands, while 76% of 35-44 age-olds are inspired or affected by such content.
Marketing specialists in social media along with travel agency owners have been complaining for years that changes made by Facebook to news feeds algorithms make it harder to promote businesses on the platform and reach new customers with free publications.
Most experts estimate that small businesses such as travel agencies can currently reach only less than 10% of their followers, and, with the changes planned, this percentage will be further reduced.
The latest algorithm tested by facebook will force a large number of travel agents to pay for their presence in news feeds” says marketing consulatant and president of Borelli Strategies in Cleveland, Nick Borelli.
Mr. Zuckerberg notes in his announcement that changes come about due to the concentration of many comments by users that commercial publications absorb their personal moments and prevent them from connecting with other users.
This overload, as he estimates, is due to video material and other content that has gained large dimensions in Facebook over the past 2 years.
Nevertheless, he left a door for business marketing, if it involves significant interaction between people and close communities.
Therefore, changes can lead brands to focus on more content that users and public opinion influencers create in social media.
Mr. Borelli believes that for a brand to have its customers as friends on its personal page and emphasize on marketing strategies is an option.
In addition, Mr. Zuckerberg argued that Facebook offers greater benefits than live video streaming.
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