8 Ways Facebook May Be Hurting Your Business

Are you using Facebook to promote your business? You may think that it’s a great way to reach potential customers, but it’s possible that it’s doing more harm than good. Read on to learn more about 8 ways Facebook may be hurting your business.

1. The News Feed Algorithm May Not Be Showing Customers Your Posts

Facebook’s News Feed algorithm determines what content users see on their feeds and it can have a major impact on businesses. The algorithm is constantly changing and being tweaked to make sure users see relevant content and to prevent people from being overwhelmed with posts from their friends or the pages they like. Unfortunately, this means that it can be difficult for businesses to get their content seen by their target audience. The algorithm favors personal posts over business posts, so even if your followers enjoy your content, Facebook may not be showing it to them.

2. Organic Reach is Declining

In recent years, organic reach on Facebook has been declining. This means that businesses are seeing fewer people engage with their posts and content without paying for it. The reason for this is that Facebook is actively reducing the amount of organic content users are seeing in their News Feed. Additionally, Facebook reduces the reach of posts that get low engagement, as they assume these posts are not relevant to the user even though the limitations they place on your posts contribute to that low engagement. This forces businesses to pay for their posts to be seen by a wider audience. 

3. Paid Advertising is Getting More Expensive

As organic reach is declining, businesses are turning to paid advertising on Facebook to get their message out. However, this comes with its own set of challenges. The cost of paid ads is increasing due to the algorithm changes and competition. Facebook’s algorithm gives priority to ads with higher budgets, which means that businesses have to spend more money to get their ads seen. Additionally, as more businesses move towards paid ads, competition for ad space increases, driving up prices even further. This can make it difficult for small businesses with limited budgets to compete.

4. Time Spent on Facebook is Declining

According to reports, the amount of time people spend on Facebook has been declining in recent months. This is due to the fact that users are becoming more discerning in how they use social media platforms, and that more people are turning to other social media channels for various reasons. Users get disgruntled and find other options when social media platforms get embroiled in one controversy after another or when they restrict accounts due to censorship bans that users can do nothing about. Often these bans are managed by artificial intelligence instead of real people, so users have no way of overturning them. Rather that visit a site they are banned from using, users migrate to other platforms that promise fewer restrictions. As a result, businesses can expect fewer eyeballs on their content, making it harder for them to reach their target audiences across multiple social media platforms.

5. It’s Not Where Users Are Going to Find Your Business

Savvy users looking to find a business realize that searching on Facebook is only going to yield results for businesses with a Facebook page. They know the most efficient way to search for a business is through a search engine, like Google, where your Facebook page may not even show up in the results. Focusing most or all of your marketing on Facebook not only causes you to miss the users who don’t use Facebook, but it also causes you to miss a vast audience that generally avoids social media usage altogether.

6. Users Are Getting More Skeptical

It’s no secret that users are becoming increasingly skeptical of the content they consume on social media platforms like Facebook. With the prevalence of fake accounts, scam sites, bots, and sponsored content, it can be difficult to trust anything we see online. This is especially true when it comes to businesses on Facebook, as many consumers are wary of pages being run by scammers, who create pages that disappear after they place an order. These pages are created faster than Facebook can investigate and remove them, exposing more and more users to losses through fraudulent Facebook pages. For businesses, this means that it’s harder than ever to connect with potential customers and earn their trust. Even if your content is useful and engaging, it’s likely that users will view it with a degree of skepticism.

7. Some of the User Accounts Are Duplicates or Bots

In recent years, the use of bots and other automated accounts has become more widespread on Facebook. This has caused some to worry that the platform is becoming increasingly cluttered with fake or duplicate accounts. While it can be difficult to measure the exact impact of these accounts, it’s important to be aware of their presence. Some of the most common types of bots include those that automatically post content, comment on posts, and like pages. These bots can create the illusion of increased engagement, but they often lack the same level of interaction as real users. Additionally, many of these bots are used for spam and malicious purposes. However, not all duplicate accounts are created with malicious intent. It’s common for people to create multiple accounts for different purposes, like a work account and a personal account. However, this can dilute your advertising dollars when Facebook is showing your ad to the same user, but counting the engagement as two different people. 

8. Constant Managing of Possible Negative Customer Reviews

Negative customer reviews can be devastating to a business’s reputation and bottom line, especially when they appear on social media sites like Facebook. Not only are they seen by potential customers, but they can be shared widely across networks, further hurting your brand’s reputation. Facebook business accounts require constant management to make sure that negative comments and reviews are addressed, otherwise, it gives the impression that you’re ignoring angry customers. That can be a problem for business owners who don’t have the time to manage social media accounts while trying to run their business. 

In the next article, we will address why having your own business website is an essential tool to help you engage with customers and avoid some of the potential pitfalls associated with marketing a business on Facebook.