My phone and email have been non-stop since Thursday regarding Facebook's "new" algorithm and statement regarding business pages and posts. Everyone was panicked, almost hysterical, asking how and why Facebook would do this to small business. Well, if you've paid any attention to Facebook, at all, the writing was on the wall for months. And, no, there's no need to panic and here's why:

1. First and foremost, you shouldn't be relying on Facebook alone for your social media marketing. Believe it or not, there are other social media platforms out there and you should have already known how to market your business on them - including LinkedIn by the way!
2. Second, I've been preaching for months that we all need to be utilizing boosts, promotions and ad sets on Facebook. You can still reach more people through a very affordable monthly budget and be very effective with your social media marketing - if you know what you're doing.
3. Think local! I'm giving each of you a big nugget here. My posts that are local and that tag other local businesses and/or events have done very well. That's all I'm going to say, you can figure the rest out and you're welcome.
4. The whole "please like, share and comment" on posts, which is now heavily frowned upon by Facebook, was really corny anyway. You should be providing information and value, not asking for likes, shares and comments.
5. Lastly, do NOT stop posting on your Facebook business page. Even if your reach and engagement take a hit, you're speculating no one will ever go to visit your page ever again. You still need to provide value and information to engage with your community.

So when I got all these messages, sorry if I didn't respond with the same panic or hysteria. It's just we've been posting the way Facebook has driven us for awhile now, which is a few organic posts each week, complemented with some boosts, promotions and ad sets (you're welcome for your second big nugget by the way).