Organic reach on Facebook—that is, how much of your target audience sees "free" social posts—is now simply dismal. As a percentage, it's hovering in the low single digits, often as low as just 1 percent.
That means only a few (often literally only three or four people) see your window and door business posts unless you take some action. And by action, I mean digging into your marketing budget. The best way to boost reach on Facebook is by paying for advertising.
This isn't a new trend. Facebook's been shutting the window on organic reach for some time. Between October 2013 and February 2014, changes in Facebook algorithms meant businesses lost around 49 percent of organic reach on average. In 2016 and 2017, more changes reduced reach by another 52 percent from that already diminished number.
Why can't you connect organically with more customers on the social media platform?
First, there's a ton of competition. More than 60 million other companies are also publishing content. And consumers, who are drowning in brand posts and memes, statuses and photos from friends, are quick to shut out anything that doesn't matter to them in the moment.
Second, Facebook is also a business, and it makes a lot of its money from advertisers. Catering to companies that want to reach people for free simply isn't sound business.
With the window left open only a crack on organic reach, should you leave Facebook? Certainly not. Window and door companies still have a lot to gain from the network, which has 1.74 billion active users globally each month. Facebook statistics indicate that almost three out of four users in the United States are homeowners.
There's just too high a concentration of your target audience on Facebook's platform to forgo it altogether.
Facebook makes it easy and economical to pay for reach. You can boost a normal post or purchase ads on the platform, leveraging some easy but powerful targeting tools to get your message in front of people who may be most interested.
Still, window and door companies should continue to create some organic posts, especially when they have content that's shareable. That might include information about upcoming deals, how-to posts, or videos that are informational or entertaining. When users like, comment or share your posts, your organic reach increases.
