Okay, I know this is getting ridiculous, but I think I am now addicted to social media. In my country, people call those addicted to social media as “Mr/Ms/Mrs Post-it-all” – those who post every single thing that happens in their life to social media the moment it happens. I’m not trying to sound like Ms. Know-it-all, but I’m pretty sure that nickname is not considered as a compliment at all. I’m not sure if I want to admit it or not, but for the sake of this article, I’m going to be as honest with you as possible, yes I can say I’m addicted to social media, but I don’t always post it all as I only post precious moments, which is a rare phenomenon; however, when I say I’m addicted to social media, that means I am addicted to the content I see on social media. Oftentimes, it’s either memes or online shops, but mostly online shops. Why? That’s because every month I am always excited to buy new stuff and looking at online shops on social media helps me get a better understanding of the products I want to buy. Facebook is one of my favourite social media platforms when it comes to shopping, because Facebook lets users save photos in organised and easily categorised albums. Therefore, for someone who likes to shop like me, looking at product photos is easier if done on Facebook.

Speaking of Facebook, in the early month of March, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced sweeping changes to come to its platforms, in a note, “A Privacy-Focused Vision for Social Networking.” This got my attention and of course, the attention of many business owners who have been using Facebook as their business social media platform. So, how do these changes affect or impact brands in the business world? Keep reading to find out!

The rise in the importance of influencers

There is just one thing for sure that is evident in the changes Facebook made is that Facebook is now focused on getting things more private and secure. With Facebook story features that are only shareable to friends, you don’t have to worry about advertising your business. As the years go by, the growing use of social media influencers has been popularised by big companies. Hiring influencers is a better option for small businesses, since it won’t cost higher than hiring big-name celebrities. The good news is; you can still work with influencers and micro-influencers to get your content and product in front of more people. Although Facebook is now more focused on private content, people are still likely to share content with their friends, family or their small groups, and those very same people may follow social media influencers that they look up to. When you build good relationships and collaboration with key influencers, they will help you reach your target audience in a more effective way.

Social network messaging

We all used to receive newsletters through emails from companies directly selling their products to us. Now with Facebook changes, you can build your sales through social network messaging both paid and organic. With more private approach, companies can send messages to their target audience directly through Facebook.

Having a business is about observing current situation, adapting to it and trying to make changes that can benefit the business. That’s what Zuckerberg does and maybe you can also learn from him. Although Facebook has become more private (slowly but surely), there is no reason for businesses to quit using Facebook for their social media campaign. When I say that you can learn from Zuckerberg, you can implement this method to adapt to changes easily.