The wagons have been circled and Facebook appears to be under siege from all quarters. The average reach for organic posts has plummeted to 6 percent, and Facebook appears to be preparing the social media community for the day when organic reach hits zero. Organic reach is simply the number of unique Facebook users who are able to view free updates to your business page.

Organic reach has declined because the sheer volume of available content for any given Facebook page far outweighs the ability of the user to absorb it all. According to Facebook, an average of 1,500 pieces of eligible content could appear in any given user’s News Feed. Depending on the number of friends and Page likes, a user could potentially have as many as 15,000 eligible stories displayed with every log on.

Competition for News Feed stories is intense, and it’s getting harder for any given story to receive the exposure in News Feed that it might have attracted in the past. The fact that the total number of Pages liked by the average Facebook user has grown by 50 percent over the last year has only worsened an already unworkable situation – there is just too much content competing for too little digital real estate.

How Facebook Decides What Content to Display

• Facebook uses a sophisticated algorithm that ranks content based on hundreds of factors relative to each individual Facebook user.
• The most relative content for that user is sorted according to importance and quality, and about 300 of the top stories out of an average of 1,500 are displayed for the user.
• Facebook has also been aggressively filtering out spammy content in News Feed, helping to ensure that only the highest quality and most user-relevant content is displayed in News Feed.

Why Facebook is Still a Great Marketing Opportunity
The sheer volume of content means that Facebook organic posts are going to be more effective when combined with a paid promotion option. Despite the fact that organic reach is declining, social media marketing through Facebook Page posting makes good business sense for a number of reasons.

Facebook is still the King of all social media. Facebook is the largest social media network around, attracting more than one billion active users each month. It makes little sense to turn your back on that kind of audience.

Many consumers consider a Facebook page a business necessity. In today’s world, a business without a Facebook presence is like a business without a website: people simply expect your business to have one. Facebook conveys a sense of legitimacy to your organization.

A Facebook presence helps drive more traffic to your website. A recent study has shown that Facebook drives nearly 25 percent of all website traffic. When your Facebook Page is tied to your business website, you’ll receive more traffic from consumers hungry for more information about your company and products.

Facebook provides a valuable customer service opportunity. When users post questions and issues about your products on Facebook, you can publicly address common concerns that will benefit other customers with similar issues.

Facebook is still one of the cheapest methods of engaging current and potential customers. Facebook paid options include News Feed and right-hand column ads, boosted and promoted posts, and ad retargeting. Whichever you choose to promote your Facebook presence, an investment in your brand page is one of the most cost-effective means of building and engaging with your audience.