Tuesday, January 23, 2018

What You Need to Know About the New Facebook Algorithm

Facebook recently announced that it will be rolling out a new algorithm, and it has gotten brands and businesses alike abuzz with worry about what these changes mean for them. The reality is that your newsfeed will favour content from your friends, family, and groups over business pages, which really, is what Facebook was originally all about. 

Yes, unfortunately your organic reach will probably drop. The good news? These changes forces brands to up their content game. We've been preaching quality over quantity for years, and that earning engagement online is like winning the Stanley Cup of social media, and platforms are finally getting on board. 

How can your brand stand out with these changes?

·      Comments = King
The new algorithm favours authentic engagement above everything else. Not only should you be taking the time to comment on others posts, but you should focus your posts on asking thought provoking questions and encouraging engagement as well.

What not to do: Increasing engagement does not mean bugging your audience to comment on every. single. post. You wouldn’t do this in real life, so don’t do it online either.

·      Now is the time to give Facebook Live a try
The keyword here is live. According to Mark Zuckerberg “live videos often lead to discussion among viewers on Facebook – in fact, live videos on average get six times as many interactions as regular videos.”

What not to do: Of coure this isn’t a catchall; use Facebook live when appropriate but don’t overkill it with irrelevant topics. Does your breakfast really need to be shared on Facebook live? Probably not.

·      Personal branding is where it’s at
Think outside the box of your business page. Use your personal account to build relationships and reach people. If you are an entrepreneur or business owner, it’s pretty much expected that you eat, breathe, and live your business, so why not spark conversations with your network about ideas or hear their suggestions?

What not to do: There’s a fine line between promoting your biz and spamming. Building relationships does not mean talking about your biz 24/7; it’s about nurturing your current connections through a wide range of personal and professional conversations. 

·      Be a good listener
Listening skills are going to be even more important with these changes. The only way to have an accurate pulse on who your audience actually is, is to listen to them. Take the time to hear what they care about, what they’re talking about, and where they spend their time online.

What not to do: Don’t forget to listen to your competitors too. You probably share an audience, so if they aren’t talking about you, they just might be talking about them.

Facebook returning to it’s roots means that your brand should as well. Think back on the classic building blocks of relationships and communications – creating trust, two-way conversations, and transparency. 

Social media doesn't replace real relationships; it merely provides a medium to further them. The key here is to treat your online relationships the same as you would if you were face to face, and by the sounds of it, this new algorithm will reward real relationships accordingly and help cut out the fake news. 

What do you think of these changes? Do you have any concerns?

Thursday, January 4, 2018

Twitter Chats 101

Congratulations! You finally joined the Twitter world, and are ready to dive in. Although if you are in the Public Relations field, you have hopefully been on Twitter for some time now. Here at Bowda, we love Twitter chats. They are a great way to connect with colleagues on a global level, and engage in great conversations.


What is a Twitter chat anyways? A Twitter chat is a scheduled discussion around a specific topic. Twitter users participate by following a designated hashtag and including it in their own tweets. Most chats take place over an hour, and happen one to four times a month.


Here are our top 3 tips for participating in a Twitter chat:


  1. Find a Twitter chat that interests you. There are plenty of resources that provide lists of current Twitter chats. We suggest using Tweet Report’s website as they have a great list of chats organized by day of the week. Check them out here: http://www.tweetreports.com/twitter-chat-schedule/
Since Twitter chats can be global, remember to check their timezone. Once you have picked a chat, schedule it into your calendar so you don’t miss it. Just a few that we participate in are: #HootChat, #Bufferchat, #SocialROI and #semrushchat.


  1. Prepare your toolkit. Twitter chats are fast paced, and over before you know it. Here are a few free tools to help you follow along:
Tweetchat uses the hashtag given and provides you with a feed similar to Twitter that is the specific chat. This stream is updated in real time, and you can easily RT and create your own tweets while using it. Plus they include the hashtag for you, so you don’t have to worry about forgetting it.  
Tweetdeck is similar. You enter your hashtag and authorize your account to start, and the rest is simple. This tool allows you to create multiple columns so you can see all aspects of the chat at once. You can event schedule a tweet within the program.
Access both tools here:


  1. Get involved and follow up. Twitter chats are fun, and you can learn a lot while participating! For many people’s first Twitter chats, they simply observe. Once you are comfortable, you can start replying to questions yourself and adding your own input. It is great to retweet tweets you agree with, and tweet at your fellow participants. Do not hesitate to follow users and thank others for following you. Just as you should at a networking event, follow up with people after a chat! This is a key to expanding your reach and network on Twitter.


There you have it, our top 3 tips for Twitter chats! Each chat is a great opportunity to expand your network, and learn about the topic at hand. Now that you know how, and why to participate in Twitter chats, we hope you put these tips to use. Happy tweeting!