Lately, Facebook has been working on multiple fronts to increase the level of users’ engagement on the platform, since the reach and engagement has been dropping as a result of another alteration to their algorithm. Less engagement means fewer people using the platform throughout the day and less interaction each time they do use it. In turn, that means less advertising money, which, let’s face it, is the reason Facebook exists.
Their latest salvo in their effort to bring engagement levels back up is a new rating system for Brand Pages. It seems that Facebook is testing out this new feature on a limited number of Pages. As you can see on this Brand Page for Cook Children’s, there is now a 5-star rating system (on mobile, it may be a 10-point rating system). Users can add their own rating and comments on this new Reviews tab.
For brands, this is another important change on the horizon. At Syneos HealthTM, we have always contended that brands must have great, engaging content like videos, conversation-starters, infographics, and the like. But now, with users able to “score down” a page, it will be more important than ever to maintain an engaging Brand Page. I would suspect that Brand Pages with low scores will be even less likely to appear in their fans’ news feeds, forcing those brands to spend more money for paid promotion of their Facebook content.
Here is what was displayed by Facebook as to what goes into a score:
What goes into this score? We’re testing a new score out of 10 to help people find great places more easily. The score is based on multiple ratings, reviews and recommendations people share about Pages on Facebook.
How can my Page improve its score? New recommendations are weighted more heavily, so you can continuously improve your score. If you see an unfair recommendation on your Page, please report the post. We will review it and remove recommendations that violate our Community Standards or are not relevant to your Page.
That second point means that it will be even more important to regularly monitor your Brand Pages for negative reviews from customers, patients, or rogue agents.
We’ll keep our ear to the ground for when Facebook launches this feature on a wider scale. When that happens, be sure to check back here for our counsel. And if you are in need of that sort of counsel now, please be sure to contact Syneos Health.
