Facebook has just announced big changes to your Facebook Business Pages. Mark your calendars to check Facebook on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018, when most of the changes to your business pages will occur. In the meantime, give this article a read to see the updates and why they might matter to your credit union.
1. Recommendations
This first change has already taken effect. Facebook reviews and star ratings have been updated to “Recommendations”. Instead of a user rating a business with a star count, it’s been replaced with the question: “Do you recommend [this business]?” with a “Yes” or “No” option.
Recommenders can then add a written review, photos, and even tag-specific things they recommend about the business. Facebook’s algorithm will then calculate the recommendations into your existing star ratings and present a score out of 5 (see screenshot below). You do, however, have the option to turn off the recommendations feature.
Tag recommendations are also a big change as they ask users which products, services, and location-specific features they would recommend. As more recommendations come in, we’ll see more tags. Right now, when I try to recommend a credit union, they don’t show. This is because Facebook is testing the tags with only restaurants and coffee shops at the current moment. The addition of tag recommendations reminds us of Google’s Contributions system. In fact, many of these updates seem to be similar in style to Google My Business listings.
We recommend you do not turn off the Recommendations feature. Turning off this feature will hide all current reviews and weaken your rankings and SEO. It also removes your transparency as a trusted financial institution.
2. Actions
The next update is the addition of Facebook Actions. Actions, short for Call-to-Action (CTA), allows a business to display buttons on their page enticing users to take action. Book an appointment, make an order (not relevant to credit unions!), contact through Facebook messenger, or shop are all types of CTAs you can add to your page.
We recommend you set this up if it makes sense for your credit union. Not only will this create more lead conversions, but the interaction on your page can help improve your local SEO. If your credit union uses CUBrandMonitor at the branch level, consider using this to book appointments with MSRs. You can choose to link to your third party booking page or choose to integrate tools in the system like MyTime. At the very least, choose a button that allows members to easily contact you, learn more about your business, or join your community.
3. Increased Visibility to Your Stories
Stories were introduced to Facebook last year, following in the likes of Snapchat. Facebook Stories allow you to post a video or photo to your “story” that will stay live for up to 24 hours. As part of the new Facebook Business Page update, users can now view your story from anywhere by simply tapping your profile photo.
If you have a video strategy in place, you should take advantage of this feature. It’s a great way to build engagement with your members. We know that 52% of marketing professionals worldwide name video as the type of content with the best ROI. So, if you have yet to introduce videos into your marketing plan, now may be the time to start thinking about it. Facebook Live is also a great way to record evening member events like Wine & Learns or First Home Buyer Seminars. That way, members who can’t physically come to the branch can still be engaged.
4. Customized Business Information
This is where the update starts to get even more similar to Google My Business listings. This update will now showcase things like business hours, recommendations, price range, or a restaurant menu in a style almost identical to Google. Even your recent posts and events are displayed in a left-to-right carousel, like Google Posts.
We recommend you include as much information as relevant in your listing.
5. Events
The updates to Facebook Events now has a ticketing integration. You now have the option to connect your ticketing platform to Facebook, making a seamless ticketing process. In addition to ticketing, you can now turn events into ads. There are now 700 million people browsing local Facebook events to find something to do, ads are your opportunity to increase your event visibility. If you ever host ticketed member events, like your annual meeting or charity event for example, this might be relevant to you.
6. Jobs
In the next few months, Facebook will be expanding the reach of Facebook Jobs. It will soon be available for all businesses and users worldwide.
We hear from credit unions across the country that the hunt for good talent is quite the challenge. Facebook Jobs might be another channel for your HR department to find the next best employee.
If you discover more updates or corrections to these features, please contact help@cubrandmonitor.com.
