Tweet This
Facebook's "like" button turned 10 last month, marking a decade-long headache for social media marketers trying to decipher the most fundamental part of the platform's mysterious algorithm.
The iconic "thumbs-up" has forced many a marketer to acquiesce to sharing exclusively "positive" content -- in hopes of appeasing the mechanisms that control what content is served to followers.
And as Facebook exploded in popularity through the 2010s, thousands of articles have covered the demise of organic reach -- especially for smaller pages, like most local nonprofits.
The emergence of live video -- an algorithmic darling -- in the spring of 2016 seemed to offer a breath of fresh air for marketers clinging to the valuable "free" reach, but the predictable saturation of the market has made audiences even tougher to corral.
https://www.facebook.com/helperase/videos/597910080649593/
ERASE Child Trafficking uses Facebook Live regularly, including this video marking Human Trafficking Awareness Day. This particular video didn't drive live engagement, but it may well have saved lives.
The challenges are even more poignant for nonprofit marketers, who are constantly reminded to share their organization's story. But the day-to-day operations of nonprofits go much deeper than the shiny, highly "like"-able success stories.
That's not to say that nonprofits should avoid using live-streaming video to connect with their audiences. The benefits of using video on social media are well-known, and the continued emergence of powerful WiFi and lightning-fast mobile devices will continue to make video increasingly critical. And while platforms like Instagram grow in popularity, Facebook -- despite recent data showing slight user dropoff -- is still a behemoth in terms of total audience share. (Notably, Instagram is owned by Facebook.)
One of the biggest continuing challenges that nonprofits using live video face is the perception that "nobody is watching." This is a predictable byproduct of the like-magnet videos that often adorn our news feeds -- often short, highly produced and psychologically pinpointed pieces of content designed specifically to beat Facebook's algorithm at its own game.
The problem for nonprofits is that Facebook's News Feed is a two-dimensional solution to a multi-dimensional conundrum. Facebook has no choice but to weigh likes, comments and shares as a measuring stick, but helpful, valuable content from nonprofits is not inherently "likeable." In fact, there's significant reasons why people would not click that "like" button on a nonprofit's video.
https://www.facebook.com/capitalareaunitedway/videos/1563252057022456/
The Capital Area United Way in Baton Rouge, La., used Facebook Live to discuss flood relief efforts in the summer of 2017.
For example, if you were suddenly facing temporarily homelessness, and a nonprofit filmed a five-minute video with 12 tips for surviving temporarily homelessness -- would you watch it?
Now -- would you like, comment and share?
If you were feeling despondent and needed help managing drug or alcohol use, and you searched on Facebook for a video on where to get support -- would you watch it?
And would you like, comment and share?
If you found out your son or daughter was contemplating suicide, and you found a video on Facebook about how to best handle such circumstances -- would you watch it?
But would you like, comment and share?
These are exactly the sort of difficult life challenges that 1.5 million nonprofits around America, and millions more around the world, are helping people cope with every single day. I think about this as an extreme example of the 90-9-1 rule -- that of the 100% of people who consume a piece of content on social media, only 9% will take some sort of visible action; I often think that for nonprofits, especially those without visually appealing conclusions (i.e., Jimmy Carter working with Habitat for Humanity); it's something more like 98-1-1.
Of course it's valuable and meaningful to share the success stories of clients, kids, etc., who have succeeded within a program. But that's just the end goal -- when many more people need to know of the first and second steps.
In 2019, successful nonprofits must establish a pattern of content bereft of surface-level algorithmic consideration. When you look beyond the 'like' button and realize that your video content may save someone's life, you'll realize that real-life impact trumps inflated view counts every single time.
