Facebook killed marketers’ organic reach long ago. Back in 2014, large brands’ posts reached just 2% of their fans. Since then, Facebook has promised over and over (and over and over and over) to drive brand reach even lower.
And so it has. In 2018 marketers saw their Facebook reach decline yet again. The result: Top brands now post almost no organic content.
Facebook has also reduced media companies’ reach — but we’ve long known publishers’ posts reach a lot more of their fans than do brands’ posts.
Mercedes put two and two together and now claims it’s a media site rather than a brand.
How? Facebook lets companies choose their own category labels. Toyota, of course, calls itself an auto manufacturer. Coca-Cola says it makes food and beverage. Samsung? Electronics.
But Mercedes says it’s a news and media website — classing it alongside the BBC, TechCrunch, and the Associated Press.
This probably won’t earn Mercedes any extra reach. It’s certainly not what social gurus mean when they encourage brands to “act like publishers.” But give them credit for trying.