Facebook: A Modern David and Goliath Story, But Who Really Wins?

I went on a (legal) killing spree on Facebook recently. Really. And no, I wasn’t playing games on there, either. It all started innocently enough. But suddenly, I started “unliking” fan pages. First it was one page gone. Poof. Then another. And another. The next thing I knew, it was an hour later and I had disliked over 100 pages. Oh, the horror. But I had to do it.

David and Goliath, a colour lithograph by Osmar Schindler (c. 1888) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The entire episode reminded me of the story from the Bible’s Old Testament about a very famous battle. This battle took place between the young and future king, David, and a big, ugly bully named Goliath. In case you are not familiar, the story ends with David defeating the heavily armed Goliath with only a slingshot and stones. David hit Goliath in the center of his big, ugly forehead with one of those stones…and that was that. Now, we forever have this story we can reference when “little guys” take on - and reign victorious over - someone or something larger.

My personal story is nowhere near this epic. True, I’m one of the “little guys,” and Facebook is certainly one big Goliath. But this time, at least in regards to this social media battle, the modern Goliath, a.k.a Facebook, seems to be winning.

Facebook is our “Goliath.” Not me.

As I mentioned, my killing spree started innocently enough. I was simply sitting here with my laptop, as usual. And, as usual, I was checking out my friends’ Facebook statuses and commenting and liking from my individual profile. That’s when I noticed a little orange and red-striped flag for the first time. Maybe it’s been there all along? With the words “Pages Feed,” beside it? Either way, it caught my eye.

And now, I will never view Facebook quite the same way…but perhaps, it’s better this way.

Excited about my “new” finding, I clicked on the “Pages Feed” link…and stopped. And scrolled. And stared. And that’s when I started my clicking frenzy of death and destruction. I left a lot of carcasses behind.

Okay, I’m exaggerating…but just a little.

The thing is, I feel I did the right thing for the page owners.

I felt sorry for them.

Because I have a page, just like they do.

And we’re all “little guys,” and we all built pages for our small businesses…or groups…or rock bands, etc. Maybe someone told us we should. Maybe it seemed like a good idea at the time. Maybe we wanted other people to like us and hopefully do business with us.

What it comes down to is this: Facebook doesn’t want other businesses promoting themselves on its platform without paying. What I saw after I clicked on the “Pages Feed” link proved it.

We followed someone’s “rules” for building and maintaining our pages…but Facebook plays by a different set of rules

Facebook changed its algorithm in December. As a result, pages experienced a decline in their organic reach like never before. I rarely see these - or any - pages in my stream these days. But after clicking the link, I saw updates - regular updates - from many pages I had forgotten I even liked. When I went through and unliked pages, I saw plenty of perfect examples of where page owners put thought into their content and posted things - the way we’re supposed to do. Like me, they still post regularly…because someone told us not to neglect our pages…to not give up…to keep “feeding” quality content to our followers.

It made me sad for them because hardly anyone sees their carefully crafted posts. Sadder still? Most of those pages had hundreds and even thousands of followers…but no one liked or commented on their very current and relevant posts. I have also put a lot of thought into what and when I post on my Facebook page. I know firsthand how only a few people see my stuff and how even fewer engage with me. And…I am currently debating whether I still want to keep battling our Goliath.

I don’t regret my killing spree. I didn’t intentionally go after pages out of hatred or evil intent. It was “mercy killing.” I realize now I never liked these pages for the right reasons, but now I feel redeemed by reversing my wrongdoing. When I first started playing the Facebook page game, several other “players” convinced me that liking others’ pages for reciprocity (rather than sincerity) was a good idea. Now I know better.

And we all know who the real winner is, at least for now. Goliath…I mean, Facebook.

Over to you

Are you a “little guy” with a Facebook page? How do you plan to battle the organic reach issue? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to leave comments or tweet me @jennghanford anytime.

photo credit: mkhmarketing via photopin