Searchlight is Aztek's marketing news roundup that brings together the week’s most relevant developments in marketing, search, AI, and digital strategy, all in one place. We update this article throughout the week with news we think is worth your time, along with context to help you understand what changed, why it matters, and what it could mean for your business.
This week's topics:
10/20: Facebook's New Algorithm Puts Content Relevance First
On Oct. 13, Meta announced a new feature called "Your Algorithm", which allows Facebook users to tell the platform what topics they're interested in seeing more or less of. Instead of relying entirely on Facebook to figure out their preferences based on previous activity, users can now provide direct feedback using their own words.
How Facebook's New Algorithm Controls Work
Facebook has long used signals like likes, comments, and viewing activity to determine what appears in someone's feed. The new "Your Algorithm" feature gives users another way to influence those recommendations.
Users can now access tools to manage their interests and provide more detailed feedback. If someone enjoys gardening, they can tell Facebook they want to see more gardening content. If they're tired of seeing certain topics, they can express that preference, too.
Meta says these changes can influence recommendations in real time, giving users more control over the content they encounter in their feeds and Reels.
While Meta hasn't announced specific changes to how business page content will be ranked, the writing is on the wall. Facebook wants to show people more of what they're personally interested in, which makes audience relevance an important consideration for businesses.
Your Facebook Page Isn't a Company Bulletin Board
Take a look at the average business Facebook page. You'll probably find announcements about upcoming trade shows, employee milestones, company awards, and links to the latest blog posts. There's nothing wrong with sharing those updates. They're part of telling your company's story, and some of them may be genuinely interesting to your followers.
The problem is when a Facebook page becomes little more than a running list of everything happening inside the business. Just because something is important to your company doesn't automatically make it interesting to your audience.
Consider a manufacturer attending an industry trade show. A post announcing its booth number might be useful to people attending the event, but probably won't mean much to everyone else following the page. A post discussing an industry problem the team plans to address at the show could have broader appeal. It's still promoting the company's involvement, but it gives people something relevant to think about.
The same goes for employee spotlights. Rather than simply announcing an anniversary, share something interesting about the person's work or a contribution that customers would recognize. Give the audience a reason to care about the story.
What Makes Facebook Content Worth Seeing?
Businesses don't need to stop posting company news or turn every update into an educational lesson. Sometimes a behind-the-scenes photo or a funny moment from the office is exactly the kind of content people enjoy. The important part is understanding who follows your page and what they're likely to find interesting.
A few questions can help when planning content:
- Who is this post for? Consider whether it speaks to customers, potential buyers, employees, or another audience you want to reach.
- Why would someone care? Think about what makes the information useful or interesting to someone outside the company.
- Does the post need more context? An announcement might be more engaging if you explain why the news is meaningful.
- Would it be interesting without a link? Give people something worthwhile in the post itself, even if they never visit your website.
It's also worth paying attention to which posts generate genuine conversations rather than looking only at impressions. Those responses can offer clues about the subjects your audience cares about.
Give People a Reason to Follow Along
There's also no evidence yet that these new controls will automatically hurt organic reach for business pages. What the update does offer is a good reason to review how you're using the platform.
If your Facebook page mostly documents company activities, consider how those same stories could be more interesting to the people following you. Think about what customers ask your team, what they care about in your industry, and which parts of your business they might enjoy seeing. Your company has plenty of things worth sharing on social media. The challenge is figuring out which ones your audience wants to hear about and giving those stories the attention they deserve.
10/22: Meta's TikTok Ad Ban Is a Wake-Up Call for Advertisers
What happens when an advertising platform decides it no longer wants your business? TikTok is finding out. On Oct. 8, Meta stopped allowing TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, to advertise on Facebook and Instagram in seven countries, including the United States. The restriction also affects third-party advertisers running campaigns that link to TikTok or other ByteDance properties.
It's an unusual move between two of the biggest names in social media, and one that raises an interesting question for marketers. How much control do you really have over your advertising when the platforms you're using can change the rules whenever they want?
Why Meta Banned TikTok Ads
Meta and TikTok have spent years competing for users' attention, particularly as short-form video has become a major part of social media consumption. Now, that competition is affecting how the companies advertise.
Meta defended its decision to ban TikTok ads by arguing that it isn't obligated to help a competitor attract users away from Facebook and Instagram. The restriction also affects other advertisers whose campaigns link to ByteDance properties in the countries covered by the policy.
Whether the decision makes good business sense for Meta is another conversation. For advertisers, it's worth paying attention to how much influence these platforms have over who can advertise and what they're allowed to promote.
TikTok Is Moving Its Advertising Dollars Elsewhere
TikTok hasn't wasted much time adjusting its advertising strategy. According to Business Insider, YouTube's share of TikTok's advertising spending increased from 9% to 17% following Meta's restriction. Pinterest's share grew from 3% to 9%, while mobile advertising networks also received a larger portion of its budget.
TikTok has the resources to make those adjustments relatively quickly. A smaller business that relies heavily on Facebook or Instagram advertising might have a much harder time replacing that traffic if it suddenly lost access. Of course, most businesses aren't going to find themselves in a direct advertising dispute with Meta. The more likely concerns are familiar ones, like changing ad policies or rising costs that make campaigns less profitable.
What the Meta TikTok Ad Ban Means for Advertisers
It's easy to become dependent on a particular advertising platform, especially when it's consistently generating leads. If Facebook is bringing in qualified prospects at a reasonable cost, there's little reason to start shifting significant portions of your budget elsewhere. Businesses should absolutely invest in the channels that are producing results.
The concern is what happens when that performance changes. We've seen social platforms adjust their algorithms, introduce new advertising restrictions, and change how content reaches audiences. Marketers have to work within those decisions, regardless of how much time or money they've invested in a channel.
The Meta TikTok ad ban is a particularly visible example of that relationship. Businesses can optimize their campaigns and build effective audiences, but they ultimately operate within someone else's platform. That makes it worth considering how easily your marketing could adapt if your strongest channel suddenly became less reliable.
How to Avoid Relying Too Heavily on One Platform
Businesses don't need to advertise on every available platform to protect themselves. In fact, doing so could spread an already limited marketing budget too thin. A better starting point is understanding how dependent you are on your current channels and whether you have realistic alternatives.
For example, if most of your qualified leads come from Meta advertising, consider testing another channel with a small portion of your budget. You might find that Google Ads reaches buyers who are actively looking for your services, or that LinkedIn is more effective for reaching specific B2B decision-makers.
Those tests may not produce immediate results, and some alternatives won't be worth pursuing. However, knowing what works before you're forced to make a change puts your business in a better position.
It's also worth continuing to invest in your website and email marketing. These give you opportunities to attract and maintain relationships with customers beyond social media. They still depend on outside technology, but they offer more direct control over your content and customer relationships.
Your Marketing Strategy Needs Room to Adapt
Meta's decision to block TikTok advertising probably won't change how most businesses run their campaigns tomorrow. Still, the situation offers a useful reason to review how much of your marketing depends on a single platform.
If your strongest channel is performing well, keep investing in it. Just make sure you understand the risks of that dependence and have considered what you'd do if performance changed.
