Stop the scroll

I'm in Austin today for the Newsletter Marketing Conference. Looking forward to nerding out on newslettering. Drop me a note if you're around.

Today, a recap of yesterday's Online Forum on how publishers can win in social media in 2025. We covered a lot, but I zeroed in on the lessons shared around Facebook. This was a very tactical and actionable session. I encourage you to check out the replay. Later on, a member's piece about why Jeff Bezos is making the right decision for the wrong reasons.

Winning at Facebook in 2025

Facebook is still critical for publishers – it has 3.1 billion users – but the playbook has changed. The days of posting links and expecting reliable referral traffic are over. Publishers who want to win on Facebook in 2025 must embrace engagement-first strategies, algorithmic volatility, and AI-powered optimization.

In The Rebooting’s Online Forum yesterday, James Kosur, director of marketing for gaming at Valnet, a collection of sites in entertainment, tech and gaming, and Chris Hart, CEO of social media automation platform True Anthem broke down how to navigate Facebook’s new reality. 

Here are five takeaways from the Online Forum:

Mix up your content formats

The traditional link post is not enough. Facebook is now a discovery engine, prioritizing high-engagement content formats like photos, memes, and discussion-based posts over direct referrals. The more interaction your post gets, the more the algorithm will push it to a broader audience.

• Photos outperform link posts in driving clicks
• Memes and graphics boost engagement signals
• Breaking news images (without links) spark conversations

“If you’re only posting links, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Facebook doesn’t want to be a traffic source—it wants to keep users engaged on-platform.” – James Kosur, Valnet

Engagement and traffic work together

Likes, comments, and shares now directly impact visibility. Facebook wants to keep people engaged, so it incentivizes posting that does that. The more engagement a post gets, the more Facebook will surface your future content. This shift means community-building and audience interaction are essential for growth.

Winning tactics include:

• Using memes and visual storytelling to boost organic reach
• Encouraging discussions with question-based posts
• Using the "first comment" strategy—putting links in the comments instead of the post

“Facebook wants engagement, and if you give it what it wants, you’ll get the reach you need. It’s not just about driving clicks—it’s about making your page essential to your niche audience.” – Chris Hart, True Anthem

Cater to the algo’s appetite for photos

Facebook’s algorithm now favors visual content over traditional links, with photo posts generating significantly higher click-through rates than link previews. The winning formula? Use compelling images to grab attention, then add the article link in the first comment.

• Close-up, high-contrast images work best
• Text overlays should be simple but impactful
• Use reaction-based posts to spark interaction

“Think of your Facebook post as a billboard, not a newspaper. The goal is to stop the scroll first—then drive engagement.” – James Kosur, Valnet

Do more with less via automation

To scale Facebook success, automation is essential. AI-powered tools like True Anthem help optimize posting schedules, test different formats, and ensure content is reaching the right audience at the right time.

• Automate scheduling to free up editorial resources
• Use AI to analyze engagement trends and adjust strategy
• Balance automation with human editorial oversight

“Social media moves too fast for manual workflows. AI helps us scale our reach without sacrificing editorial judgment.” – Chris Hart, True Anthem

Use social data as a feedback loop

Facebook is more than just a distribution channel—it’s a real-time feedback loop for publishers. The best teams are using audience engagement data to inform content strategy, ensuring their coverage aligns with what their readers actually care about.

• Monitor high-engagement topics and feed insights to editorial teams
• Use Facebook Stories and polls to gather audience sentiment
• Adjust content strategy based on real-time reader interest

“If a meme about a horror game blows up, we know our audience wants more horror content. That insight needs to flow back to the editorial team immediately.” – James Kosur, Valnet

See a replay of the interactive discussion

Thanks to True Anthem for its support. Learn more about True Anthem's AI-powered platform that enables publishers to automate and optimize their social media workflow.

Bezos has a point

Jeff Bezos has now owned The Washington Post for a decade. His ownership was greeted initially as refreshing, as the Post was momentarily filled with a swagger. It engaged in a short-lived ComScore War with The New York Times, launching a barrage of press releases that the Post’s audience was bigger. It looked to build out the Post’s version of AWS with a tech division that would license its infrastructure. And then, the Post stagnated, Bezos went on a legendary bald-divorced-guy run and seemingly lost interest.

The Post's recent travails have called into question whether Bezos wants the hassle. He’s dealt with a low-grade internal civil war that included its staff investigating his chosen CEO. He killed the Post’s editorial page endorsement of Kamala Harris in a ritual sacrifice to Trump. Now, he’s cleaning house at the editorial page by asserting his droit de seigneur to narrow its remit to “personal liberties and free enterprise.” 

That led to the departure of Post editorial page editor David Shipley, who argued for a broader remit, and it will be followed by others. After all, journalists tend to work for “the guild” vs whoever happens to own the asset at any given moment, even if it’s the third richest person in the world. 

The move should put to rest murmurs that Bezos will unload the Post. He’s asserting his control with the Daddy’s home energy the oligarch class has embraced. (See Mark Zuckerberg telegraphing layoffs by making sure it was known they were “low performers.” Thanks for the service, valued Meta alumni.) It will be seen squarely through the lens of Bezos wanting to curry favor with Trump.