Facebook News Feed Update
The Facebook platform announced a massive design overhaul and functionality update to the News Feed last week. These changes will dramatically alter the way individuals experience branded and non-branded content with the addition of multiple News Feeds, new visually-rich stories and a more cohesive experience across multiple devices.
Below is an overview of the recent changes to the News Feed on Facebook.
The three major areas of change:
- Rich Stories
- Choice of Feeds
- Design Consistency
Rich Stories:
According to Facebook, almost 50% of the News Feed content contains a visual component; either videos, photos or links with images. The new design highlights each story by making content more vibrant and bigger.
Below are examples of the changes to come to each type of story.
1) Photos will appear “front and center, photo albums will acquire a new layout to tell a better story.
2) Shared articles will have a larger image, bigger title and longer summary.
3) Stories shared from individuals or brands will pull in elements of their timeline like their cover photo, and friends/fans in addition to their profile picture.
4) Places are featured more prominently on maps when a user checks in to a location.
5) Content shared from apps like Pinterest or Instagram will be shown more prominently.
6) Video content is bigger.
7) Aggregation of popular shared content will display exactly who is sharing it and what they are saying about it.
Choice of Feeds:
The most important update for brands and users is the new ability to sort your main News Feed by categories and lists. In the announcement, Mark Zuckerberg highlighted the fact that 30% of content in the News Feed is from Pages, not individual users. Users will be able to sort their Feeds according to genre, interest, and friend type.
What are the new Feeds?
All Friends Feed – displays posts from all friends
Music Feed – Displays what your favorite musicians are posting, which friends are attending concerts, etc.
Photos Feed – Shows all the photos posted by your friends AND Pages you follow
Following Feed – Similar to the current Pages Feed, this displays posts from businesses, brands and public figures you’re a fan of – in chronological order.
Mobile Consistency:
Facebook also announced they are adopting a streamlined design to have the same unified experience across all devices: mobile, web and tablet. The new design allows users to easily notice new stories as they are published.
What Brands Need to Know
Facebook is reporting this design change will not change the EdgeRank algorithm used to find interesting stories. However, with the addition of multiple feeds it will disrupt the current way brands disseminate their messages. There has been no concrete information around the impact of the new News Feed(s) on advertising; we speculate there will be a new advertising system set in place for bigger, more targeted ads.
We recommend the implementing the following best practices as the update is rolled out to all users.
The importance of the Share
We are repeatedly learning that Facebook is favoring user-generated content with every update it’s making from Promoted Posts to multiple News Feeds. Content needs to be more compelling so your followers will share it onto their personal pages. Messaging around contests and specific product posts needs to be shifted from “Liking” posts to “Sharing.” You need to give them reasons for fans to not only keep checking back and looking out for your Page in the Following Feed – you also need to inspire them to go beyond “Liking” your content to “Sharing” so you stay top of mind regardless of which feed your fan is in.
Visual Content is King
The new design favors rich visual content and makes each story have a highlighted graphic element. Posting high-quality design and photographs and making sure your timeline creative such as the cover photo is compelling is the key to grabbing audience attention.
Frequency
Now that all content in the Following Feed is listed in chronological order it will be important to post on a more regular basis at optimal times. This way if users switch into the Following Feed your content will remain at the top of the most recent stories posted.
Content Strategy
The EdgeRank algorithm that determines what content is shown in users News Feeds’ is not fundamentally changing. It will still be based off Affinity, Weight and Time Decay. The new design is meant to be a “curated newspaper” with more sections for the user to peruse. Leveraging historical learnings about your audience, which posts have performed the best, is key to continuing to optimize continue for the new News Feed.
Affinity: The score between the user and the content creator, how closely your Page is tied to the person viewing your content.
Weight: Determined by the comments and actions a particular post receives including: “Likes,” comments, shares and tags. The more actions a post attains, the higher this score becomes.
Time Decay: Generally depreciates as time passes unless the post continues to accrue Weight, in which case the post maintains higher relevancy.
Implementation: Preparing for the News Feed roll out
1) Create and publish more visual content
Visual content will accrue a higher weighted score and appear in multiple feeds: Photos, All News Feed, and the Following Feed.
2) Extend visual content to Facebook advertising
While Facebook did not release an official statement about any advertising changes included in this design, a representative was previously quoted saying: “The idea of making things richer, more immersive, includes ads.” Persuasive ad copy needs to be paired with compelling imagery.
3) Shorten and sweet copy rules
Captions are also impacted by this design. You’ll notice they are now an overlay in the upper left-hand corner instead of located beneath an image. The photo posted will be the primary focus and brief, succinct copy will be the key to increased engagement.
4) Identify and focus on brand evangelists
The new All Friends Feed allows users the ability to tune out branded Pages and focus on content from their friends. Focus on your top brand ambassadors who will be likely to share your content so your Page continues to reach the All Friends Feed. Tailor your content to increase shares, not just Likes.
5) Integrate Pinterest
Content from third-party apps will gain prominence in the new design. Pinterest is the 3rd highest referral Social Media source, using Pinterest in tandem with a Facebook Pinterest app will direct more people to your Pinterest page where there are direct opportunities to drive sales. Integrating your Facebook and Pinterest posting schedules will yield greater returns.
6) Influence Check-Ins
The new design pairs geo-location stories with a more visible map and is continuing to gain importance on the platform. Check-ins are also content pieces that will appear in the All Friends Feed.
7) Gaining Page Likes Are Still Important
The way the new News Feed design displays Page Likes makes new Likes more meaningful. When someone Likes your page the story is displayed with your cover photo, profile picture and other people who also follow your Page. Cover photos should be impactful as every time someone Likes your Page you have a direct opportunity to gain more fans from the published story.