Facebook has made a few changes to the way the News Feed works. The aim of the update is to make sure the content being shown in user’s news feed is relevant to them. They are also hoping that the changes will help people understand how Facebook pick the content that is being shown. Here’s what you need to know in order to help you make the most of the changes from a marketing standpoint.
Friends and Family are Back in the Spotlight
Facebook is filled with brands all working to get their content in front of the eyes of their customers and target audiences. Facebook have found it hard to find a good balance between marketing content and the content of friends and family. Facebook want to make it more personal once more and focus on connecting people. This is why they are prioritising the posts from friends and family and making sure it appears towards the top of the news feed. The Facebook algorithm is also working to select more relevant personal information for their users. As a marketer, you will need to be aware that you are competing against personal connections and not just other brands. The more their friends interact with your content, the greater the chances of getting your content in the news feed.
Facebook Community Standards
Facebook promises that they aren’t biased when it comes to connecting people to the content they will find engaging. However, there are community standards that have been put in place to protect users from abuse. Marketers must not promote attacks on public figures, encourage any form of criminal activity, include graphic content or hate speech. Edgy campaigns can be effective, but they must conform to the community standards.
Combatting Clickbait
Users don’t like clickbait but this hasn’t stopped brands from using it in their marketing campaigns. Facebook is now working to reduce the amount of clickbait that is presented to users. They are hoping to understand more about these misleading stories and provide more authentic communication.
Facebook Users Lack Control
Facebook has the power to decide what users see in their News Feeds. Users do have the ability to remove the content by hiding content and unfollowing pages and they now have the ability inform Facebook about the content they want to see first. There are plans to give users the ability to further personalise their News Feed in the future. Marketers will need to be proactive to encourage attention by sharing relevant and quality content.
