There have been a couple of major announcements recently in Facebook land, both of which will have an effect on brands and their ability to get their message to their audience.
Today I start the discussion on how the not-so-new (though still fresh in mind) Facebook news-feed can affect businesses and marketing in particular. I will also give a quick mention about Facebook’s introduction into the mobile world with Facebook Home.
Nothing New or is it?
Facebook change things all the time, so what’s so special about these two announcements? Let’s start with the news feed.
Users are posting more and more pictures on Facebook. To this end the news-feed will feature more media, larger pictures, emphasis on check-in locations and a highlight on new friendships.
Mark Zuckerberg commented:
We want to give everyone in the world the best personalized newspaper in the world
So how do brands get into these feeds when they are more filtered, and will there be changes in their EdgeRank algorithms? EdgeRank, remember is a combination of:
- Affinity
- Weight
- Time (decay)
To answer the second question first: “no” but it might be harder for brands to be heard as there will be a number of news-feeds to choose from. This may be the thing that is hardest for a brand to conquer. As well as more emphasis on graphics that may require a complete shift in content strategy.
Mobile
Data shows that more people are spending more time on Facebook from mobile platforms. In fact Facebook reported at the end of last year that mobile traffic had overtaken traditional desktop activity.
Their latest redesign also offers more consistency across devices, adapting according to device; this may well have an affect on the text presented. Images for sure will re-size as part of its responsive design.
When creating content, time of publishing and tailoring of the content is going to be vital. This is to ensure that not only is the content going to be picked up by others, but also that it’s suitable for the device they are on at the time. As part of this excellent Comscore report here this example of device usage (for the UK) gives a good indication of what people are browsing the internet on at what time. It doesn’t explain their media consumption on device.
Home
Facebook also launched “Home” recently that, while not a mobile operating system, it has deep integration focusing on your friends. Sounds a lot like Windows Phone but that is another topic altogether 🙂
Getting Your Message Across
The latest changes to Facebook mean that you should really ensure that you are building and maintaining your relationships even more carefully. The more interaction between a brand and its fans and their friends, the more likely your message will be seen by others.
And remember it is not necessarily about the sell, it is about creating and maintaining awareness; so when a fan is ready to buy – the brand is high in his or her thoughts.
As part of this your content should adapt too. Consider:
- Your content strategy – do you think about combining Pinterest & Facebook for example?
- Your posts will be more visual (whether you like it or not) – are you ready for that?
So have you got the latest Facebook redesign? Do you like it? Are you changing your content strategy to maximize the potential of the Facebook changes?
Please let us know in the comments below or send us a tweet @EzyInsights.