Facebook Launches Updated News Feed – What Does It Mean For Retail Brands?

Newsflash! Facebook is making more changes to the news feed, here’s the DL…

Facebook launches an updated new feed this week.

Facebook (or Meta as we’re now meant to call it) announced this week that they are rolling out a new update to the Facebook news feed that should make watching content from your friends and family easier, whilst also allowing Meta to show you more recommended content. It’s kind of a step back to the Facebook or Instagram chronological feed we used to know. Remember, back when we were all hitting like on badly taken photos of our avocado toast?

Essentially the plan, as we understand it, is to split the news feed in two.

So what is changing with the updated Facebook news feed?

You’ll still have the home icon, this is the main news feed and will be the place where you will get served more recommended content, think of it like a ‘discover’ tab. If you’re into TikTok, the home tab will become kind of like the ‘For You’ content served to you in the home feed of TikTok.

The ‘feeds’ tab. This is where you’ll now be able to see posts in reverse chronological order from our friends and family. Rather than viewing content that’s been ranked by an algorithm. It’s a bit like Instagram reintroducing the option to view content chronologically.

What does the new Facebook news feed look like?

You’ll see a new tab on your mobile app that allows you to access the ‘feeds’ tab. In a recent video shared by Zuckerberg, it looks like this:

Or if you want to see it in all it’s glory, here’s an image released by Facebook to show you how it’s done:

How will the new Facebook news feed affect retail brands who advertise on Facebook?

Meta (or Facebook) have said that they want the news feed to become ‘more of a discovery’ engine moving forward. So, as much as they’re prioritising your friends and family content on the feeds tab, the Home tab will potentially house even more suggested and sponsored content.

There will still also be ads in the Feeds tab (realistically nowhere is going to not be monetized on the app).

Here are 3 ways that brands can make use of the new Facebook news feed:

1. Prioritise Video Content

Facebook is losing market share to TikTok, so it makes sense that they will continue to optimise the platform to the very style of content that TikTok is doing so well with. Video content is going nowhere, but live videos are increasingly important. Zuckerberg wrote that “live videos often lead to discussion among viewers on facebook – in fact, live videos on average get six times as many interactions as regular videos”.

Some easy ways that you can work live Facebook videos into your content marketing strategy are:
Hosting a regular Q&A with your customers
Sharing new collection launches online via a Facebook Live video

2. Be clever about who you target with your ads (and the content of them)

I don’t think we’re dropping a bombshell if we told you that Facebook is really just a pay-to-play social network. If you want to guarantee people will see your content, you really need to start putting dollars behind it.

We think the news feed updates will push even more emphasis on the quality of your ads. It’s even more important than ever before not to just post boring images anymore, put spend behind them and expect to get cut-through. The content of your ads needs to be relevant and engaging, but your targeting strategy needs to be carefully considered to allow this to be the case.

3. Ask customers to share more content

If you want to infiltrate that feeds tab without heading to the bank, one of the easiest ways to get more eyeballs on your brand, in our opinion, is going to be through UGC (User Generate Content). Encouraging your customers to share content on their own feeds about their experiences with your brand will mean that your brand starts to get organic (unpaid) mentions in that Feeds tab and more of that person’s friends are likely to see it as they’re browsing content posts from friends chronologically.

Easy ways to get your customers sharing more user generated content are:

• Asking your customers on the delivery packaging to share social snaps of their most recent purchases.
• Competitions where sharing images becomes a part of the entry mechanic.
• Ambassador campaigns where customers are incentivised to share content on their feeds.

If you want to know more about how you can optimise your content marketing strategy for the new Facebook news feed, just get in touch with Dear Charlie today.