The rumored "New Facebook" is finally rolling out!
Posted on April 16, 2013
Well, it's official. I've finally been switched over to the new Facebook layout. We've been hearing about this for awhile but have seen very few real life examples of how it will work. Now that I've been let in, I'll share how I think it's going to impact your business pages. When logging in to Facebook, the newsfeed I see now is everything from my friends, instead of a mashup of friends, pages, and sponsored posts. In order to see what pages I like are posting, I have to select "Following" from a drop down menu on the right. That generates a newsfeed filled only with posts from pages. This new setup has interesting implications for businesses on Facebook. By removing page posts from the main newsfeed, Facebook has all at once added a step to reach customers, and at the same time made it easier. If you're confused by that, you're not alone. When Facebook rolled out EdgeRank last year, companies suddenly noticed only a tiny fraction of their fans were seeing their posts. Engagement stats went haywire, and businesses were spending tons of time trying to increase visibility. Now everything you post is right there, in the Following newsfeed. While there is some risk that your customers will never click over from their friend feed to the following feed, Facebook is betting that most users will read through all of their potential feeds, and your information will be right there. Does this mean you can slack on the quality of postings though? Of course not! The new layout places more emphasis on high quality photos, and always remember that engaging content means your fans are more likely to share your Facebook page. And when they do, there you'll be, right in the main newsfeed!
