Yesterday Facebook revealed its highly anticipated new News Feed, scheduled to roll out slowly to all Facebook users on the Web and through mobile within the next few weeks. While the announcement focused around three main updates – design, feeds and mobile – it was clear that visually dynamic content will become even more central to the Facebook user experience.
Pictures have been given a substantial upgrade in size and significance. All images are now being placed front and center within the News Feed and, in some instances, the text portion of the Status Update takes a back seat, now being overlaid on top of the photo. Whether a link, check-in, content from a third-party app (e.g., Pinterest, Instagram, etc.), or an event or story, all updates will now showcase a larger photo.
With the rise of image-based social networks and the incredible growth and convenience of mobile, it’s no surprise that Facebook has redesigned their News Feed to create a clean and visual experience. After all, it’s what the world of social responds to, which is exactly the line of thinking that led to the launch of the Deep Focus Moment Studio last November.
The content – or micro-content – that the Moment Studio produces is highly visual and built on real-time intelligence and data. Its creative newsroom approach generates content such as images, video and animations that is expressly created for social media channels and that builds reach by fueling sharing rather than insular actions like “clicks.”
The Promoted Posts feature Facebook is using in their struggle to monetize mobile will become more prominent across the platform now that the desktop experience has been magnified and redesigned to match mobile. The effect this will have on users already turned off by intrusive advertising on Facebook is unclear – according to Nielsen 33% of social users agree that social ads are more “annoying” than other ads.
The use of visual and meaningful content becomes even more important given the ability to jump easily between News Feed types. Since each Page will now have its own News Feed and be grouped with publishers such as CNN and ABC News, there will be even greater potential for traditional marketing to look trite. While it remains to be seen how many users will take Facebook up on their offer to consume the new feeds, one thing is certain – it’s now even more important that brands provide relevant/meaningful news and content.
With any major announcement comes a friendly Deep Focus bet – this time, which feed will be the most popular. For transparency, the majority of DFers believe the Photos Feed will be the most used after the default News Feed. The good news is content from Pages will be included within that feed, giving brands a second opportunity past the default News Feed to engage with their fans in a way fans already respond to. This means a brand’s visual content has to stand out in a meaningful way, however, because the more individuals see your content the greater chance they will a) engage or b) hide.
Much of the post-announcement industry buzz has been about how the redesign makes larger, richer, more interactive advertising experiences possible. This may be part of the picture, but the real message for marketers is to step up their content strategies to meet the challenges these changes will surface. The visual appeal of the new Facebook News Feeds is in line with the rising use and relevance of micro-content – so keep your eyes peeled for opportunities among the challenges.