FACEBOOK’S NEW NEWSFEEDMARCH 7, 2013

New NewsFeed

Facebook announced on March 7th that one of its ‘most important’ products, NewsFeed will be getting a major revamp. The changes affect the design and functionality of the portion of Facebook where users spend the most time.

Here are the key changes:•New mobile-inspired design•Even more prominence for shared items

•Feeds that separate content types

•A stickier experience

Mobile-Inspired Design

Facebook discussed in depth how it has made an effort to create a visually richer experience for NewsFeed. Facebook has expanded the amount of space that the actual NewsFeed itself takes up, and all of the elements within it will be larger and more prominent.

To make space for all of this, Facebook will be removing what it has labeled ‘clutter’ including the the left-hand navigation rail. That will now be a tray that sits underneath the NewsFeed. This element is one of many that Facebook has brought to the desktop experience, from it’s mobile sites.

The new design will increase functionality and enable global navigation. Because the navigation tray will be under all of the pages on Facebook, regardless of where you are in the site, you can access the navigation features that were previously only available on from the NewsFeed page.

Facebook claims, the experience of designing for a mobile environment forced a cleaner design and increased focus on what matters. Because of this, Facebook’s desktop experience is being evolved by its mobile design. This section will become a tray that sits behind

every page on Facebook, allowing global navigation and increased space for NewsFeed.

More Prominence for Shared Items

With the increased space in NewsFeed, the items that appear in it will be getting more attention. Everything from links to articles, Pinterest Pins to Instagram images and even Check-Ins will be getting additional detail when they appear in the NewsFeed.

Facebook made a point to show that they know how users are sharing content on the platform. Statistics were presented showing that as much as 50% of updates included a photo.

With this in mind, Facebook is seeking to live up to a lofty standard established today when Mark Zuckerburg, Facebook CEO, said that ‘stories deserved to be published in more than just text’ today. In an effort to do just that, the new NewsFeed has larger images that are subtly enhanced.

Third-party apps, such as Pinterest and including Instagram will have a revamped appearance in NewsFeed with larger thumbnails pulled in Facebook and a longer summary. Similarly, links to articles will get larger thumbnails, a prominent headline, longer summary and even a slug-line for the author.

new friends story

new photo

new link / article

Subject-based Feeds

Arguably the biggest change is how all of the new larger items shared in users’ NewsFeeds will be filtered and delivered. Facebook will be giving the users more control, and giving the algorithms less.

In an effort to make controls that users will actually use, Facebook is creating Feeds that filter what appears in NewsFeed based on subject matter. The feeds announced include:

• All Friends: Will show all updates in chronological order from the users friends

• Music: Updates from musicians, including events will appear here as well as what friends are listening to through apps like Spotify and Rdio

• Photos: All updates that include a photo from users’ friends and pages• Following: All updates in chronological order from pages liked or celebrities

the user is subscribed to will appear here• Most Recent: This is a chronological stream of everything from every person

or page the user is connected to• Close Friends: The friends a user has designated as close friends will

continue to have a dedicated feed• Games: Notifications and updates from game apps will be in this separate

feed • Interests: Any interest categories that the user has curated will have their

own feed • Friends: Any friends list that user has created will have their own feed • Groups: Shows content from the groups the user is a member of

Subject-based Feeds & Pages

So what do all of the new feeds mean for brands with Pages on Facebook? In short, it’s a little hard to tell just yet. It certainly means that more focus on posting with images has to be a continued priority.

It also means that the opportunity for discoverability is increased. Users can now see page messages in at least three places, the default NewsFeed, the Following Feed and on the brand’s Timeline. Brands should expect to little to no immediate impact.

Because the default NewsFeed will still be the current experience just with the expanded real estate and larger items. Time will tell if users adopt the greater controls en masse and give primacy to feeds like All Friends and Photos. If this behavior becomes the norm, Pages could see a dip in reach, impressions and engagements as a result. However, when asked about how these updates would impact marketers, in his typical succinct fashion Mark Zuckerburg said, “it won’t affect brand pages.”

A ‘Stickier’ ExperienceNavigation tools are giving way to larger more engrossing content elements. Users are being given greater controls and a cleaner experience. Facebook has made the content richer, they’ve given options to users and they’ve made an effort to create cross-platform consistency.

All of the changes add up to one thing, a much ‘stickier’ experience for Facebook users.

Stickier experiences are ones that engage users in such a way that they stay around and engage for longer. At the end of the day, what’s good for Facebook users and keeps them on the site more bodes well for brands on Facebook, so despite the uncertainty, brands should look fondly on these changes.