What does Facebook’s revamped News Feed have to do with your brand? Everything.

 

Over the past decade, social media outlets have created a world where oversharing or “TMI” is widely accepted and encouraged. In an effort to educate consumers and differentiate themselves from competitors, many brands have forgotten about the art of simplicity when developing their content marketing strategies. Facebook’s redesigned News Feed is an attempt to simplify and reduce clutter, allowing the user to focus more on stories and people that are top-of-mind. According to Zuckerberg, Facebook’s mission for the News Feed is to be like a personalized newspaper with customized content (Newsroom.fb.com). With these changes slowly rolling out, how can companies take advantage of the new design for their own Page?

 

Here are some of Tell Your Story’s tips for creating valuable content your fans can identify with.

 

• Less is more. Photos are the most commonly posted stories on Facebook, so Facebook wanted to make sure the redesign was visually striking. Instead of seeing a slew of posts and tiny graphics as you scroll down the News Feed, graphics will be richer and larger, surrounded by lots of white space which creates a clean and vibrant look. Media will appear brighter and bolder. Brands should focus on creating attention-grabbing headlines and hi-res photos that consumers will engage with instantaneously. Here’s an example from AllFacebook.com of how News Feed stories will become more visual:

• Invest in content. With the News Feed enlarging photos and showcasing them front and center, brands must be able to provide consistent high-quality content. Similar to a reader flipping to the Business section in the Wall Street Journal (the analogy commonly used by Zuckerberg), the redesign is introducing several new feeds including a Following feed which houses all the latest news from the Pages a user likes. In order to stay current in the user’s Following, brands need to maintain high-quality posts.
• Consider sponsored stories. In the new feed, ads such as sponsored stories can show up in any feed, even the “All Friends” feed which gives these statuses potential to reach more users than before. Not sure if spending $5 on a promoted status is worth it? Social Media Today tested the effectiveness of sponsored stories and found that for $5, they doubled their reach, increased engagement by 24 percent and received two additional page likes (AllFacebook.com). Depending on your brand’s budget, it could be something worth trying.

 

While Facebook is busy rolling out the revamped News Feed, brands can use this time to consider their content strategies.

 

Sign up here to get on the waiting list for the new feed: https://www.facebook.com/about/newsfeed.