When Facebook introduced the newsfeed way back in 2006 it was greeted by many as an invasion of privacy and most people did not “like”. But it is now the central component of Facebook and even minor tweaking can have wide ranging effects.
Facebook held a press conference yesterday introducing its redesigned Facebook feed. Usually a redesign of a site, even one as large as Facebook, doesn’t make the front page of every tech blog. But in this case we are talking about the primary feature of the world’s most popular website, so users and marketers are very interested to know how they will be affected.
How to get more out of the web redesign
Although the fundamentals remain the same Still, there are ways you can get more out of this new revamp. Although the new layout is not accessible to the public yet - you can only request an invite at this time - with the product showcase and announcements we can see what you need to do to succeed.
- Be very visual
“Hello bright, beautiful stories” was their motto for the redesign. That means your blog post’s picture can’t be an afterthought anymore: it needs to be a central part of your strategy if you’re going to attract click troughs. You will also be wise to use the wide panoramic aspect ratio that Facebook will now be using with your images.
According to a source at All things digital, “Facebook tweaks the algorithm to show the best content that users engage with the most, photos still float to being the most prominent inside the feed”
- Use Pinterest
In a somewhat baffling move from a business standpoint, they seem to be giving Pinterest a special treatment, yet Instagram (which they own) will be like any other app in the eco-system. The presenter said "A lot of the content that's shared on FB comes from Pinterest […] In our new design we are giving these rich visuals more prominence—better reflects what you see on Pinterest".
- Blog about trends and Speak to your audience’s interests
According to TechCrunch, Facebook is trying to bring to prominence trending content that appears to a user’s interests from different sources. Mark Zuckerberg himself again used the term “personalized newspaper" multiple times to describe the news feed. We can read into this: be relevant and timely if you want to be featured.
- Provide a good mobile experience
Facebook has put tremendous energy into creating a seamless experience from desktop to mobile. Web designers call this “responsive web design. Your site should greet mobile traffic like a 1st class citizen.
- Encourage sharing
another snippet from the press release states: “Each story has been reimagined to put the spotlight on what your friends are sharing”. Therefore, if you want your stories to be prominently featured, you need to get the like and the share between friends. Give them a reason to share!
- Pay to promote
Promoted posts are relatively inexpensive and can provide great returns if the content is engaging.
Facebook seems to be taking a conservative approach with this revamp. If you look at the history of changes to the news feed, this one ranks much lower in terms of importance compared to the introduction of Ads or the EdgeRank algorithm.
How do you feel about the redesign? Let us know on our Facebook fan page or via Twitter!
