The Facebook News Feed is Being Altered to Prioritize Loved Ones
Justin Lam — January 18, 2018 — Marketing
References: qz & blog.hubspot
Changes to the Facebook News Feed will once again focus on friends and family. In an official statement by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the big focus of the company for 2018 will be to ensure that the social media platform is used to connect with loved ones. Facebook was incredibly transparent in this statement, plainly telling brands that their pages would see significantly less engagement and would definitely face some impact in this change. This new focus for the Facebook News Feed will hopefully push more brands and advertisers to the Explore Feed, which was designed by Facebook to be a place for pages to thrive.
This change is being made to further cement the Facebook ethos that it is not a media company. Zuckerberg pushed in this idea in his statemen, reminding people that Facebook was primarily designed to connect people and was not a platform for brand growth. This shift in focus shows a distinct upholding of ethos as it seems as through the social media platform is prioritizing the individual over the entity, and wants to design the platform to share more ideas and experiences rather than products and services.
This change is being made to further cement the Facebook ethos that it is not a media company. Zuckerberg pushed in this idea in his statemen, reminding people that Facebook was primarily designed to connect people and was not a platform for brand growth. This shift in focus shows a distinct upholding of ethos as it seems as through the social media platform is prioritizing the individual over the entity, and wants to design the platform to share more ideas and experiences rather than products and services.
Trend Themes
1. Refocused Social Media Prioritization - As Facebook shifts focus onto closer relationships and engagement with loved ones, disruptive innovation opportunities arise for businesses that can create novel ways to enhance social connectivity and community building on the platform.
2. Increased Exploration on Facebook - With decreased emphasis on brand pages on the Facebook News Feed, businesses that can effectively utilize the Explore Feed, such as through influencer marketing or personalized recommendations, will have a competitive edge over others on the social media platform.
3. Redefining Social Media Engagement - As Facebook makes changes to emphasize individual connections over entities, businesses that can adapt and creatively redefine their social media engagement strategies in a more personal and authentic tone will stand out from the crowd and remain relevant in the evolving social media landscape.
Industry Implications
1. Social Media Marketing - As Facebook shifts its focus away from brand growth, businesses in the social media marketing industry must adapt and find new strategies to effectively reach target audiences on the platform.
2. Influencer Marketing - With brand pages seeing less engagement on the Facebook News Feed, businesses that partner with influencers to reach audiences through the Explore Feed will have a competitive edge over those that rely solely on traditional social media marketing tactics.
3. Community Building - As Facebook emphasizes closer connections with loved ones, businesses that can provide personalized and authentic ways to build communities on the platform will have a unique opportunity to create meaningful engagement with their audiences.
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