Changes to the Facebook Newsfeed and Timeline will have significant effect for brands. Here's what you need to know.

1. Social Matters
Preparing Your Brand
Page for Facebook’s Evolved
News Feed & Timeline
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2. Rethinking Your Brand’s
Visual Presence on Facebook
In March 2013, Facebook announced significant While these changes are primarily aimed at
changes to the way that content will be displayed individual users and will roll out over the next
to users in three of the core elements of the several months, the Critical Mass social media
Facebook platform: strategy team has identified the impact these
adjustments will have on Brand Pages and has
1. News Feed
outlined the implications and action plan for
2. Ad units
each element.
3. Timeline
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3. NEWS FEED
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4. What’s Changing
Based on current user behavior, Facebook announced several significant
changes to the News Feed that will have a major impact on how brands
consider and construct the content they share through pages, apps and ads:
- Primacy of visual content
- Screen consistency between desktop and mobile
- Enhanced News feed filtering
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5. Primacy of Visuals
With News Feed content continuing to trend
towards multimedia sharing, the real estate
allocated to this type of content is being increased.
- The size of photos and videos will increase
significantly
- Thumbnails from linked content will have a
cleaner look with more white space
- Image-driven apps will be given more prominence
- Page likes will now display both the cover photo
and the profile image
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6. Examples - Photos/Videos
Before After
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7. Examples - Thumbnails
Before After
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8. Examples - Page Likes
Before After
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9. Screen Consistency
Facebook’s continuing evolution to a mobile-first experience has seen the
social network continue to adjust to the way users choose to access their
profile and share content with each other.
As of December, 2012, 608 million users accessed the site
from their mobile devices. In recognition of this continuing trend, Facebook
has unified the News Feed experience across all devices for the first time.
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10. Screen Consistency Example
608 million
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11. App Integration
In line with the primacy of visual storytelling in the
newsfeed, images shared through Graph Apps such
as Instagram, Pinterest, Goodreads and Netflix will
be even more prominent.
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12. Example - Pinterest
Before After
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13. Enhanced Filtering
Facebook has gone back and forth with News Feed filtering over the years.
Users ultimately want to control what they see. For some, they see too much.
Others don’t see what they want or expect to see. Trying to find the right level
of control for users is a tricky undertaking.
The latest attempt puts filtering in an obvious place on the News Feed and
gives users a choice of options that could potentially relegate Brand Pages to
a second tier within many people’s News Feeds.
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14. Example - Enhanced Filtering
News Feeds currently feature sorting mechanism that allows users to switch between the default “top stories” setting and “most recent” stories.
The new News Feed will include the ability to navigate by friends, content type or “following,” which is where Brand Pages will be housed.
Before After
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15. FACEBOOK ADS
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16. What’s Changing
Some of Facebook’s ad units have received makeovers in line with
the look of the updated News Feed, but it seems they are taking
their time and testing different types as the News Feed rolls out over
the next few months.
As is shown in the following examples, some sponsored story units
have a new visually-enhanced look, while marketplace ads that
appear in the right rail have a cleaner look.
One key change to note is the prominence of the “hide” button on
the new ad units.
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17. Examples - Facebook Ads in the News Feed
Page-like sponsored story
Before After
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18. Examples - Facebook Ads in the News Feed
Page-like sponsored story with recent post
Before After
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19. Examples - Facebook Ads in the News Feed
Page-post photo ad
Before After
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20. Examples - Facebook Ads in the right rail
Notice how the ad titles align with the rest of the copy, giving the ad images more prominence
Before After
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21. Action Items Relevant, compelling content is still the key to success in social
Use of the entire Facebook ecosystem (page, apps, ads)
for Brand ensures reach and engagement
Pages
Improve the visual quality and cadence of the visual content
your brand is sharing
Create and optimize images for use on desktop, tablet,
smartphone and Facebook media
Consider adding image-sharing apps to your social footprint
(e.g. Pinterest, Instagram, Vine)
Use short, direct, well-crafted copy to support images.
Monitor Page Insights as the Newsfeed is adopted by all
users to determine if Page reach and engagement drops
due to filtering
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22. TIMELINE
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23. What’s Changing
Facebook introduced Timeline to personal profiles The key changes in the personal Timeline that are most significant are:
in September 2011 and followed that with Timeline
for Pages in February 2012. Two-column layout adjusted to Other recent changes
While rolled out much more quietly in the days 40:60 ratio from 50:50
In addition to the Timeline layout, additional changes
following their News Feed announcement, Timeline to content structure and policies have recently been
- Personal posts will be in the expanded right
is getting a new look in line with the other image- announced that will have a more immediate impact
column
centric changes. on Brand Page design and content strategy:
- What is being called the “About” section displays
Even though this will roll out to personal profiles - Comments on posts will be threaded making it
down the reduced left column and mandatorily
first, it’s safe to expect that Brand Pages will see easier to have a discussion in the comments
features “About ,“Friends” and “Photos”. Other
this change come in the months ahead as
former tabs can be selected along with apps that
Facebook likes to keep the experience consistent. - Cover images can now contain calls to action,
you wish to display here
though Facebook still maintains text must take up
no more than 20% of the image
Tab icons have been removed
- Possible inclusion of hashtags to allow for
- Some brands use custom tab icons to add aggregation/searching of posts similar to Twitter
additional visual interest to their page. A cleaner
design will put more focus on the cover image and
profile picture
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24. Examples - Timeline
Before After
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25. Threaded Comments
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26. Action Items As there has been no word on how Timeline will be rolled out
to Brand Pages, there is very little to be done proactively. Should there
for Brand be plans to invest in new content or pages in the later part of 2013,
consider the following:
Pages Prepare for changing dimensions of images in future
single-column posts
Prepare for need to resize older images in posts and milestones
Prepare your Brand Page layout for the elimination of tab icons
Experiment with integrating image-centric apps like Instagram
and Pinterest
Test using calls to action in the cover image and gauge response
from page fans
Adjust community management protocols to accommodate
replies/threaded comments
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27. Critical Mass
About Follow Social Media Team
Critical Mass, an Omnicom digital ExperienceMatters.criticalmass.com David Jones, VP Social Media
marketing agency, helps the world's @DoctorJones
leading companies use digital media to
Twitter.com/CriticalMass Alison Fraker, Sr. Social Planner
create extraordinary experiences—
@AlisonFraker
experiences that bring together creative
thinking, smart ideas and emerging Daniel Honigman, Sr. Social Planner
Facebook.com/CriticalMass.Agency
technologies to drive our clients’ @DanielHonigman
businesses. Consistently recognized as Kyle Bottoms, Social Planner
a leading interactive agency, Critical YouTube.com/CriticalMassAgency
@KyleBottoms
Mass operates globally from offices in
Lindsay Renwick, Social Planner
Calgary, Toronto, Chicago, New York,
Slideshare.net/CM1234 @LindsayRenwick
Nashville, Los Angeles, London,
Amsterdam and Costa Rica. Nikki Lloyd, Community Manager
@Nikki_Lloyd
www.criticalmass.com
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28. Further Reading
http://www.insidefacebook.com/2013/03/07/how-ads-look-in-the-new-news-feed-layout/
https://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/2013/03/13/making-apps-a-bigger-part-of-timeline/
http://newsroom.fb.com/News/584/Improvements-to-Timeline
http://techcrunch.com/2013/03/13/facebook-timeline-redesign/
http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/Infographic_Photo_posts_get_120_more_engagement_on_46290.aspx#
http://www.buddymedia.com/newsroom/2012/09/salesforce-buddy-media-facebook-timeline-best-practices-wall-posts/
For more content and case studies
from Critical Mass visit us at
www.CriticalMass.com
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29. CM Offices
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30. For more content and case studies
from Critical Mass visit us at
www.CriticalMass.com
Thursday, 4 April, 13