Comments on: Effects of the Facebook News Feed Redesign for Brand Pages

By: Karen Gutierrez

Karen Gutierrez — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:32:33 +0000

Got it, thanks Chad.

By: Chad Estes

Chad Estes — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:39:04 +0000

Karen - no worries on the questions, sharing is what social media is all about!

I’m not 100% sure because nobody really knows what is in the algorithm, but I don’t believe interactions with an app would be considered interactions with a page unless that app was an app-supported tab enabled on that page.

For example - check out the “Featured” tab on the iTunes page: http://facebook.com/itunes.

That is an example of an app-supported tab.

Chad

By: Karen Gutierrez

Karen Gutierrez — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:41:45 +0000

Thanks, Chad!
Forgive me for all the questions, but…with regard to the new fan page algorithm: Would the user’s subscription/use of an app be considered an interaction that would earn the fan page a presence in the pre-filtered news feed?
Thanks so much for sharing your expertise.
Karen

By: Chad Estes

Chad Estes — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:38:44 +0000

If you’ve already got a contact at Facebook and have a budget to create a 3rd party app - then do the contest on Facebook. Your account rep should be able to help you get a speedy approval. It’s far more powerful with regards to having user actions published to friends (such as contest entry and voting actions, etc).

But, if you don’t have a budget or a contact then go with the microsite route and use FB as a front door.

Good luck and let us know if Vitrue can help.

By: Karen Gutierrez

Karen Gutierrez — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:56:43 +0000

Chad,
Thanks for the summary, very helpful!
Is it worth seeking Facebook approval for a contest promotion to be run through a fan page, or is it best to create a microsite for contests and merely link to them from the page? I’ve heard it can take months to get a response from Facebook.
Karen

By: Chad Estes

Chad Estes — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:33:25 +0000

Sue - to encourage interaction on a fan page you have to have something of value to provide to fans. It might be an offer or a coupon or some engaging content you’ve highlighted and made it easy for fans to share with their friends. Remember, Facebook is a place for sharing.

And you can do contests and give-a-ways on Facebook, you just can’t use standard Facebook functions for an entry into the contest or for communicating with winners. More details are available on our most recent blog post:

http://vitrue.com/blog/2009/11/12/is-your-brand-ready-to-capitalize-on-the-new-facebook-promotion-guidelines/

By: sue rodman

sue rodman — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:50:45 +0000

Question - if the feed is determined by interaction on the site, how do you encourage that interaction? I’ve also heard that you can’t do contests or give-a-ways on Facebook. That’s a real reason for fans to come back if they can “get” something for it.

By: Chad Estes

Chad Estes — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:49:40 +0000

Brandon - great points all around. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

By: Brandon Sutton

Brandon Sutton — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:44:01 +0000

Interesting, and not surprising. Hopefully this will even out as people and page owners get used to the new system. Hopefully the catch-22 with the pre-filtered feed will be offset by the increased engagement that smart page owners will achieve with the fans that have the Live Feed selected.

Of course, there will inevitably be another change sooner or later that will have everyone scrambling to figure out what to do next. Best case scenario for now - all of the changes encourage page owners to focus on quality content and ongoing engagement. Worst case scenario, some brands may get discouraged by the dropoff in interactions and focus elsewhere. This only underscores the need that brands have for ongoing guidance in this area.