What Facebook’s New Pages Feed Could Mean For Businesses and Brands

Posted Oct 30 2012 by LisaDJenkins in  with 38 Comments

With the recent adjustments to the Facebook EdgeRank algorithm, Pages are seeing reduced visibility within the Newsfeed on Facebook. Engagement for Facebook Pages is down and many individual users are displeased over the loss of Posts from their favorite brands and businesses.

While individual users are vocalizing frustration over the loss of Page posts in their personal Newsfeeds, brands and businesses are posting “Anti Promoted Posts” messages that walk their Fans through the steps of adding the Page to their Interests list. Stop Trying to Game Facebook’s Edgerank by Ken Mueller at Inkling Media is a great post on this. Ken is right on – I’m a  huge proponent of organic strategies.

When Facebook launched Promoted Posts and adjusted their algorithm, they were ready to deal with the outcry of “unfair” from brands and businesses who have used Facebook as a free promotion channel for years. I’m not certain they anticipated the backlash from individual users who viewed the Facebook-side editing of their individual Newsfeed content as heavy handed in the extreme. Facebook can afford to lose the businesses and brands who use the platform for free but they can’t afford to lose the individual users that advertisers pay to reach.

Pages Managers are frustrated and users are frustrated. And that’s where the new feed comes in.

Half way through the day, I noticed something in the PAGES section of my Profile. Just above the Like Pages link, there was a brand new Pages Feed link and when I clicked on it, there were status updates from every Page I’ve Liked. Every. One.

This new Pages Feed feature holds “Recent updates from Pages you’re connected to”. As an individual user, I’m happy with it. I can see, in one place, what my favorite coffee place is baking for breakfast and who’s playing live at my favorite pub this weekend. For individual users, this seems to be a huge win; Newsfeeds will be populated with Posts from Friends and a few Promoted Posts from brands or businesses while the Posts from the rest of their favorite businesses and brands will be easily accessible by dipping into the Pages Feed.

I checked with a number of colleagues, throughout the United States and Canada (you know who you are, thank you for your time) and I am the only one seeing the Pages Feed feature at the moment.

If launched, the new feed will present its own learning curve for Page Managers. Brands or businesses with no budget for spend on Promoted Posts will have visibility but will also have to deal with their Posts being side by side with other business Posts. While users viewing the Pages Feed will be in a receptive state of mind for conversion, the value of good content and strong strategy can’t help but be underscored here  – they’ll need to stand out from the crowd.

Have you seen it? Do you like the idea?

UPDATE: All Facebook has found a related feature that isn’t yet available to all Pages. By opting in to the “Get Notifications” feature, users will “receive notifications whenever a page posts something, users can then see every post — answering a major problem for users and pages alike. Fans will receive a desktop notification on the top left corner of the screen, as well as a mobile notification that the page has something new to see”. Read more about this feature on All Facebook.

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About the Author

LisaDJenkinsLisa provides print, social and digital communications for destination organizations and businesses in the travel and tourism industry. She doesn't make the tools of the trade, she makes the tools of the trade work for her clients.View all posts by LisaDJenkins →

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  • http://www.facebook.com/LisaManyon Lisa Manyon

    Great information. Thanks for sharing, Lisa. I haven’t seen it yet and you are SPOT on about the importance of solid content strategy. 

  • http://bigleapcreative.com/ Lisa Gerber

    Interesting! I don’t see the Pages Feed either. Just played around for a minute or two to see if I could add it. I think it’s a good idea, and agree it will reach customers when they are receptive – the only issue will be prompting them to go there. The learning curve is on the user end…

  • http://bigleapcreative.com/ Lisa Gerber

    Oops – I guess I need to change my Disqus profile. :)

  • http://www.LisaDJenkins.com/ LisaDJenkins

    LOL!

  • http://www.LisaDJenkins.com/ LisaDJenkins

    As far as I can tell, it’s in beta. Even today, I can’t find anyone else who has it.  It would be best if/when it launches, the secondary feed moves up into the regular user options – with Messages, Events, etc.

  • http://twitter.com/sarahsmason Sarah Mason

    Nice post, Lisa. I just noticed the Pages Feed on my Facebook profile. I like the filter since at this point, I’m usually more interested in what these pages have to say than most of my friends. I’m sure I’m not alone either given the “Facebook Fatigue” that a lot of studies have cited. I agree with you — to make it viable, Facebook will have to make it easy for people to filter the feed from the top of their Profiles.

  • http://www.LisaDJenkins.com/ LisaDJenkins

    I’m glad to read that someone else is seeing the feature! Please feel free to add  any description of it you think might be helpful here.  

    I’ve listened to a lot of private users (not professionals) who have wanted a way to filter brand/Business posts out of their Friends’ posts – this could be a winner for Facebook. Pages should be happy and end users should be ecstatic.

  • http://jonloomer.com/blog Jon Loomer

    Interesting! Whether or not this is helpful will come down to whether people actually use it. I don’t think most people use Interest Lists or other Lists that were created for them, so it will be interesting to see if users actually care to check this other view. I also wonder if this would be a precursor to removing Pages entirely from the main News Feed (other than promoted content). Pure speculation, don’t want to start a riot.

    I think you make a great point about competing with other brands. There’s been a pretty big uproar about EdgeRank, but I think people should be careful what they wish for. Sure, now your Fans can see all of your stuff. But they can also see all of the other 150 Pages they follow. Will that actually help visibility or hinder it? I have a hunch.

  • http://www.LisaDJenkins.com/ LisaDJenkins

    The whole thing definitely has my attention, Jon. I don’t think Facebook can remove Page posts from the Newsfeed completely but I can see a scenario in which Facebook places only Promoted Posts into the primary Newsfeed. 

    I think this may be the death knell for brands and businesses who have failed to take the notion of content strategy seriously. The days of posting puppies for Likes (h/t Condescending Brand Page) are clearly over.

  • http://jonloomer.com/blog Jon Loomer

    We’re on the same page there, Lisa! The tired, old techniques of marketing that everyone copies drive me crazy. Everyone’s chasing numbers (the wrong numbers) and in the long run lose focus on what matters. Blaming Facebook for not reaching their Fans when maybe, just maybe, their content was crap.

    Anyway, this topic’s been eating at me lately, obviously. Glad to know there are other sane folks out there!

  • http://www.calendarwarehouse.com/ Annek

    Still not seeing the option, although I view it as a good one for both individuals and pages -  I do think though that the B2B world is different and we are going to have to start treating those pages as different, be less focused on the numbers, if a page likes another page, it does not show up in the likes numbers anyway, and focus purely on content that generates conversations and relationships or as Ted Rubin likes to call it #RoR

  • http://twitter.com/AngiHarper Angi Harper

    I love this idea! As hard as it is to get a person to like a page, I’ve always thought it was weird that Facebook insisted on protecting us from them. I can’t tell you how much time I’ve spent trying to get Wyoming Whiskey posts to show up in my news feed – and how incredibly angry I will be if I miss out on news about them because I NEVER get their posts. Ever. Never ever. And it is hard to remember to go to every page I’ve liked every day to see if they posted something.

    That said, I am a big proponent of quality social posts from companies. Every bad, self-serving post by a company hurts us all.

  • Julee

    I have looked everywhere and cannot find it.  Can someone give a more detailed description on where we would find it?  I think this is great!!

  • http://www.missiontosave.com/ Mary

    I don’t have it yet either. But hopeful this will help the fact that my page’s reach has tanked! :)

  • http://www.LisaDJenkins.com/ LisaDJenkins

    Do you think this might be the end of B2B on Facebook?

  • http://www.LisaDJenkins.com/ LisaDJenkins

    The feature is still in beta and there’s no telling if or when Facebook will roll it out to all users, Julee. What is it about the feature that most attracts you?

  • http://www.LisaDJenkins.com/ LisaDJenkins

    It will be a double-edged sword for a lot of Pages who don’t have the budget for Promoted Post ad spend, Mary. Pages that have valuable content and a specific strategy should do fine – the fly by the seat of your pants model could not be more outdated.

  • Julee

    Lisa, when I found out that barely any of the people that ‘like’ my page were even seeing my posts, I was so angry!  So, then I decided to suck it up and do the ‘pay to promote’ on some of my posts.  Every time I tried it went to an error page.  Only after getting friends to help, we found out they won’t even *let you pay them* until you have 400 ‘likes’ for your page!  How absurd is that?  So, if there is a way that I can direct people to my page, or have my posts show up in the timeline, I am all for it!  What ticks me off is … if you make a page and its posts public, they should all go public, and not be hidden!!

  • Elisabeth

    Hi Lisa. I work at Facebook, and I wanted to point you to a blogpost we recently wrote that provides some clarity and context on the issues you raise above. Check it out:

    http://www.facebook-studio.com/news/item/news-feed-engagement-and-promoted-posts-how-they-work

  • http://www.LisaDJenkins.com/ LisaDJenkins

    Thank you for reaching out, Elisabeth. It’s good to know Facebook is aware of the conversations taking place around this issue. Can you provide us with any insight on the Pages Feed feature discussed above?

  • http://www.calendarwarehouse.com/ Annek

    I don’t think it is the end of B2B on Facebook, I think everyone is just going to have to adjust their benchmarks and goals

  • http://www.socialidentities.com/ Hugh Briss

    You seem to be saying that if this rolls out to everyone that posts from Pages will no longer appear in their news feed but only in the Pages feed unless they’re promoted. I seriously doubt that will be the case and if it is, it will be a terrible thing for Pages. Very few people are every going to take the time to check a separate feed to see what Pages they’ve liked are posting.

  • LianneCarlaS

    You may need to check your facts for the updated section at the bottom of this article. ‘Show in news feed’ is the default setting for fan pages when people ‘like’ them and it simply means that are not blocked from the feed. This will NOT give notifications. That is a now feature that sits next to the show in news feed button.

    Whilst I completely agree with there being benefits to having a separate feed for pages I can see some issues particularly with the way people are expecting this to work. I wrote a post myself on this http://working-freedom.co.uk/breaking-news-about-facebook-pages/

  • http://www.LisaDJenkins.com/ LisaDJenkins

    Thank you, Lianne-Carla, for catching my mis-type. I appreciate your speaking up! The update was meant to provide information on the new Get Notifications feature. I’ve corrected the error above and will head on over to your post in a few moments.

  • http://www.LisaDJenkins.com/ LisaDJenkins

    I agree with you Hugh, that, if Facebook rolls out the Pages Feed feature in line with that scenario, it will make things exceptionally difficult for Pages who don’t use paid promotion.  I’m interested in how Facebook Users will respond to these new features and have a brief, three question survey here – I’d value your participation. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TF2C928

  • LianneCarlaS

    Great. Let me know what you think.

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  • Gurupriyan

    Go to this link, I just added most recent parameter to the link seems working well..
    https://www.facebook.com/pages/feed?sk=h_chr

  • Geri Miller

    GREAT ARTICLE! Thank you!

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  • AnnFengShui

    I think I had this capability on my fan page (facebook.com/openspacesfengshui) last week but now it is gone! Why would I bother Like-ing a page if not to share it with my followers? (I have 1,087 followers at the moment)

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  • Simon Mark Smith

    I wrote this post because of your post above, thank you

    Do you want to see the posts made by pages you’ve Liked?

    In order to give users a less spammy experience and get more money by forcing Page owners to pay for more people to see their posts via the “promote” feature, Facebook limited what posts you would see from pages you’d Liked. Both users and businesses got annoyed about this so as a compromise Facebook have given us 2 slightly hard to find options… So I’m going to help you find them. The first one allows you to see recent posts by pages that you’ve liked. If you click on the Facebook button (top left) or home button (top right) you will notice that on the left hand side near the bottom is a new button called Pages Feed. By clicking on that you will see a list of recent posts made by pages you’ve liked.

    The other option is to get Facebook to send notifications of posts made by pages you’ve liked directly to your newsfeed. You can do this by going to the page you want to hear from and clicking on the Like button just under the banner on the right and from the menu that pops down click on “Get Notifications”.

    Whenever I have clicked like on a page it is because I want to hear more from that page so it’s a shame that Facebook have made it so difficult for that to happen.

    Anyway I hope you found this useful.

    https://www.facebook.com/pages/I-want-the-choice-to-see-all-the-posts-by-a-page-in-my-feed-when-I-Like-it/438134739605574?ref=hl