Facebook’s latest revisions give greater emphasis to visual content in news feeds, provide users more feed filtering options, and create consistency across computer, tablet and mobile access devices. Knowing how and why this social media platform is changing can help you make the most of it for your business.

More visually engaging new feeds

Behind the recent news feed changes are statistics such as:

  • 50 percent of news feed content is visual (photo, video, graphics, etc.)
  • 90 percent of information transmitted to the brain is visual text.
  • Photos generate 53 percent more “likes” than the average post and 104 percent more comments than the average post.
  • 40 percent of people will respond better to visual information than plain text.
  • Visuals are processed 60,000 times faster by the brain than text.

Facebook users clearly show a preference for visual content, including photos and video. The platform’s news feed changes respond to this bent by displaying larger images and graphics.

Now more than ever, incorporating relevant images into your Facebook business page can help you get exposure on this popular platform.

Here are some questions to consider:

  • Do you have an engaging cover photo that reflects what you do, value and believe?
  • What does a glance at your Facebook page “say” about your brand?
  • In what way can you convey or support your desired messages with a photo, video or image?

Videos, as well as photos and graphics, get a higher billing in the new design. When you post or share a video, viewers see a full-size image rather than a small one with a link. Your news feed will display photos of the people who view your videos, along with an option to send the viewers an invitation to “like” your page.

More types of feeds

Responding to user feedback, Facebook has introduced more types of news feeds – hoping users will spend more time on the platform as a result. This new feature allows users to “filter” or select or he type of content they want to see in “sub-feeds.” For example, they might focus choose to create a feed focused on music, games, pictures or videos. Other options can feature a chronological view of all friends’ updates or only those from close friends.

For businesses, these changes may lead to more opportunities for your content to be viewed by your fans and their friends. Make the most of this by regularly posting interesting, engaging and timely content – including visual images.  “Old” news is not news at all but history, so keep your page current and interesting with relevant content added on a regular basis.

Consistency across devices

This year, approximately six out of 10 Facebook users will access the platform through a mobile phone. In 2014, that number is expected to be nearly seven out of 10.

Recognizing this, Facebook made changes in this recent round to provide a consistent appearance and experience for users regardless of their access device.

This should benefit your business as mobile users who access your page via a mobile phone or tablet will get a look consistent with those who access it via computer.

Have you adapted your business website to be user-friendly for mobile phone and tablet users? If you haven’t and want to learn more about how to do so, Page Progressive can help. Please give us a call.

Stay tuned for more tips on using Facebook to promote your business, coming in our next post!