Facebook news feed changes

Facebook has announced that they are to make significant changes to their news feed, focusing on content allowing more "meaningful social interactions."

The shift away from branded posts and news stories follows research which indicated that passively reading articles or watching videos may not be good for our well-being.

The key changes, outlined by CEO Mark Zuckerburg, which advertisers should note include:

  • Users will see less public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media
  • Where public content is featured, it should encourage meaningful interactions between people
  • For brands, pages should expect reduced engagement/decline in their organic reach, referral traffic, and total video watch time
  • Ad rankings will not be affected by the changes

While some have called out the updates as a move to 'pre-empt the regulators', many industry commentators have focused on the financial implications, and how it will force brands to 'become better media planners'.

ISBA will welcome any changes that result in the public feeling less bombarded by poor quality advertising and having to feel less wary about what is being presented in feeds.

However, more detail is needed and we would strongly urge Facebook to be more open and accountable to advertisers and the public in its assessment of the current position and in its reporting of the impact of any measures it takes.

View Mark Zuckerberg's blog which outlines the key changes here.

ENDS

Press Contact:
Abi Slater Director of Communications

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About ISBA
ISBA represents the leading UK advertisers. We champion the needs of marketers through advocacy. We influence necessary change, speaking with one voice to all stakeholders including agencies, regulators, platform owners and government. Our members include the UK’s biggest brands.

ISBA is the voice of the advertiser in the UK Advertising Association tripartite. They are the advertisers’ representative on CAP and BCAP the UK advertising code body. ISBA represents UK advertisers in the WFA and ISBA's Director General, Phil Smith sits on the Executive Committee and the National Associations Council.