Ads. Facebook has emphasized the increasing importance of advertising for gaining engagement and views, and now they’re highlighting their importance even more with new, live page post insights directly on Timeline, including the release of Promoted Posts.
In a surprising move, Facebook seems to be rolling out a new “live” insights feature embedded directly under posts on a page’s timeline. Each post shows its own individual insights, giving admins instant access to how well its performing. Why do these new insights make advertising appealing, though? Page managers now see a direct percentage of fans that saw a post directly under that post. In many cases, without proper advertising the percentage can be quite low…
What else does this mean for managers of fan pages? Well, for one thing, there’s little reason now to dig deeper into the insights tool as was the case in the past. Now, to get a glance of the best performing posts, managers simply have to scroll through their recent posts. At the bottom of each post, anyone logged into a Facebook page as a manager will see the unique number of people reached and the percentage of fans reached. Hovering over the numbers will reveal new, infographic-style data as well.
Image may be NSFW.
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Personally, I am happy about this addition. Having more data on screen is always a plus when it comes to managing pages. And this way, Facebook has made the data “in your face” so that it’s hard to ignore. Like I said earlier, I also think this exemplifies Facebook’s new strategy of selling more ad space, because it is made very clear by the new insights that a single post may only be reaching a fraction of a page’s fans organically. As you can see below, it looks quite depressing to see only a small percentage of the classic “Facebook heads” filled in with color. This tactic might cause (or guilt) page owners to seriously consider buying ads, something which Facebook hopes we all do frequently!
Image may be NSFW.
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Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Speaking about Facebook Ads… Facebook recently launched a very economical way to get your Page Posts some killer exposure. This feature is called, Promoted Posts. Promoted Posts are a simple way to reach more of the people who like your Page and their friends (see image to your left). As you have learned via the information above… your posts may not always be seen in your fans Newsfeed. Just because you have say 1,000 likes, does not mean all 1,000 fans will see your post. Facebook’s EdgeRanking algorithm will determine who sees what (note: we’ll be speaking about EdgeRanking next week, so stay tuned). Remember, promoting your Posts will not only reach the people who like your Page, but it will also reach their friends.
Promoting a status update appears to start at $5. And while we have not seen any official confirmation from Facebook on this, it appears that the starting price and estimated reach of a paid status placement varies depending on the number of “Likes” a page has. In the example show via the image to your left, you will see that this post on Fanpage Toolkit’s Page starts at $5 and ranges to $30, offering a different estimated each for each tier.
Now, if you’re like me your next question probably is… Where will my Promoted Posts show on Facebook and what will they look like? Great question! All promoted posts will show in the Newsfeeds of the people who like your Page and, when they interact with the post, to their friends. These posts will be labeled as “Sponsored” in the news feed. Promoted posts will not be shown in the right-hand column of Facebook.
Example of a “Promoted Post” showing to people who like your Page:
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
If you’re interested in learning more about Promoting Your Page Posts check out, facebook.com/help/promote to get started. Facebook put out a nice friendly intro video to the program and a lot of great content to walk you easily through the process.
What do you think about these changes? Whether Facebook’s intentions are to persuade us into buying more ads, or not, these new insights are a welcomed addition to Timeline for brand pages. At Fanpage Toolkit, we’re always curious about, and excited to see what features Facebook introduces next that will aid brand pages and their marketing efforts. This update certainly doesn’t disappoint in that regard.