I think Facebook page managers are in for a serious reality check.
This reality check is going to be brought on by two new features Facebook is trying out.
Feature 1 – Get Notifications
Yesterday Inside Facebook reported on a new feature Facebook is rolling out. This new feature will let Facebook users get direct notifications from their favorite Facebook pages, as opposed to relying on the erratic nature of the News Feed.
The feature is called Get Notifications and it’s only for pages. It works just like the “Close Friends” option for personal profiles, that lets you receive a direct notification every time a close friend posts a photo or changes their status.
When you Like a Facebook page, you can then opt-in to Get Notifications from this page every time they publish a new post. See the photo below from Inside Facebook.
From Inside Facebook
Feature 2 – Pages Feed
Jon Loomer and Lisa Jenkins wrote about another feature Facebook is experimenting with – a Pages Feed.
Lisa Jenkins reported on her blog that she saw something new in the Pages section of her Profile, just above the Like Pages link. It said “Pages Feed” (see image below) and when she clicked on it, she was direct to a special News Feed of all the updates from the Facebook pages that she has liked – no friend updates included.
From LisaDJenkins.com
These experimental features prove (at least to me) two important things.
1) Facebook is listening. Yes, everyone hates EdgeRank. I believe that Facebook is trying to help its users (and its page owners) by responding to the outcry over the recent EdgeRank changes.
2) Facebook loves businesses. As a public company, Facebook has an obligation to create revenue for its stakeholders. It needs to make money. Why would it want to alienate the millions of businesses that rely on it to connect with the customers, generate leads and raise awareness?
The reality check for Facebook Page Managers
I have not been able to see either of these new features so I can’t vouch for how they work and if they are user-friendly, but if they become standard practice across Facebook, they will have serious implications for Page Managers.
1) You can’t complain about EdgeRank anymore.
After all, Facebook is now providing you with supposedly (not yet proven) full-proof ways to reach 100% of the fans that want to connect with you.
The fans will have a choice to receive all of your status updates either as a direct notification or in their Pages Feed.
2) You will have to spend extra time and resources to convince your fan base to use these features (and to show them how).
I believe that these new Facebook features won’t be explored or used the way they are intended.
Jon Loomer put it perfectly in his recent blog post about the topic:
No one will use the Pages Feed… Facebook provides tools that could make everyone’s lives easier. Whether it’s privacy settings or friend lists or Interests Lists. Very few people use them. The rest complain about how much Facebook sucks because of X (problem that could have been solved by using one of these things).
We have the options and the tools to control the News Feed, our friend updates and the way we see content on Facebook. But the majority of us just don’t care enough to do the work.
3) You will have to get your fans to care about you and your page – again.
We spend so much time and energy getting people to Like our page, we forget to convince them to stay and engage with us after they do.
The vast percentage of the one billion people currently using Facebook today are not going to take an extra step – either by clicking the Get Notifications button or checking the Pages Feed – to hear every single update from every single brand page they like.
It’s survival of the fittest (which is what EdgeRank was designed to do). Those pages who get the most fans to opt-in for direct notifications will undoubtedly perform better than those that don’t.
Be careful what you wish for
Page Managers – Facebook heard you, loud and clear. You said that your fans hate EdgeRank and that they are not seeing your posts. You claimed that they were upset about this.
With these new features – asking your fans to directly opt-in to direct notifications and by providing a streamlined News Feed jus for pages – Facebook is calling your bluff.
If these features are widely implemented, page managers will not be able to hide behind Facebook anymore and blame the company and its complicated algorithms for lack of interaction, lack of engagement, lack of interest.
Having great content and providing value to your Facebook fans (and your entire online community) is more important than ever.
Only this time, if you are not reaching your fans in the way you would like, you will know that it’s your own fault, and not Facebook’s.
What do you think of these proposed changes? Post your Comment below or on my Facebook Page. Thanks for reading!
photo credit: Durotriges via photopin cc
Comments 10
Thanks for de-mystifying some of the latest subterranean changes going on with facebook.
Author
There are so many, every day, that it’s hard to keep track! I aim to educate.
Great post, Julia! But I have to disagree that it will be the page managers’ fault. One of the obstacles to Facebook usage is the lack of support and instruction in usage. I still have clients that don’t know how to make sure they are using the right “voice” for posting. The constant changes don’t help either. Others are also afraid to activate anything they don’t understand because of privacy issues.
And don’t get me started on the vagaries of Facebook advertising and promotion!
Until Facebook creates tips that show up when you rest on a feature that actually make sense to the novice or anyone for that matter, then any new features to make it “easier” are useless until the masses understand basic usage more clear.
That’s my Facebook rant for the day! 🙂
Author
What I meant when I said it’s the page managers’ fault is that most pages don’t provide valuable content and don’t engage their fans. And then they blame Edgerank and Facebook changes because their reach has gone down, they aren’t getting likes, etc. I agree that the changes are frustrating, but I do honestly think that Facebook wants to make things better for business – after all, if all the businesses leave, where will they get their revenue? Thanks so much for commenting!
WHY mess with something like this, to me this is going to be a pain in the neck. If I didn’t want notifications I would have deleted the page. Now this come on Facebook, if it ain’t broke then don’t mess with it.
Author
Facebook is constantly changing and trying to make the user experience “better” – these changes haven’t been made to all pages yet; so it remains to be seen what will happen…
Facebook can say and do whatever they want. The fact is, the damage has been done. I have a client with nearly 5000 followers and we know that fewer than 18% see posts. My client’s personal income “was” tied directly to the FB page and it has dropped almost 50% in a year. I advised and the client agreed not to wait around for FB to get their act together. We’ve moved on and are deemphasizing FB. After a total rebuild of the website, the client now embraces it along with twitter, blogs and are about to launch targeted email. I advise clients to remain agile. Business changes and one has to stay alert to these changes. FB made too many changes that damaged my clients, their loss, not ours.
Author
I like that you are not putting all your eggs in one basket… smart idea! Email newsletters have MUCH more ROI than social media!
This should be interesting! I’m anxious to see it in action and see how businesses are able to succeed and fail using these new features!
Author
Me too! Stay tuned… I’ll blog more about it as it unfolds!