Noteworthy Changes to Facebook Pages

The Baby Photographer

Published on Wednesday, 11 September 2013 11:00

Last Updated on 09 September 2013

Michael Shilling

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Over the summer there have been some significant changes to Facebook Pages in regards to the News Feed Algorithm and a few of the terms and conditions.

One of the biggest and most surprising changes was that Facebook changed it’s rules regarding the requirement that promotions on Facebook only be administered through apps.

Now, promotions may be administered on Page Timelines and in apps on Facebook. For example, businesses can now:

* Collect entries by having users post on the Page or comment/like a Page post

* Collect entries by having users message the Page

* Utilize likes as a voting mechanism

As before, however, businesses cannot administer promotions on personal Timelines.

However, before you get too carried away remember that accurate tagging is required in promotions. The Facebook Page terms now prohibit Pages from tagging or encouraging people to tag themselves in content that they are not actually depicted in. So, for instance:

* It’s OK to ask people to submit names of a new product in exchange for a chance to win a prize

* It’s not OK to ask people tag themselves in pictures of a new product in exchange for a chance to win a prize

Source: It’s now Easier to Administer Promotions on Facebook

I do urge you to read the full terms and conditions which can be downloaded here

Another big change was that Facebook announced that they’ve tweaked their algorithm known as EdgeRank to allow stories that are getting more likes, comment and hares to be bumped up in the news feed. On the flip side they are also demoting posts that are deemed low quality and poorly made Memes with overlaid text on images are a target.

“Pages producing some low quality, meme content can expect to see a slight decrease. Pages that are exclusively posting low quality, meme content might see a bigger drop. The magnitude of the change will be greatest for Pages creating high quality content. Generally, these Pages should see increased distribution.”

TechCrunch

TechCrunch recently reported that Facebook says it did a survey of users asking what they thought made a Page post worth seeing.

Here are some of the questions:

* Is this timely and relevant content?

* Is this content from a source you would trust?

* Would you share it with friends or recommend it to others?

* Is the content genuinely interesting to you or is it trying to game News Feed distribution? (e.g. asking for people to like the content)

* Would you call this a low-quality post or meme?

* Would you complain about seeing this content in your News Feed?

My advice to any Page administrator is to think about these questions when you are creating content for your feed. Only post content which is relevant, engaging and worth re-sharing.

Less, is always more.

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