Facebook, making changes? Quelle surprise!
But seriously... unlike the switch to Timeline, this new change to be implemented by the social networking site just might be met by predominantly positive responses.
Perhaps inspired by the visual fervor of Pinterest and Instagram, Facebook is updating its Newsfeed to emphasize photographs and give more control to users.
Since this move could be hugely beneficial to creative industries such as hairdressing, it’s important to prepare for what these changes may mean for brands, explains salon marketing expert Valorie Reavis.
"Photos currently represent about 50 percent of newsfeed stories, according to Facebook, so it makes sense to make this a major theme to the updates," says Reavis, founder of the Shout Lounge. "Even other types of content, like check-ins, are becoming more visual, with larger maps. This is coupled with the recent release of Graph Search and their updates to the mobile app. The message is clear that Facebook sees the future as being mobile and visual.”
Statistics show that only one fan in 10 returns to a business page he or she has "liked" on Facebook, proving that "likes" are not enough—pages must be relevant and active on a continuous basis in order for their posts to show up in their fans' newsfeeds. How can they do this? Posting photographs and memes could very well be key to increased engagement and driving up a salon's or other business's profile.
"The update is scheduled to roll out immediately, and although it’s currently unclear how this will affect business pages, it is crucial for salons and spas to look at their current activity and evaluate how it will measure up in the new visual and mobile-centric Facebook experience," Reavis explains.
Not only is Facebook becoming more visual—it's also introducing changes that give users more control over what they see. New filters will allow users to view only certain types of updates. Below are some examples in the previews from Facebook:
- ‘All friends’
- ‘Following’
- ‘Groups’
- ‘Photos’ only
- ‘Music’
- ‘Most recent’
"Facebook is making these changes to give power to users, not businesses, so staying relevant to users is going to be even more important," Reavis urges. "Salons and spas must think more about what users will want to hear and produce information they will seek out or consider essential so it is not filtered out."
For more information on these changes and to preview the new look, visit facebook.com