While it is not a ‘new’ news that Facebook has a new News Feed, I am sure many of us still are unaware of its whereabouts. Let’s take a quick look at this latest feature and its works…
What is it? Facebook has introduced a new feature of ‘Explore Feed’ as an addition to the news feed on the side menu. It is an alternative News Feed which is designed to help users discover interesting and relevant content outside of their existing networks - like Friends and Pages they follow. Plus, it allows a streamlined flow of information from pages that users aren’t yet connected with. The name is intelligently coined as it allows users to "explore" new content, without leaving Facebook.
Where to find it? On your Facebook profile, you can find it on the left side menu. While on the mobile app, it is way down in the ‘more’ section. This is found only on personal profiles and not on ‘Business Pages’ or any ‘Pages’ as such.
What does it do? It has been kept free from advertisements - so that is good news for serious content finders. However, it provides a new way of portraying content that may be of relevance to the user based on their interests. Unlike the traditional News Feed which sometimes auto-filters what it notifies the user, this new feature helps the user to concentrate on the pages alone along with all their content.
What is interesting is how this new feature helps one expand their connections, especially with brands – as it encompasses feeds from varied pages based on user interest. Literally this ‘customizes’ to individual needs, slowly making it a popularly liked feature.
What does it do to your brand? Well, if one is relying on Facebook for creating and maintaining brand awareness, let me tell you this new feature does not hinder the normal News Feed in any way. But if you want your brand to be on the ‘explore feed’ listing, then I suggest to gear up with good creative content that might pique users to ‘like’ and hence the feed to pick it up. Something like an SEO in working – It picks up most liked content by the user and customizes the page feed to throw up similar and relevant content for the user(s) to check.
So, what do you think of the new feature? Comment and let us know what really excited you in this addition on Facebook.
