7 new Facebook features you probably don't know about yet...
Feb 29, 2016
And we’re off…..
In true Facebook form, they have come out firing in the first weeks of 2016 and are keeping us on our toes here at The Classroom.
Here’s a round up of just some of the products they have updated or launched so far and how they might affect you.
1. Slideshows – don’t have the budget to create a video? Now you don’t have to. You can create a video-like experience from up to 5 stills from within the ads manager and soon to be straight from the page as well. IT's an easy, cheap, lightweight way to take advantage of the power of sight and motion.
Check out these examples. https://www.facebook.com/slideshowads/?fref=ts
2. Canvas – Rolling out as we speak is the ability for all brands and advertisers to create rich, fast loading, multimedia experiences and stories without having the expense of adapting your site.
Businesses can easily build their stories using a combination of videos, still images, text and call-to-action buttons. In Canvas, people can swipe through a carousel of images, tilt to view panoramic images and zoom in to view images and videos in detail.
Showcase new collections, menus, stories, recipes, destinations. You name it. Canvas will make it richer.
Check out some examples here. https://canvas.facebook.com/
3. Audience Optimisation – In an effort to make sure your posts are hitting the most relevant followers (cue: increased engagement which will hopefully help with your organic reach) Facebook has improved its targeting capabilities for page posts.
You can now select interests when you post and Facebook will try and show your posts to followers who match those interests where possible. The more relevant your posts are, the better the experience for your followers and the better your free reach is.
4.Local Insights – Are you a local business with locations? Do you want to find out about foot traffic in your area? Well, if you have an address on your page you should now have access to the Local tab in insights which will tell you:
· What are the peak days and times for foot traffic
· What demographics are walking past and when
· How many of them are seeing your ads
This is extremely helpful data for shops and restaurants making sure they’re opening at the right times and advertising to the right bunch.
5. Reactions – Move over like, there are some new reactions in town.
Love, Wow, Haha, Angry, Sad
Reactions can be applied not just to people posts, but also brand posts. In the most part it should be a good thing - you'll get a richer, more nuanced set of data by which to judge the success of your content and the emotions it's creating. On the other hand, when you do something wrong you're now going to have Mr Angry to deal with...
6. Lead Generation Ads - want to grow your database? Struggling to grow your database on mobile? That's because it takes a user nearly 40% longer to fill out a form on mobile than it does on desktop, resulting in big drop offs. I have good news for you - Facebook's new lead generation objective is coming soon to an ads manager near you. This allows advertisers to seamlessly collect personal data with pre-filled forms and also collect other info such as preferences with up to 3 customised questions.
Lead ads are not just to grow your newsletter subscription - you can offer coupons, sampling, register interest for info such as courses, professional services etc or request a brochure/test drive/ call-back.
All from right within Facebook's newsfeed. Early results are very promising.
7. Live Video - Live video was launched to verified public figures last year and is mooted to be the next big thing on how we interact with our favourite celebs. This is now rolling out to all people and pages.
Now live video isn't right for every brand, but I can see some great use cases for for live Q&A's, for interviews, to showcase live events and product reveals, for bloggers, etc.
And that's a wrap! For now anyway......
Want to learn more about how to apply these new features to your business? Attend our course or request a tailored session for your business.
