3 New Facebook Updates You Need to Know About

Facebook has had a busy week. They’re introducing several key features and product updates that are sure to intrigue both users and marketers alike. Here are their three latest announcements, and the implications surrounding them.

1. Long-Form Content Gets Priority

In the past, Facebook has used the percentage of video watched as a key component in their newsfeed algorithm. This week, they’ve announced a bit of a shake up.

Now, longer videos will receive greater priority when the same percentage of video is watched as a shorter video. This will help anyone producing quality long-form content – but remember, quality is the key word here. Poor performing long-form content still won’t perform well, so make sure you’re producing your best work.

2. Stories are Coming to Facebook’s Mobile App

They’re already testing this feature in Ireland, but expect it to roll out over the next few weeks. Facebook already introduced Stories on Instagram, and the implementation has been a wild success. 150 million users are using the feature every day, which is equal to Snapchat’s daily active users.

The implications for Snapchat are large here. They’ve developed a feature that is clearly one of the best ways to view video content, and Facebook has taken notice. Snapchat will need to improve on its feature set to avoid becoming obsolete, and this pressure is coming just weeks before an expected IPO announcement from Snap, Inc. We’ll be watching this story closely.

3. A New Way to Consume Video

Finally, Facebook has announced a turn toward traditional television. They’re working on an app for television set-top boxes in an effort to further increase advertising revenues. Facebook has already predicted revenue growth to slow in mid-2017, as they’re running out of areas within the Newsfeed to display advertising. The push into set-top boxes (including the likes of Apple TV) will give them another channel to display advertising. It’s all a move to make Facebook a video-first company. We can only speculate, but it wouldn’t be a far off prediction to suggest that their next move is into premium content.

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