If you’ve been snoozing through the most recent social media news, you likely missed the headline that Facebook is enhancing its News Feed. And if, prior to the announcement, you hadn’t fully grasped the impact that visuals are having on social media – on the places where social marketing happens (Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn), and the way social content that is conveyed (Instagram, Boards, Vine, SlideShare) – then yesterday’s announcement probably sounded a bit like an alarm clock going off.
Your visuals are about to take center stage in the information that’s communicated via News Feed. The look is less cluttered, more clean. The focus will be less on the chatter, more on the creativity. And if you’re a brand, you now have confidence your content is making it to your followers, as all brand posts will be aggregated into a user’s “Following” feed. No longer will EdgeRank weigh in to determine how broadly your content is seen, as it will ALL be available directly adjacent to your competitors. You will be vying for time with everyone else in your space, and everyone else your consumer likes, and they will decide with one click (or the failure to click) what they choose to see. This should feel exciting – more opportunity to get your message out! It should also feel like a little bit of a challenge – your content needs to be great.
If you’ve been getting away with having PR, promotions, and product claims quarterback your content schedule, it’s time to get serious about developing content that will attract, engage, and even inspire your consumer. If the success of your social campaigns hinges at all on having a robust and active Facebook presence, now is the time to take a look at your content development process, consider the staff you have brainstorming, developing, and now designing your content assets, and make sure that visual reviews are increasingly part of your launch process. Visual storytelling is an essential part of your story, whether you’ve embraced it yet or not.
Where to begin? Take the time to explore aspects of your brand that are best shared visually and highlight them. Bring new voices into your content planning – if your design and creative teams were afterthoughts in your social campaign planning, they shouldn’t be going forward. Incorporate their input early and often. And if your agency is handing your social media programs, explore what aspects of your brand can be turned up for better visual consumption, and how an eye towards better visuals is going to impact this year’s content plans and budgets.
Your brand is about to re-imagine itself – take this as an opportunity to explore part of your identity that may engage consumers in a whole new way. But of course, be true to yourself. We’re not calling on you to have an “Extreme (Facebook) Makeover.” But a new day is dawning, and perhaps it’s time to dress for the occasion.
Learn more, and sign up for early rollout, here: http://www.facebook.com/about/newsfeed.