Facebook Featured Stories Now in Newsfeed

By: Lisa Braziel | January 11, 2012 | View Comments

Facebook recently announced they are slowly rolling out a new ad type, allowing advertiser's to reach users in the actual newsfeed. These new units are now named "Featured Stories", a move Facebook is trying to make to begin transitioning "Sponsored Stories" to "Featured Stories". Here are a couple of things you should know about these new units.

Featured Units Function Similarly to Sponsored Stories

Right now, these "featured" sponsored stories units act a lot like Sponsored Stories, in that they are meant to amplify branded content to those who have liked the page, and raise awareness of the current activities of a fan to their network. Facebook notes three scenarios in which a user may see a Featured Story:

When a Page you like posts something new

When a friend likes something (such as a Facebook Page or individual Page post)

When a friend checks in somewhere, plays a game, or uses an app

Featured Units are Limited, For Now

Facebook has said they will try to limit the number of featured units to one per day per user, but has also hedged on this limitation, noting that users who visit their newsfeed more frequently may see more. I personally feel Facebook is leveraging the limitation to avoid community backlash, while they are likely to rotate this featured unit to create more opportunities for advertisers. This perceived limitation on these units will also likely mean these will cost advertiser's a pretty penny.

What are your thoughts on these new units? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

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Comments

Analisa

I think this could be HUGE for brands. Just think, if you are trying to promote a specific event, contest, article, or some other Wall post from your Page, you can use a paid Featured Story to get visibility in the most coveted Facebook area - the News Feed. Pages have been trying to figure out the most effective way to be seen by Fans for years now. This seems like the solution for businesses willing to spend money rather than wait for organic results.
Analisa

I think this could be HUGE for brands. Just think, if you are trying to promote a specific event, contest, article, or some other Wall post from your Page, you can use a paid Featured Story to get visibility in the most coveted Facebook area - the News Feed. Pages have been trying to figure out the most effective way to be seen by Fans for years now. This seems like the solution for businesses willing to spend money rather than wait for organic results.
http://www.brickmarketing.com/ Nick Stamoulis

Facebook understands that it needs to be careful about integrating ads like this. What made Facebook attractive initially was that it was free from ads. One or two a day probably won't bother too many people, but if it becomes more than that it probably will.
http://www.brickmarketing.com/ Nick Stamoulis

Facebook understands that it needs to be careful about integrating ads like this. What made Facebook attractive initially was that it was free from ads. One or two a day probably won't bother too many people, but if it becomes more than that it probably will.