Facebook Newsfeed Algorithm Updates - Byebye Clickbait

Last week, Facebook announced an algorithm change that will once again affect the highly-prized Facebook newsfeed real estate. The announcement detailed that publisher content (you know, all of those 30-second recipe videos and click-bait lists of puppies who just can’t), will now be de-prioritized. Facebook wants to make sure that the emphasis on the newsfeed will be focused on posts and content from your friends and family.

So, what do we think?

Publishers had the keys to the kingdom for far too long. Publishers were able to garner strong organic reach with the help of highly shareable and engaging content. Facebook now looks to monetize that inventory similar to what they did with brands over the past few years.

The announcement comes on the heels of news around Facebook using human bias to alter the order of news within their trending topics. By reiterating that the purpose of the platform is to focus on friends and family, this can help alleviate some of the hot water around the algorithm of news content.

I think because we will see more competition for newsfeed space from publishers, in the longterm, brands and advertisers will see continue to see increases in costs/CPM’s across the board.

However, there may be a short-term silver lining. We may actually see cost-efficiencies in the near-term while publishers look to figure out how much they should be spending for the newsfeed inventory. However, quick wins like that never last long.

As an avid Facebook user, I’m interested to see how this affects my personal newsfeed. I have shifted almost all of my news intake from Twitter to Facebook. Facebook’s Instant Articles have made it such a seamless experience reading publisher content and has actually increased my time spent on the platform. But thank goodness I’ll get to see all of those baby pictures from people I went to high school with now instead.