Facebook News is Here!
After a successful trial period in the US, Facebook News is finally gracing the screens of UK users.
The dedicated tab on the Facebook app has launched today and features stories from a host of major news outlets, all compiled into one easy-to-read social feed.
Key publications such as Channel 4 News, Daily Mail Group, Sky News and Telegraph Media Group have all signed up to have their news pieces featured.
Why has it been launched?
The move to strike financial deals between Facebook and news publishers is an interesting development as Facebook has faced significant criticism for potentially taking large proportions of business away from news publications.
A review commissioned by the Government and published in February 2019 found that Facebook had a detrimental impact on British news media because it captured so much of the share of online advertising revenue.
How will it work?
The rise of the social media has meant that news now hits us all the time, whether it’s good news, bad news or fake news, and consumers are increasingly desperate to tailor their own content consumption.
Facebook News provides users with the option to filter out news publishers they don’t want to see and topics they’re not interested in.
Contracted news editors have been brought in by Facebook to select stories of the day alongside the Facebook curation team, and all other stories will be algorithmically selected according to a user’s own interests.
The hope is that a separate feed specifically for news will eventually separate hard-hitting and informative content from the more fun and light-hearted content shared on the main news feed or video ‘watch’ tab. This will help to retain users who would otherwise be drawn away from Facebook by other social channels, such as TikTok, that allow users to browse while avoiding negative news stories.
What does this mean for us?
The launch should aid the website performance of news providers’ own websites as it pushes their content out to a bigger audience and targets those interested in the content they’re producing.
The new feature increases the potential audience for PR specialists getting well written content featured in the right online publications. It also highlights the importance of creating relevant and newsworthy content that will be picked up by publications and considered worthy of sharing on Facebook News.
PR and social media continue to work hand in hand to drive traffic to your website and raise awareness of the all the great things your business does.
We specialise in creating content tailored to each particular communication platform that is well researched, written to your specifications and pitched at your target audience.
If you’re wondering how to get featured on Facebook News or any of the news publications important to your target audience, then we’re here to help! Please get in touch with a member of our team here or find out more about our PR services here.
