Facebook has announced a new way for users to follow breaking news stories and get notifications about how they unfold.
Facebook has never been a great place for breaking news. For one, its News Feed algorithm makes breaking news discovery difficult. Then there’s Facebook’s huge fake news problem. Twitter, on the other hand, is ideal for breaking news, with most social media users seeking news updates turning to the microblogging platform. It certainly hasn’t been plain sailing of course.
With Facebook’s ‘Trending News’ now gone, the social network has been finding other options for users. Now, it’s bringing in a new process that would help users easily follow a specific breaking news story, and get updates about it in News Feed.
Citing the recent example of the breaking news story of teenage soccer players getting stuck in a cave in Thailand, Facebook’s Head of News Products, Alex Hardiman, admitted that it’s “a prime example of the kind of developing news story that News Feed isn’t always well equipped to capture.”
With posts in News Feed “ranked according to their relevancy to each individual, not strictly by chronology or by how any given post relates to the other posts that appear beside it” updates tend to get scattered. Hardiman explains that “in interviews and surveys, Facebook users in the US reported that the variety and volume of content in News Feed was making it hard for even dedicated news consumers to follow developing news on the platform.”
Through the Facebook Journalism Project news organisations and Facebook have been able to figure out ways to capture stories that are alive. One of these ways is through Facebook’s ‘Breaking News’ tags that it is now expanding, also enabling users to ‘follow’ specific updates.
“Each update appears as a new post in News Feed, but users who choose to follow the overall story — by clicking a button on any of the individual updates — receive a notification whenever new content is shared”, explains Hardiman. “That notification links to a page where people can view all of the related updates in chronological order.”
This is being tested in the US, Australia, Canada, Great Britain and India, with 14 publishers. Also, more than 100 publishers are now using the breaking news label in various regions.
You might also like
More from Experts Talk
Does Boosting Instagram Posts Increase Profile Reach And Engagement?
Does boosting your Instagram posts lead to increased profile reach and engagement? This month, Amanda Wood, Senior Social Marketing Manager …
TikTok’s 7-Second Challenge: Performance Insights And Key Learnings
Does TikTok’s 7-second challenge generate more engagement? Hootsuite's Senior Social Marketing Manager and her team seek the answer.
What Is The Best Time To Post On Instagram?
What's the best time to post on Instagram? Hootsuite's Senior Social Marketing Manager, Amanda Wood, and her team seek the …
Shutterstock Reveals Key Color Trends 2022
Shutterstock's Color Trends for 2022 sheds light on global preferences to help marketers catch viewers' attention and align brand messages …
Do #ForYou Page Hashtags Actually Work Οn TikTok?
Do 'For You' Page hashtags work on TikTok? Hootsuite's Senior Social Marketing Manager, Amanda Wood, and her team seek the …
UK Influencers May Soon Have To Label Digitally Altered Body Images
A new UK Bill wants influencers to display a warning logo on altered body images posted on social media to …
Men On Pinterest Are Preparing To Spend More In 2022
Pinterest published new insights revealing that the male demographic is not only growing, but also willing to spend more for …
Pinterest Explains Why Gen Z Loves Trying New Products
Pinterest's latest research reveals interesting insights about Gen Z's attitudes towards trying new products.