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The Social Network Facebook started 2017 off with a bang introducing several new features and product update. And, here we’ve collected all the recent ones you need to know.

As usual, we have worked hard to give you something different; so, sit back and keep on reading & clicking more & more…

Here we go:

1) In-stream video ads available to all

On Feb 23, 2017, Facebook announced three updates about video monetization through Audience Network.

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  • All eligible publishers can now make money from in-stream video ads on their own websites and apps through Audience Network.
  • On Facebook, beta test of Ad Breaks in Facebook Live to additional profiles and Pages in the U.S has been expanded. Eligible Pages and profiles now have the option to use ad breaks in any live broadcast reaching 300 or more concurrent viewers.
  • Facebook started testing Ad Breaks in on-demand video on Facebook with a small number of partners. How to get started?

2) ‘Facebook 360’, a Gear VR app announced

On March 8, 2017, Facebook launched Facebook 360, a dedicated app for Virtual Reality (VR).

The users can access 360 photos and videos from their friends, pages, users’ saved lists and followed users, etc. How to get started with it?

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How to download the application for Gear VR?
  • Open the Oculus app on a Gear VR-compatible Samsung device
  • Enter ‘Facebook 360’ in the search box
  • You can also visit the Oculus site for getting started

3) Go Live Now From Your Computer

 Facebook now lets you broadcast live video from your desktop, and in the process, has made it possible to stream content from games. The jump has been taken from phone to computers.

Facebook opened it up to anyone with a Facebook account. To get started on your live broadcast from a computer, click “Live Video” from the top of your News Feed or Timeline, then follow the prompts to add a description and choose your audience.

More advanced streamers can use external camera hardware or streaming software to make high-quality broadcasts with multiple cameras, on-screen graphics, and title cards.

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4) New Facebook Instant Articles CTAs

 Facebook announced its publishers giving access to two new call-to-action units:

Email  Newsletter Sign-Ups:

The first type of call-to-action unit encourages the people who read your Instant Articles to sign up for your email newsletters. Anyone who submits their email address through this unit is agreeing to receive your updates via email.

Page Likes:

The CTA unit encourages people who read your Instant Articles to Like your Facebook page. After people tap on the blue Like button, they will begin to see updates and posts from your Page in their News Feed.

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5) Facebook Five New Video Metrics

Facebook made 5 changes to video metrics in Page Insights, adding a couple of new metrics and changing the way others were measured.

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Here are the changes:

#1 Aggregate Minutes Viewed

This new metric lets you see gives you a chance to perceive how long your watchers spent observing all your videos.

#2 Video Metric Benchmarks

A benchmark added to aggregated metrics and graphs so users can compare present and historical performance.

“Benchmarks are calculated based on the time period selected,” according to Facebook. “For example, when a publisher selects a 7 day time period for measurement, the benchmark will consist of data from the prior 7 days.

#3 Aggregate Video Views

Facebook expelled its aggregate 10-second video views. Now Page Insights are showing total for 3-second video views.

#4 Date Range Analysis

You can now see the performance of all your Facebook videos for a specific time period.

#6 Sorting Options

Facebook now lets you sort your top 50 videos for a selected time period. You can do this either by the total number of views or minutes viewed.

6) Facebook Messenger’s Discover tab went live

Discover is a new section in Messenger where users can browse and find bots, nearby places and businesses to message.

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Within Discover, you can explore by category, recent activity and featured experiences. In addition to advertising, Messenger Codes, me.me links and plugins, Discover gives bots and businesses a dedicated new surface to drive even more growth by giving you another way to get your experience in front of the Messenger community.

7) News Feed algorithm update

Facebook updated its News Feed algorithm in an effort to rid its site of spam and click-bait.

The updates to News Feed are specifically focused on improving the integrity of the information users find on Facebook. This work is targeting misinformation, sensationalism, click-bait and posts that fall outside of Facebook’s Community Standards.

8) New profile picture privacy tool launched in India

In a move to ensure reduce misuse of images in India, Facebook released a new feature which gives users more control over their profile pictures.

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Users in India have started seeing a step-by-step guide to add an optional profile picture guard. When this guard is added, users no longer can download, share or send the profile picture in a message on Facebook.

9) New metrics for Ad and Page insights

Facebook announced several metrics to give marketers better insights into user engagement with their ads and page.

New metrics on ad interactions:

Landing page views and Pre-impression activity breakdown: With these two metrics, businesses can determine if ads are successfully leading users to their sites and attracting new customers.

New metrics on Page interactions:

Facebook introduced three new reporting metrics to give Page owners a more complete understanding of how people learn about and interact with their businesses. These metrics can be viewed within the “overview” tab of Page Insights on desktop.

Follows, Previews and Recommendations:

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10) Facebook’s ‘Find Wi-Fi’ feature released worldwide

On June 30, 2017, Facebook expanded one of its newer features ‘Find Wi-Fi’, designed to help mobile users find accessible Wi-Fi networks.

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Find Wi-Fi helps you locate available Wi-Fi hot spots nearby that businesses have shared with Facebook from their Page. So wherever you are, you can easily map the closest connections when your data connection is weak.

To find Wi-Fi hotspots, open your Facebook app, click on the “More” tab and then “Find Wi-Fi.” Once in the “Find Wi-Fi” tab you may need to turn it on.

11) Messenger adverts going global

Facebook announced the global beta expansion of Messenger ads on July 11, 2017. After more than one year of testing in Australia and Thailand, now businesses around the world can extend their reach to people in Messenger.

Advertisers can see Messenger ads in the home tab of their Messenger mobile app. When they tap on an ad, they are sent to the destination chosen during ad creation. This could be their website or a Messenger conversation.

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Messenger ads are available in Ads Manager and Power Editor. If a user is using automatic placements, Messenger is included for all supported campaign objectives.

Like Audience Network, Messenger ads are an additional placement option when businesses run ads on Facebook. Advertisers can now add Messenger to campaigns using the Traffic and Conversion objectives with more options like the App Installs objective, coming soon. For details, visit the Advertiser Help Centre.

DSIM Team
DSIM Blog is created to help you to know all aspects of Digital Marketing ranging from basics of Digital Marketing to Advance Level Topics, Read our posts and feel free to reach our team for any queries.

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