What Happened to ‘Trending’ on Facebook?
In case you were wondering
According to Facebook’s Head of News Products the Trending section that has found its home on our Facebook home pages has been removed earlier this month.
The reasoning behind this is that it wasn’t seeing the amount of engagement and was considered to be “less and less useful.” This isn’t entirely wrong considering most people who get their news on Facebook are watching videos on mobile and that are on their actual feed.
What does this mean for the future of Facebook News?
For most people, nothing crazy. The Trending section wasn’t a key component of anybody’s time on Facebook. However, Facebook still plans to enhance the news features of its platform. They highlighted three particular ones, which should be implemented soon.
- Breaking News Label – Allows publishers to label their posts as “Breaking News” on the News Feed.
- Today In – Should help connect posts from local publishers to those interested in important news. This will also post updates from local officials and organizations as well.
- News Video in Watch – A news-centric section with content exclusive to Facebook Watch. It will also cover news briefings, live coverage, and more in-depth weekly videos.
In Conclusion
For most casual users of Facebook, this update is nothing to freak out about. This has little impact on businesses looking to use Facebook as a platform to market their services, nor does it greatly impact a large percentage of social media influencers.
However, this goes to show just how rapidly Facebook can make changes to its platform, and with close to zero warning beforehand. Reminiscent of the big shift in news feeds that had marketers panicking earlier this year, Facebook remains to prioritize the experience of the common user. This is something to keep in mind as Facebook continues to evolve in the future.
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