promoted posts

Facebook lets users pay to promote friends' posts

Facebook says it's rolling out a new feature today that lets users pay to promote their friends' posts.

That means you can push your friend's post up to the top of the news feeds of users within their network. To promote a post, just click on the menu button on the top right corner of a post, according to images of the feature provided by Facebook. Only people with fewer than 5,000 friends or subscribers can use the feature.

Facebook thinks people will want to use this feature to promote charity fundraisers and events, or help friends … Read more

Facebook: Businesses have paid for 2.5 million promoted posts

Facebook released some new numbers today for its local business Pages, revealing that about 2 percent of the Pages have used promoted posts.

The social network said it's reached 13 million local Pages now -- up from the 12.8 million last reported during its earnings call in October -- and 300,000 of those have promoted more than 2.5 million posts. Promoted posts are ones that Pages pay for to make sure they reach more of their Facebook fans.

According to a Facebook representative, Facebook Director of Global SMB Markets Dan Levy went over some of these … Read more

How does Facebook decide which posts you see? Let Yoda explain

Facebook's been under a lot of scrutiny lately to explain why some brands' posts haven't been reaching as many users as usual, so it brought in a big name to shed some light on the process: Yoda.

Facebook Product Manager Will Cathcart channeled the fabled Jedi Master to explain how the network's algorithm, called EdgeRank, works to keep irrelevant content off a users' feed. If Yoda continually tells Facebook that he doesn't want to see updates from the Death Star, the algorithm makes sure he won't.

"What would Yoda do if he sees this … Read more

Facebook caters to businesses, others with separate news feed

As Facebook works to keep its users happy by minimizing the number of promotional posts that appear with friends' posts in the News Feed, businesses have asked for a new way to reach fans.

Enter a separate "Pages Feed," rolled out today.

Unlike the standard News Feed, which mixes posts from friends with some posts from promotionally oriented Facebook "Pages" that users have Liked -- and that Facebook's spam filter has deemed relevant -- the Pages Feed is unfiltered and features only the promotional posts. Users can click to it from a button on the … Read more

Facebook survey says users don't want promoted posts

Most people won't pay for a promoted post, but they would shell out the cash to buy their friends a gift through Facebook, according to a report from brokerage firm Sterne Agee.

The report (posted below) was based on a survey that asked more than 750 Facebook users to weigh in on the social network's latest ideas for making money -- increased advertising in the form of sponsored stories, Facebook gifts, promoted posts, and a possible search engine.

Of the four potential moneymakers, promoted posts is the least likely to succeed, according to the survey. When this feature … Read more

Pay $7 to promote your Facebook status?

Thursday's CNET Update never forgets a face:

Today's tech news roundup begins with a look at Facebook. The network is testing a feature that lets you pay to get your posts seen by more friends. Facebook first began testing this concept in May and it's already in 20 other countries. But it's rolling out to some U.S. users now, and the idea is to pay to show off big news or get more attention to an event. Facebook hasn't set an official price for this, but CNET staffers with the feature are asked to … Read more

Facebook: Pay to promote your posts for garage sales, parties

If you want to get more attention for your engagement announcement or an event like a garage sale or a party, Facebook has got a way for you to do it -- if you're willing to pay.

The social network started testing a new feature in the U.S. today that lets people buy promoted posts. Facebook will push your selected post to the top of news feeds, increasing the likelihood of your friends and subscribers seeing it.

A Facebook representative said the company is not confirming how much promoting a post will cost, because the feature is still … Read more

Facebook lets businesses buy promoted posts via mobile

Facebook, as part of its ongoing attempt to make money off mobile, is letting businesses with Facebook pages promote posts using an app on their smartphones.

The newest version of Facebook's Pages Manager app allows users to pick their promoted posts -- i.e., posts the social network will shoot out to users far and wide, for a modest fee -- directly from the app. The app is only available on iPhone and iPad.

The ability to buy the ads directly from mobile phones was a widely requested feature from small businesses, according to Facebook.

It's just the … Read more