• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Social Media Examiner

Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle

  • 🔥 Free Newsletter
  • ⭐ FREE Web3 Course
  • 🗓️ Our Events
    • Social Media Marketing World (Mar 13-15)
    • Other Industry Events
  • 💡 Society
  • ⚙️ Tools
  • 🎙️ Podcasts
    • Social Media Marketing Podcast
    • Social Media Marketing Talk Show
    • Web3 Business Podcast
    • Our YouTube Channel
  • 🎯 Partner With Us
    • Podcast Sponsorship
    • Email Sponsorship
      • Email Newsletter
      • Dedicated Email Blast
    • Event Sponsorship
      • Social Media Marketing World
    • Tools Sponsorship
  • 👋 About Us
    • Our Story
    • Articles
      • Web3
      • Instagram Marketing
      • Facebook Marketing
      • YouTube Marketing
      • LinkedIn Marketing
      • TikTok Marketing
      • Expert Interviews
  • Search
  • Social Media Marketing World10th annual. Biggest industry event. Get the recordings!IMPROVE YOUR MARKETING

    6 New Facebook Features for Business: What Marketers Need to Know

    by Andrea Vahl / August 10, 2015

    social media how toAre you keeping up with Facebook's latest features?

    Would you like to know how to use them for your business?

    Some of the recent Facebook features could have a huge impact on your business, including whether fans see your posts, as well as how you attract leads, track conversions and more.

    In this article you'll discover how to use some of Facebook's newest features to promote your business.

    six new facebook features for business
    Discover what marketers need to know about six new Facebook features for business.

    Listen to this article:

    Where to subscribe: Apple Podcast | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS

    #1: Encourage Your Fans to Use the See First Option

    Facebook now allows people to customize their news feed to prioritize updates from particular friends, groups and pages. This is great news for pages with good content, so fans can prioritize your posts.

    Educate your audience on how to select to see your posts first in their news feed. There are a couple of ways to access the See First option.

    The easiest way is to go directly to your Facebook page, click the Liked button and then select the See First option.

    see first from page option
    The easiest way to access Facebook's See First setting is on the page itself.

    Another option is to go to the full customization options (people, pages and groups) from desktop or mobile devices. To access it from a desktop, select the down arrow on the far right to get to News Feed Preferences.

    access news feed preferences
    Select News Feed Preferences from your menu in the upper-right corner.

    Next, navigate down to Pages. Then view the pages you've seen most recently and click the tab to list the pages in alphabetical order. Click the Following button to customize those you want to see first.

    news feed preferences
    To customize your news feed preferences, click Following on the pages you want to see first.

    This video will walk you through the desktop and mobile customization process.

    Facebook News Feed Changes: How to Get Your Page More Visibility from Your FansDiscover how to use Facebook's new “See First” feature for desktop and mobile users…

    Posted by Social Media Examiner on Monday, July 13, 2015

    3 Days of World-Class Training—Zero Travel!

    Social Media Marketing World

    Travel to Social Media Marketing World off the table? Get all of the great content at a fraction of the price with an On-Demand ticket.

    That’s full access to recordings of every keynote, workshop, and session—the ones people travel thousands of miles to see. Don't wait. Get your On-Demand ticket and enjoy actionable content that you can watch anytime, anywhere.

    GET YOUR ON-DEMAND TICKET NOW

    When you have good content, people will want to see your Facebook business page posts in their news feed first. Tell fans how to add your page to their See First list, so you make sure they do.

    #2: Check Out Upgrades to Facebook Conversion Tracking

    If you're using website conversion ads or website retargeting, then you already know there are two types of pixels you place on your website to track these events and custom audiences. Facebook recently announced a new custom audience pixel that combines these features into one pixel, which will help with tracking and speed, so the stats are more accurate.

    Your current conversion pixels will continue to work, but eventually you should migrate to the new upgraded code. This involves placing the new code on your website, adding some code on specific pages you want to track and then removing the old pixels. Facebook's post explains the process and gives you the exact steps to change to the new custom audience pixel.

    pixel code changes
    The new pixel code will replace the previous one. It will be faster and more accurate.

    This is still in the rollout phase. Toward the end of Jon Loomer’s post about the upgraded pixel, he explains how to determine if your account has the new pixel enabled.

    Ultimately the upgraded pixel will be good for marketers who are using custom audiences and conversion pixels with their Facebook ads, since it gives more accurate stats in reports.

    #3: Get a Facebook Beacon for Your Local Business

    The Facebook Beacon is a device you put in your local business that sends information to people who are on Facebook near you and have Bluetooth turned on.

    Tools Resource Guide

    Looking for something to make your life easier?

    Discover the tools we recommend to drive engagement, save you time, and boost sales across your entire marketing funnel or business.

    Whether you need help planning content, organizing social posts, or developing your strategy, you’ll find something for every situation.

    FIND YOUR NEXT FAVORITE TOOL

    Send people a welcome message with a photo, recommendations from their friends who have visited the store, a prompt to check in and more.

    facebook beacon post
    The Facebook Beacon boosts the visibility of your local business to nearby mobile users.

    The Beacon device is free. All you need to do is request one from Facebook for your local page. It's an excellent way to increase the visibility of your local business to people who are using Facebook nearby.

    #4: Send and Receive Money on Facebook

    Earlier this year, Facebook started rolling out the ability to send money between friends through the Messenger app only to users in the United States. This service will rival Google Wallet and make it easier for people to make “in-app” purchases on Facebook in the future. In the meantime, if your friends are clients, they can pay you through the Messenger app.

    You can only use the Messenger mobile app with a debit card on file, not credit cards. Just click the dollar sign to get started.

    send money option in facebook messenger
    From Facebook Messenger you can send money to Facebook friends at no charge.

    You can also use the desktop version to send money, but the icon is a little more hidden. It only appears when you open the message outside of the inbox.

    send money option in facebook desktop
    The desktop Facebook app also allows you to send money.

    Facebook made this service available without a service charge, so there's a benefit to using it over a service like PayPal, for example. However, as mentioned above, there are limitations: it's only in the United States, you must be friends with the person and it's debit card only.

    #5: Create Saved Replies for Your Page

    Saved Replies isn't an earth-shattering change, but it can save precious time if you have a standard message you frequently send. Note: this feature is still rolling out.

    To access your saved replies, first navigate to the Messages area of your page.

    facebook messages tab
    Access Saved Replies in the Messages area of your page.

    To see Saved Replies, click on a particular message. The message will appear in a pop-up box and the Saved Replies will be on the left sidebar. From there, select Manage Replies to see all of the replies you've created or create a new reply. You can even search replies by keyword.

    facebook saved message
    Click on the message on your Facebook page, then select Manage Replies or Create New Reply.

    Create generic replies for all of your frequently asked questions. Then customize them before sending them out.

    facebook saved reply
    Save a reply that you use often to save you time, and then take a moment to customize it.

    Any new saved reply will be available to you in your Facebook Messages area.

    This feature is currently only available for pages that have their Message button enabled.

    #6: Watch for Lead Ads

    Facebook is testing new lead ads that make it easier than ever to fill in contact information on mobile devices. If mobile users respond to an ad for something like a newsletter, business information, free report or follow-up call, they can submit their contact information (email address or phone number) with just two taps of a button.

    facebook lead ads
    Mobile users will easily be able to give you contact information.

    Currently lead ads are only available for select businesses in closed beta testing.

    Facebook is putting precautions in place to make sure this service isn't abused. They are complying with the lead ads terms of service to ensure only page admins are able to export the .CSV with the lead information.

    We will keep you posted when this feature is available on a wider scale.

    Over to You

    As marketers, it's important to keep on top of all Facebook changes. While not all of these features have been rolled out yet, you can get a sense of what's coming, as well as what trends may pop up in the future.

    Use these new features to increase your business’s visibility and better connect with your customers, as well as to spark ideas of how you can improve your business flow and your marketing.

    What do you think? What new Facebook features are you most excited about? Which ones are you already using? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

    what marketers need to know about six new facebook features
    Tips for marketers to use six new Facebook features.

    Get Your FREE Course: Web3 for Beginners

    Web 3 for Beginners

    Curious about Web3, but don't know where to start or who to trust?

    Introducing Web3 for Beginners, a course taught by Michael Stelzner, the founder of Social Media Examiner.

    Learn the basics of Web3 and apply it to your business with this FREE comprehensive course.


    CLICK HERE TO GET FREE ACCESS

    Tags: Facebook

    About the authorAndrea Vahl

    Andrea Vahl is co-author of Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies and also uses her improv comedy skills to blog as Grandma Mary, Social Media Edutainer. Connect with her at www.andreavahl.com.
    Other posts by Andrea Vahl Âť

    Get Social Media Examiner’s Future Articles in Your Inbox!

    Get our latest articles delivered to your email inbox and get the FREE Social Media Marketing Industry Report (39 pages, 50+ charts)!

    Industry Report Cover

    Worth Exploring:

    Facebook

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Instagram

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    YouTube

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Linkedin

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Web3

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Social Media Marketing Industry Report

    Get Free Report →

    Social Marketing Trends

    The data you've been missing!

    Need a new plan? Discover how marketers plan to change their social activities in the 14th annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report. It reveals what marketers have planned for their social activities, content marketing, and more! Get this free report now and never miss another great article from us. Join more than 400,000 marketers!

    Enter your email to get
    our free report:


    Footer

    Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
    Copyright © 2023 Social Media ExaminerÂŽ
    All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy.

    Helpful Links

    • About us
    • Our content via email
    • Our podcasts
    • Our YouTube channel
    • Our live show
    • Our industry report
    • Sponsorship opportunities
    • RSS
    • Accessibility