In what is hopefully good news for musicians and their Facebook pages, Facebook is introducing a "Get Notifications" option when pages are Liked. In addition, at least one user has reported spotting a "Pages Feed" link that takes you to a new feed with posts from all the pages you've Liked. Whether or not these were features Facebook was planning to test and/or introduce before the uproar is unclear but they should improve the situation for low to no-budget music marketers.
Skelton Crew UK via Derek Cohen
Growing concern over the reduced reach of Facebook pages for everyone who uses Facebook for promotional purposes, not just bands, may or may not have led to new features that are starting to surface. But they should help ease the pain a bit.
Inside Facebook noted last week that the ability to Get Notifications is starting to appear on pages as an option when Facebook users choose to Like that page. They received this confirmation from Facebook:
"We are currently rolling out the ability for people to receive notifications from specific pages, friends or public figures that they are connected to. This feature will help people keep up with the people and things that they care about most."
According to Inside Facebook, "notifications are off by default and settings can be changed at any time."
Depending on results, this could be the answer for bands wanting to connect with those who've Liked their pages. However, encouraging users to take that extra step, especially if they've already Liked your page, will be incumbent on page owners.
Pages Feeds are currently being tested. The Pages Feed link is appearing in some users sidebar in the Pages section right after the list of pages one administers and before the link to "Like Pages." This option leads to a feed that combines posts from all the pages one has liked.
Even if you don't have that link yet, you can log into Facebook and go to facebook.com/pages/feed to see what that looks like.
Obviously the more hidden the feature the less likely it will be used. At this stage it's more of a wait and see game but it sounds like the Get Notifications option, which is being introduced rather than tested, is worth watching for. Once you've got it, it will then be time to play Facebook educator.
More: 5 Tips To Increase Your Band's Reach On Facebook Despite Recent EdgeRank Changes
Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (Twitter/App.net) blogs about music crowdfunding at Crowdfunding For Musicians (@CrowdfundingM). To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.
