Facebook Tests New Stories-Like Notifications Bubbles to Boost Engagement

Because it continues to lose floor to TikTok, the place persons are more and more spending their social media time, Fb is consistently attempting to determine new methods to maintain individuals engaged, and glued to its app as a substitute.

The Social Community’s newest experiment on this entrance comes within the type of new Stories-like notification bubbles inside your Notifications tab, which warn you to new posts shared by your connections.

As you’ll be able to see on this instance, shared by social media skilled Matt Navarra, some Fb customers on iOS at the moment are seeing these new alert bubbles on the prime of their Notifications stream, which function fast hyperlinks to the most recent posts out of your connections.

As you’ll be able to see within the second picture, if you faucet by way of on one in every of these profile pictures, you’re taken to a list of that person’s newest posts, making it simpler to remain updated with that person’s updates particularly.

It may very well be a great way to maximise engagement, and remind customers that their most necessary connections are lively within the app, whereas it could additionally assist to keep away from potential algorithmic re-ordering points, which may see you miss sure updates.

Or it would simply be a useful strategy to meet up with your prime buddies and what they’re posting – however on the identical time, it does really feel slightly needy from the app, utilizing Tales-style notifiers to juice in-app engagement.

I imply, it does appear to have some sensible worth, in order that’s to say it’s ineffective. However as famous, with more moderen stats displaying that customers are spending much more of their time on TikTok, Fb actually must work at offering some extra compelling causes to maintain individuals round, versus them simply checking in every day and staying on prime of the most recent massive information from family and friends (or simply guaranteeing they don’t miss anyone’s birthday).

That is the important thing factor missed from Meta’s personal reporting – as Meta shared final week, Fb added 31 million extra day by day lively customers in Q1 2022, taking its complete DAU rely to 1.96b.

Which is nice information for Fb – particularly contemplating it reported a quarter-on-quarter decline in day by day actives in its earlier replace. That announcement tanked Meta inventory, and whereas it is now seemingly again on monitor, with the development graph pointing upwards as soon as once more for customers, the information that Meta hasn’t shared is how lengthy these persons are really spending within the app.

Are they simply checking in, then shifting on to different platforms? As a result of if they’re, that tremendously reduces the worth of Fb’s unmatched attain, as a result of if individuals aren’t spending a lot time within the app, which means much less ad publicity, and it may properly be that TikTok, with fewer customers however doubtlessly extra time in app, is now a greater placement possibility when it comes to attain and boosting model consciousness.

Meta hasn’t shared an official replace on time spent in its apps since 2016, when it reported that folks had been spending 50 minutes per day utilizing Fb, Instagram and Messenger.

The truth that Meta has chosen to not replace this determine would seem to recommend that it’s not rising, as it will be eager to tout that kind of knowledge, whereas the period of time that folks spend on TikTok is clearly on the rise, usually, based mostly on complete downloads alone.

Which is why activations and assessments like this are attention-grabbing. Does this enhance time spent within the app, and get individuals to stay round for longer, or is that this simply one other immediate to juice Fb’s numbers, and make it look like it’s producing extra ‘engagement’?

In some methods, the format additionally aligns with Meta’s push to spice up attraction with youthful customers, with the Tales format now extra native to many than the normal feed.

However nonetheless, it’s extra simply tweaking across the edges, seemingly with no actual affect.

However perhaps I’m unsuitable – perhaps this can be a priceless, sensible device that may assist Fb customers keep in contact, and enhance utility within the app.

The brand new notification format is being examined with some customers, with no phrase on a full rollout plan as but.