Meta has revealed its newest Widely Viewed Content Report, which supplies perception into probably the most considered content material within the app, and the newest traits of notice in Fb feed consumption.
Meta initially created the Extensively Seen Content material Report back to counter the suggestion that Fb is dominated by controversial and divisive content material, amid stories that right-wing political posts had been gaining extra traction than anything within the app.
And together with Meta’s efforts to cut back political argument in-stream, there does appear to have been a transparent discount within the prevalence of political-type posts, with the more moderen Extensively Seen Content material updates displaying lots of light-hearted, humorous posts, versus argumentative updates.
So what’s gaining traction on Fb in 2023?
Principally, Fb customers are occupied with a comet that’s set to be seen within the night time sky someday subsequent 12 months, which accounts for 3 of the highest ten most considered referral hyperlinks from the app. There are additionally superstar tales, a report on Netflix cracking down on password sharing – it’s all fairly innocuous stuff, particularly compared to the divisive political debates that after seemingly dominated Fb feeds.
When it comes to probably the most considered Fb Pages, it’s additionally dominated by viral development posters, recipes and pet clips.
So sure, Fb is just about as you’d anticipate – cute cat movies and superstar traits, with political content material nearly non-present amongst its most-viewed lists.
Which, as famous, is just not surprising, on condition that Meta has sought to cut back the presence of political posts, primarily based on suggestions from customers.
Again in January 2021, within the wake of the Capitol Riots, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained that:
“One of many prime items of suggestions we’re listening to from our neighborhood proper now’s that folks don’t need politics and combating to take over their expertise on our companies.”
That sparked Meta’s crew to re-align its algorithms with a purpose to scale back the attain of political posts, which has since seen a discount in such publicity on Fb. And whereas this push additionally confirmed that some customers do nonetheless need to see political content material in-stream, Meta has clearly taken a step again from this factor, by shifting its algorithmic incentives away from political debate.
As a substitute, Meta’s now emphasizing Reels, and consumption of short-form video within the feed, which has seen total Fb utilization on the rise in current months. But, the secondary affect of that’s that customers are posting fewer authentic updates, in favor of consuming video in feed as an alternative – so Fb is actually turning into extra of an leisure supplier on this context, versus a social community, the place folks look to publish their very own private updates.
That’s additionally mirrored on this stat, which is especially worthy of notice for social media managers:
“92.3% of the views within the US throughout Q1 2023 didn’t embody a hyperlink to a supply outdoors of Fb.”
That determine is on the rise – within the first Extensively Seen Content material report, revealed for Q3 2021, 86.5% of the posts considered didn’t embody a hyperlink outdoors the app.
The regular rise in views of posts that don’t embody hyperlinks possible correlates with the growing consumption of video content material, and customers partaking in-stream, but it surely’s possible additionally led to a big discount in referral visitors from the app.
So if you happen to needed to know why your Fb visitors is down, this might properly be it.
These are some attention-grabbing notes on Fb consumption behaviors, and the way the feed is shifting in step with new utilization traits. And whereas the referral visitors numbers are taking a success in consequence, it additionally looks as if a optimistic that divisive political debate is lowering in presence, which might see much less angst and debate total.
Or extra of that dialogue is shifting to non-public teams and DMs. Whether or not that might be a greater consequence, I don’t know, but it surely’s attention-grabbing to notice the newest Fb shifts nonetheless.
You’ll be able to learn Meta’s newest Extensively Seen Content material Report here.
