Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. is changing the way it shows users posts and videos on its flagship social network, part of an effort to get people to watch content from accounts they don’t already follow and better compete with the video app TikTok.
The main feed on Facebook will now be called “Home,” and will be a place for people to “discover new content” that Facebook thinks that they’ll like, according to a company blog post. That includes photos and videos selected by software algorithms, which will surface content based on users’ interests, from both accounts they follow and those they don’t. The changes will start next week, but the majority of the content will still come from accounts users follow, a Meta spokeswoman said. The company plans to increase the new content it shows over time as it improves the recommendation algorithm.
Facebook’s user growth has stalled in recent years in the US and Europe. Competitor TikTok, known for its younger audience, has seen significant growth in its number of users and time spent on the app globally. In turn, Facebook has been working to attract young people — a group that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has called the company’s “north star.” TikTok, whose main feed is called the “For You” page, serves up short-form videos to users with help from its algorithm that discerns their likes and dislikes from their activity on the platform. Most often these videos are from accounts that users don’t directly follow, but whose content aligns with their interests.
This personalized approach has helped catapult TikTok to 1 billion monthly users in just four years. While TikTok only has about a third of Facebook’s 2.9 billion users, the average TikTok user spends 29 hours a month on the app, almost double Facebook’s 16 hours. This yet another step that social media companies are taking in making video based content the primary form of content online, making it all the more important for influencers and businesses alike to start producing video content to capture any attention online.
