Skip to main content

Facebook testing new ad unit to clutter your News Feed called ‘Suggested Pages’

Facebook changes users' default email to @facebook.com address
Image used with permission by copyright holder

New ad unit alert! As a user, we’ve had enough of ads cluttering our Facebook News Feeds. Now we’ve gotten a first look at a new type of ad block coming to the social network called “Suggested Page.”

Comparing the “Suggested Page” ad unit with “Suggested Post,” there really isn’t much that differentiates the two aside from the amount of space it takes up in your newsfeed and the type of content that the ads promote. All the basics of a Suggested Post exist in Suggested Page. There’s an inline “Like” button, accompanied by the number of likes the page has amassed and a tag labeled “Sponsored.” The two column box reminds us of the framework in the articles that show up from publishers that you’re following.

Facebook suggested page
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Just to recap what Suggested Post does, advertisers will pay Facebook to promote their content to users across the social network – people who see these posts aren’t necessarily following the advertiser’s Facebook page and since the Suggested Posts are native advertising units, they appear in its users’ News Feeds. In the same manner, considering that I’ve never “Liked” the University of Management and Technology, it’s safe to say that these Suggested Pages target demographics that advertisers have cherry-picked.

Recommended Videos

Facebook is hell-bent on finding new revenue generating opportunities and testing new advertising units to find what sticks. It’s hard to blame the company: Post-IPO, it’s incredibly crucial Facebook prove itself as a profit-friendly platform, as it’s come under heavy scrutiny. Take the recent Sponsored Stories lawsuit and $20 million judgment, and Wall Street’s disappointment over Graph Search

We’ve reached out to Facebook to find out more about Suggested Pages and we’ll update this post with any response.

Update: A Facebook spokesperson has responded, telling us that Facebook is “currently testing this feature but have nothing further to share at this time.”

Francis Bea
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Francis got his first taste of the tech industry in a failed attempt at a startup during his time as a student at the…
Topics
Trump campaign launches Facebook ads calling for support to ban TikTok
TikTok's Logo

 

The presidential campaign of Donald Trump rolled out Facebook advertisements that call for support in banning video-sharing app TikTok, which has been under scrutiny over security issues.

Read more
Bluesky finally adds a feature many had been waiting for
A blue sky with clouds.

Bluesky has been making a lot of progress in recent months by simplifying the process to sign up while at the same time rolling out a steady stream of new features.

As part of those continuing efforts, the social media app has just announced that users can now send direct messages (DMs).

Read more
Reddit just achieved something for the first time in its 20-year history
The Reddit logo.

Reddit’s on a roll. The social media platform has just turned a profit for the first time in its 20-year history, and now boasts a record 97.2 million daily active users, marking a year-over-year increase of 47%. A few times during the quarter, the figure topped 100 million, which Reddit CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman said in a letter to shareholders had been a “long-standing milestone” for the site.

The company, which went public in March, announced the news in its third-quarter earnings results on Tuesday.

Read more