Matt Navarra, a famous social media industry consultant, and commentator has recently tweeted that Facebook is testing a new feature for the Watch feed. It is a ‘Topics you follow’ trend feature, which integrates hashtags and suggests users some videos that may interest them based on the topics they follow or the hashtags they use.
As per some screenshots posted by Navarra, Facebook says that #Topics is one of the many ways a user’s Watch feed is determined. Facebook will focus on showing more videos in Watch that will be related to #Topics that the users follow. Due to different ways these videos are categorized, the users may get notified for videos they may not be interested in, or see videos related to the #Topics or Pages that they follow may also not appear in their Watch feed.
While most of the recommendation suggestions of content users see on these social media platforms are algorithmically generated and are based on users’ interest and search activity, however, not everything is completely foolproof. So, it seems that while Facebook is integrating a sharper feature for recommendation suggestions of videos based on Topics that are followed by the user, the chances of slight errors here and there are still present.
Another screenshot reveals some broad categories like Food, Fashion, and Style, Music, etc., which have further sub-topics that the users can access and select. For example, in the category of Food, users can choose to follow #Alcohol, #Baking, #BarsPubs, #BBQGrilling, #Beef, and so on.
In the category of Fashion & Style, the sub-topics that may interest users include #ActiveWear, #AfroTexturedHair, #BackPacks, #Bags, #FacialHair, #Beauty, etc.
From the category of Music, trends like #AudioElectronics, #AudioProduction, #ClassicalMusic, #ComedyMusic, #CountryMusic, #ElectronicMusic, etc. can be followed.
All the topics that a user chooses to follow will determine the type of videos they will get notified for in their Watch feed.
Surprisingly, Facebook had a form of this feature on Instagram, and it is very popular on the platform. It helps the users browse through their Explore feed easily, and with more chances of engagement and connectivity of users with brands that they like or prefer. So, this feature has proved beneficial for business accounts on Instagram too. It took a long while to bring this feature on its main app, and that is quite weird because Facebook has features like Facebook Marketplace and Shops too. This ‘topics you follow’ feature can help business accounts on Facebook through this feature too, as they can show videos of their products to users who have shown interest by following relatable topics.
Read next: The Psychological Factors Leading to Viral Misinformation
As per some screenshots posted by Navarra, Facebook says that #Topics is one of the many ways a user’s Watch feed is determined. Facebook will focus on showing more videos in Watch that will be related to #Topics that the users follow. Due to different ways these videos are categorized, the users may get notified for videos they may not be interested in, or see videos related to the #Topics or Pages that they follow may also not appear in their Watch feed.
While most of the recommendation suggestions of content users see on these social media platforms are algorithmically generated and are based on users’ interest and search activity, however, not everything is completely foolproof. So, it seems that while Facebook is integrating a sharper feature for recommendation suggestions of videos based on Topics that are followed by the user, the chances of slight errors here and there are still present.
— whimchic (@whimchic) September 1, 2020
Another screenshot reveals some broad categories like Food, Fashion, and Style, Music, etc., which have further sub-topics that the users can access and select. For example, in the category of Food, users can choose to follow #Alcohol, #Baking, #BarsPubs, #BBQGrilling, #Beef, and so on.
In the category of Fashion & Style, the sub-topics that may interest users include #ActiveWear, #AfroTexturedHair, #BackPacks, #Bags, #FacialHair, #Beauty, etc.
From the category of Music, trends like #AudioElectronics, #AudioProduction, #ClassicalMusic, #ComedyMusic, #CountryMusic, #ElectronicMusic, etc. can be followed.
All the topics that a user chooses to follow will determine the type of videos they will get notified for in their Watch feed.
And, some are overlapping! Here, in Home & Garden, Science & Tech 😊 pic.twitter.com/QKpW9eP1I6— whimchic (@whimchic) August 31, 2020
Surprisingly, Facebook had a form of this feature on Instagram, and it is very popular on the platform. It helps the users browse through their Explore feed easily, and with more chances of engagement and connectivity of users with brands that they like or prefer. So, this feature has proved beneficial for business accounts on Instagram too. It took a long while to bring this feature on its main app, and that is quite weird because Facebook has features like Facebook Marketplace and Shops too. This ‘topics you follow’ feature can help business accounts on Facebook through this feature too, as they can show videos of their products to users who have shown interest by following relatable topics.
Read next: The Psychological Factors Leading to Viral Misinformation
