Facebook

‘Original’ Facebook is making a return

Back in the ‘olden’ days (aka 2004), Facebook was simply a platform for users to connect with their friends online, and see updates about their lives. Fast forward over 20 years and Facebook as we know it now in 2025, is one of the largest social media platforms with over $2 billion spent in ad revenue year on year.

As new platforms evolve and continue to grow, dominating the space where Facebook was originally the top contender, we’re starting to see Facebook trying to retain their engaged audience with new features.

One of those new features is actually a returning one, with the ability to filter one’s feed to now only show content from friends. By selecting this algorithm, users can remove ‘suggested’ content from their feeds and simply browse the latest posts from their friends and family.

The feature is first being rolled out to the US and Canada but we have no doubt that it will be available worldwide in no time.

Will more original features make a return? We’ll eagerly wait the return of ‘poking’…

Ads coming to Facebook notifications

Meta is testing ads in Facebook notifications, providing advertisers with a new placement to re-engage users who have interacted with their ads or shown an interest in the brand’s content. The new ad test, launching in spring 2025, aims to drive discovery, reconsideration and conversions. This placement will be useful for e-commerce businesses looking to remind users of their offers.

Highlighting a shift to always-on-demand generation, Meta states:

“Outside of seasonal moments, marketers also come to Meta to create moments in time that turn consumer interest into conversion.”

With a global rollout planned for summer for businesses to utilise in their holiday campaigns, this new update could influence engagement strategies and re-engage Facebook users. However, user reception may not be particularly positive. Seeing an ad instead of an expected notification could certainly frustrate users and disrupt their usual browsing experience. Meta has emphasised that these ads will only engage users who have previously interacted with a brand; however, the shift towards placements in such a personal space may not be welcomed by everyone.

Facebook introduces Broadcast Channels on Facebook and Messenger

Broadcast channels are a way for accounts to share updates or messages with their followers. This is usually popular for big accounts like brands and influencers and allows updates to be conveyed in an intimate chat format.

This has already been rolled out across Instagram and allows users to connect with their most loyal followers in an authentic space. Followers can react to messages but are unable to reply, making these channels the perfect place for regular updates.

Recently, Facebook announced they were making Broadcast Channels available for eligible Facebook Pages. The eligibility would depend on the follower count of these Pages, needing at least 10,000 followers. Facebook has announced that they are looking to make this feature available for professional mode creators who also have more than 10,000 followers.

As this update is already live on Instagram, it’s no real surprise that Facebook is beginning to roll out this feature for Messenger. It will enable users to automatically share updates from their Instagram channel to their Facebook channel, saving them time and effort.