News Feed FYI: How the Reactions Test Will Impact Ranking

By Chris Tosswill, Product Manager

Today we are beginning to test Reactions – an extension of the Like button that gives people more ways to share their reaction to a post in a quick and easy way. We’re excited to start this test, but understand that this is a big change, and one that we want to make sure to get right. So we’re starting by offering Reactions to Ireland and Spain, where people will be able to react to any post across Facebook – a post from a friend, advertiser, publisher or business.

Our goal is to show you the stories that matter most to you in News Feed. Initially, just as we do when someone likes a post, if someone uses a Reaction, we will infer they want to see more of that type of post. We will spend time learning from this initial rollout and iterate based on findings in the future.

Will this impact my Page?
We see this as an opportunity for businesses and publishers to better understand how people are responding to their content on Facebook. During this test, Page owners will be able to see Reactions to all of their posts on Page insights. Reactions will have the same impact on ad delivery as Likes do. We will spend time learning from this initial test and use that feedback to improve. Overall, Pages should continue to post things that their audience finds meaningful and continue using our Page post best practices.

We want to hear from people who use Facebook what works and what doesn’t during this test, before we make this change for everyone. Stay tuned!