Once only available to media companies, celebrities or other influencers, branded content has now been enabled for all verified Facebook pages, as of April 8th.
Facebook defines branded content as any post that specifically mentions or features a third party product, brand or sponsor. This can include text, photos, video, instant articles, links, lives video and 360 videos. For example, if you are sponsored by an energy drink company, you can directly tag that brand in your sick new video, and give them access to post metrics as well as the ability to use that content on their page, too.
According to the new policy, all publishers of branded content must tag a marketer when they publish branded content. Facebook’s new branded content tool — available in iOS, Power Editor, Ads Manager, the Mentions app and the Marketing API — allows you to create sponsor tags and notifies the marketer of the tag, giving them access to high level performance insights about post performance, including reach and engagement metrics. Additionally, the marketer will have the ability to share the post to their own page and put an additional spend towards that content. Control of the content still rests with you, not the marketer; the marketer cannot take any actions like deleting or editing the post, or change management permissions of the post.
With this new tool also comes restrictions on what types of branded content can be published on Facebook, to keep users engaged. Based on actual feedback, the new policy prohibits overly promotional content, like watermarks over five seconds, pre-roll advertisements, banner ads within photos, and more. This policy should ensure that your fans have the most relevant Newsfeed for them, which increases the likelihood of them engaging with both your branded and non-branded content.
