Sometimes Facebook can feel like the popular jock at school that everyone talks bad about behind his back, but can’t help cheering him on when he’s throwing that touchdown pass. Right now we may be doing some behind-the-back gossiping since Facebook announced its most recent changes.

But let’s take a minute to step back and review not only the facts about this change, but the good the change will offer and the bad that brands can expect.

The Facts:

1. Facebook has introduced additional news feed options:
2. All Friends- you can view only friend updates
3. Following- this will include updates from the brands that you have “liked”
4. Photos- any posts that are enhanced with photos will be featured here
5. Groups- updates from all groups you are associated with
6. Games- updates on all those online games you know and love in one convenient feed
7. Music- want to know what your buddy is listening to? Well you’re in the right place
8. Most Recent- ah, it’s nice to see something familiar that will be sticking around
9. The posts will now be more visual with larger photos.
10. You will have more control over what you view.

The Good:

1. Paid page like stories will now display the page’s cover photo (check out this example).
2. In-stream ads can now be more visually appealing with increased photo size.
3. Brands can advertise by targeting specific news feeds.
4. Brands can get creative with photos to capture attention, and can be featured in more than one feed—especially if photos are used in posts.
5. Brands won’t have to compete with personal posts from the user’s friends in the “Following” feed.
6. News feed that features mobile and desktop compatibility for easier cross advertising.

The Bad:

1. Brands will no longer be in the main newsfeed—they will need to be sought out in the “Following” feed to be seen by the user, which means they are more likely to be ignored.
2. While you can still advertise in friends-only feeds, you will need to be strategic with the ads so as to not annoy the user.
3. Ads to the right side of the news feed will no longer receive as much recognition with the increased news feed size.

That is a lot of change, which may result in some frustration towards Facebook. While we may be gossiping about that popular jock now, I can only hope we’re cheering Facebook on after we get used to the latest changes, and see that it was a touchdown.

To get on the list to be one of the first embracing the change, click here.