Facebook’s advertising tools is designed to personalise the experience of every user, so that they see ads which are relevant to them, and which reflect the kinds of searches they are making both on Facebook and across other online platforms.
By rolling out a similar kind of feed to that used on TikTok, generating a feed of content which has been selected for you, Facebook is placing more and more emphasis on ads and suggested posts rather than authentic content shared by your friends and pages that you follow.
But while the reason seems clear, the results can be pretty annoying.
Sponsored posts, suggested posts, and paid ads now seem to dominate most user feeds on Facebook. What’s more, there is no specific way of turning ads off.
The best thing that you can do to manage your newsfeed and control how many sponsored, suggested, and paid posts you see, is to give Facebook feedback on the content you see and make it more relevant.
How to Manage Facebook Ads
You may not be able to switch Facebook ads off, but what you can do is keep Facebook informed of what you like seeing and what you don’t like.
By selecting the three dots in the top right hand corner of an ad, sponsored, or suggested post, you can let tell Facebook to ‘Show More’ or ‘Show Less’ content like that. The more often you use this tool, the more personalised and tailored your browsing experience will become.
You can also click on ‘Why am I seeing this ad?’ to find out more about the poster’s target demographic and to update your own ad preferences.
Updating Your Ad Preferences
Again, while switching ads off is not possible on Facebook, we can take steps to manage the content we see.
In the Accounts Centre behind your Facebook profile, the ‘Ad Preference’ menu enables you to look at ads that you have interacted with, view ad topics that Facebook has liked to your account and learn more about the data that advertisers use to track your activity.
To find this menu, click on the Menu button in the bottom right hand corner of your Facebook feed, then select ‘Accounts Centre’. Scroll down to ‘Ad Preferences’ and take some time diving into each section of the menu for further information. Managing ‘Ad Topics’ is one of the most effective ways of quickly adjusting the filter that Facebook uses to select ads for your feed.
How to See More Posts From Friends
The more people you are friends with on Facebook, and the more interactive those friends are, the higher the chance of seeing friends’ posts in your feed.
However, as the structure of Facebook has changed to include more ads and suggested posts, these updates from friends will always be countered by Facebook-selected content.
In some regions, Facebook has rolled out a feed menu that allows users to switch between the classic feed and a Friends feed – however, this is not yet available in many regions. If you do have this feature available, then opting to view the Friends feed is a good way to quickly see updates from your Facebook connections without ads getting in the way.
Understanding Facebook Feed Changes
Facebook continues to roll out changes that ensure the platform is good for business as well as personal use. The changes to the feed in recent years may have altered the way users browse, but there are still plenty of ways to control the content you see and ensure you only view and interact with the content that’s relevant to you.
We hope this helps, with some insight into why ads have become such a mainstay on Facebook and how to personalise your experience as much as possible.
