It is understandable for those who do not remember it, but back in October of this year, Facebook announced that they were testing out some new features and buttons, one of which was their Collections feature. The reason that forgetting this is understandable is simply because the idea seemed to fizzle out and disappear, without another word spoken of it. I had not really even noticed that the idea never took shape on Facebook, showing how quickly the new feature that was being tested came and went. Apparently though, according to Inside Facebook, another test for Collections is being put in place, and Facebook is still showing interest in getting the ball rolling on the feature.
The Collections feature is now being described as something that allows brands and businesses with Facebook Pages post photos or information regarding their product, and then lets users save the items that they are interested in or that they want to buy into a collection.
Facebook originally said that they were removing the Collections and Want features because they were preparing to fully launch the feature, but it appears that this full launch did not work out quite as well as the company had expected, as they are now performing another test, and have removed the want button from the equation.
A spokesperson told Inside Facebook:
The goal of this test is to understand how people are interacting with and sharing items from a Collection in their News Feeds
The feature will ultimately take the functionality of Facebook Page posts to another level, by letting uses interact and engage with them further than they have been able to in the past. For now, though, they will be a solely desktop feature, as taking it to mobile is a step to be taken upon finding the results of the test.
Some of the brands that Inside Facebook has reported as taking part in this new feature’s testing period include:
- Nordstrom
- Pottery Barn
- Pottery Barn Kids
- Pottery Barn Teens
- West Elm
- Michael Kors
- Fab.com
- Belk
- Etsy
- Macy’s
- Old Navy
- Mark & Graham
- Wayfair.com
Facebook Offers went over quite well with marketers on the network, and Facebook Collections could potentially help these Page posters equally or better. A premium new form of post on Facebook could help the already successful marketing potential that Facebook offers to marketers, and with Collections, marketers may get just that.
Collections came once, but people were not overly excited about them, and Facebook took the test feature down. Now, the new test for the feature provides a bit more of an interesting platform for Page users. If it does end up becoming a fully launched and widely used feature on Facebook, it is easy to predict that success will be seen from it, and it may even provide another way for marketers to measure their success on Facebook. Until Facebook releases further information regarding the status of this testing, we will just have to wait and find out if the feature is ready to become widely used.
