AdvertisingScreenshot A current sponsored post.
While advertisers are still analyzing what this means for their business, they can rest easy on one thing. A Facebook spokesperson told Business Insider that ads will be allowed in the friends only feed.
It's the organic, unpaid brand posts that will be sequestered to the "Following" page, which also includes posts by public figures and publications.
Controversially, for advertisers at least, companies will not be able to specify which feeds their ads appear in. A spokesperson told us, "when we roll this out, I don't think you'll be able to specify [what feeds an advertiser's sponsored post appears on.]" We asked for clarification on exactly how feeds will be chosen for ads, and will update this post once we hear back.
When asked if some brands might feel as if they're at a disadvantage if they don't get to show up specifically on the friends-only feed — some people are more interested in what their actual peers have to say instead of the companies they follow — the spokesperson disagreed.
"Well, I think you could look at it the other way, maybe friends will be annoyed," because people will only want to look at brand posts and what their favorite public figures have to say.