Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CUSTOMIZING CONTENT DELIVERY FROM A BRAND PAGE TO A USER IN A SOCIAL
NETWORKING ENVIRONMENT
BACKGROUND
[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to social
networking and,
more specifically, to personalized distribution of content items to users of a
social networking
system.
[0002] Social networks, or social utilities that track and enable
connections between users
(including people, businesses, and other entities), have become prevalent in
recent years. In
particular, a social networking system allows users to more efficiently
communicate information
that is relevant to their friends or other connections in the social network.
Social networks
typically incorporate a system for maintaining connections among users in the
social network and
links to content that are likely to be relevant to the users. Social networks
also collect and
maintain information about the users of the social network. This information
may be static,
such as geographic location, employer, job type, age, music preferences,
interests, and a variety
of other attributes, or it may be dynamic, such as tracking a user's actions
within the social
network. This information can then be used to target information delivery so
that information
more likely to be of particular interest to a user can be communicated to that
user.
[0003] While social networking systems allow people to exchange information
with each
other, they also allow entities to provide information to users of the social
networking system.
Examples of entities include businesses, organizations and celebrities. An
entity may create a
brand page, which is associated with a profile, within the social networking
system and post
content items to the brand page. The social networking system then
communicates the posted
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content item or a description of the posted content item to social networking
system users
connected to the brand page. Hence, the brand page allows the entity to act as
any other user of
the social networking system and disseminate information to social networking
system users.
[0004] However, various types of entities have audiences composed of
segments, wherein
each segment has a particular interest in the entity. In the social networking
context, different
social networking system users may have different levels of interest in
different content posted to
the brand page. For example, users connected to a brand page associated with a
sporting goods
supplier have varying degrees of interest in posts on the brand page about
products for different
sports. Conventionally, users connected to a brand page are notified of
content posted to the
brand page without accounting for differing levels of interest in different
content posted to the
brand page.
SUMMARY
[0005] To better customize interaction between a brand page that is
associated with an entity
and stored on a social networking system, one or more attributes of content
posted to the brand
page are used in conjunction with characteristics in a social networking
system user's user profile
to select the content presented to the user when the brand page is accessed.
For example,
content posted to the brand page is associated with targeting criteria
defining at least one
characteristic of a user of the social networking system. The targeting
criteria are used to direct
content to users of the social networking system for whom the content posted
to the brand page is
of particular interest. In one embodiment, user profiles of social networking
system users to
whom the brand page is connected are accessed and used to determine whether a
viewing user to
whom the brand page is connected has the at least one characteristic defined
by the targeting
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criteria. If the viewing user to whom the brand page is connected has the
characteristic, the
content posted to the brand page corresponding to the at least one
characteristic is presented to
the viewing user.
[0006] As another example, a user's affinity for different content posted
to the brand page by
an administrator so that the brand page includes content for which the user
has a threshold
affinity or has highest affinity when viewed by the user. A brand page
administrator may
associate keywords with content posted to the brand page describing the
content. Based on a
user's user profile and/or connections to objects in the social networking
system, the user's
affinities for keywords associated with different content is determined. Based
on the affinities,
content is selected for inclusion on the brand page, so that the content is
more likely to be of
=
interest to the user.
[0007] For example, a page administrator for a brand page associated with a
sporting goods
supplier posts a story about a tennis clinic to the brand page and associates
the story a keyword of
"tennis." A user profile, or an action log, of a social networking system user
connected to the
brand page may be accessed and used to determine whether the user has an
interest for "tennis."
For example, the user has an affinity for "tennis" if "tennis" is listed as an
interest in the user
profile or if other information associated with the user profile indicates the
user has at least a
threshold affinity for "tennis." If the user has an interest in "tennis," the
content posted to the
brand page associated with a keyword of "tennis" is presented to the user.
However, if the user
does not have an interest in "tennis," content posted to the brand page
associated with "tennis" is
not presented to the user when the brand page is accessed. Hence, associating
keywords or
other characteristics with content posted to a brand page allows the brand
page to be customized
for different users based on the users' affinity for the keywords or
characteristics.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is an event diagram illustrating a process for selecting
content to provide on a
display to a user, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
[0009] FIG. 2 is a network diagram of a system for providing content items
to users of a
social networking system, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
[0010] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a social networking system, in
accordance with an
embodiment of the invention.
[00111 FIG. 4 is an interaction diagram of a process for selecting content
items for display, in
accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
[0012] FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a process for selecting content items, in
accordance with an
embodiment of the invention.
[0013] FIGS. 6A-6C are illustrations of page views in a social networking
system that have
been personalized, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0014] The figures depict various embodiments of the present invention for
purposes of
illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the
following discussion that
alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may
be employed
without departing from the principles of the invention described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Overview
[0015] FIG. 1 shows an example of selecting content posted to a brand page
for presentation
to social networking system users. In FIG. 1, a first content item 140 and a
second content item
144 are posted to a brand page 104, which is stored by a social networking
system 100. An
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entity may generate and maintain the brand page 104 to post information about
itself, about its
products or to provide other information to users of the social networking
system 100.
Examples of content an entity may post to the brand page 104 include: stories
about services or
products offered by the entity, pictures of the entity, pictures of products
and/or services offered
by the entity, new product introductions, product sales, stories of products
in use, promotional
offers for products or services, articles and/or reviews describing a product
or service offered by
the entity or other suitable information. In FIG. 1, a first content item 140
and a second content
item 144 are depicted as posted to the brand page 104. The first content item
140 and the
second content item 144 may be presented to social networking users viewing
the brand page 104
in a variety of ways. For example, the content items 140, 144 are displayed on
the brand page
104, are included in a news feed story sent to users connected to the brand
page 104, are
transmitted as one or more messages to users connected to the brand page 104
or are distributed
using any suitable channel.
[0016] Social networking system users may connect to the brand page 104 to
be updated
when content items are posted to the brand page 104, to receive updates about
the entity or other
suitable information. For example, social networking system users may become
friends with
the brand page, follow the brand page, become a fan of the brand page or
otherwise establish a
connection with the brand page and/or its associated entity in the social
networking system 100.
Hence, the brand page 104 allows the entity to provide information about
itself or its products
and/or services to social networking system users to promote a relationship
between the entity
and social networking system users.
[0017] For purposes of illustration, the brand page 104 in FIG. 1 is
associated with a sporting
goods supplier, with the first content item 140 describing tennis racquets
stocked by the sporting
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goods supplier and the second content item 144 describing running shoes sold
by the sporting
goods supplier. The first content item 140 is associated with a first keyword
116 and the second
content item 144 is associated with a second keyword 120. Keywords associated
with a content
item describe characteristics of the content item, such as the subject matter
of the content item, a
product associated with the content item, an entity associated with the
content item, an author of
the content item or other suitable characteristic associated with a content
item. In one
embodiment, one or more of the keywords associated with a content item may be
targeting
criteria. Targeting criteria define one or more characteristics of a social
networking system user
to whom the entity desires to present a content item. For example, targeting
criteria identifies
one or more interests included a user profile (e.g., demographic information,
affiliations with
groups of the social networking system or other characteristics), as well as
characteristics
inferred from user actions taken on or off the social networking system.
Additional examples of
targeting criteria include a location, an action, an event, a type of
connection to a user or entity,
an entity, a user, a employer, an educational institution, an affinity or
other suitable information.
[0018] In FIG. 1, the first keyword 116 identifies a characteristic of
"tennis" for the first
content item 140 while the second keyword 120 identifies a characteristic of
"running" For the
second content item 144. When a user accesses the brand page 104, information
associated
with the user and the keywords associated with content items included on the
brand page are used
to select content items presented to the user by the brand page 104. If a
keyword is targeting
criteria, information in a user profile is compared to the keyword to
determine whether the user
satisfies the targeting criteria. For example, a user is determined to have
the characteristic
identified by the first keyword 120 if a user profile includes "tennis" as an
interest. While FIG.
1 shows a single keyword associated with different content items, in other
embodiments, any
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number of keywords may be associated with content items. As another example,
the affinities
of a user for keywords are calculated, and content items associated with
keywords with which the
user has the highest affinity or at least a threshold affinity are selected
for inclusion on the brand
page 104. In one embodiment, the keywords 116, 120 are defined by the entity,
which also
associates the keywords 116, 120 with one or more content items 140, 144. As
shown in FIG.
1, different content items 140, 144 posted to the brand page 104 may be
associated with different
keywords 116, 120.
[0019] In conventional social networking systems, users connected to a
brand page 104 are
presented with each content item 140, 144 posted to a brand page 140. For
example, a
conventional brand page 104 sends the first content item 140 and the second
content item 144 to
a user. So, a user connected to the brand page 104 with no interest in running
would be
presented the running-focused second content item 144 as well as other content
items from the
brand page 104. Because different users connected to the brand page 104 have
different
interests, this may result in a user manually sifting through content items
from the brand page
104 to identify content items of interest to the user.
[0020] By associating keywords 116, 120 with content items 140, 144, an
entity improves
interaction between social networking system users and the brand page 104.
Keywords 116,
120 allows the entity to associate content items with one or more
characteristics of users to
whom the entity desires a content item to be presented or to associated
content items with
characteristics with which a user may have an affinity. In one embodiment,
keywords 116, 120
identify information in a user profile of the social networking system
identifying a characteristic
of a user that the entity desires to receive a content item. For example,
keywords 116, 120
associated with a content item 140, 144 allows an entity to direct a content
item 140, 144 to users
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having one or more characteristics specified by the keywords 116, 120.
Alternatively, keywords
116, 120 identify topics or entities with which a user may have an affinity or
preference. Hence,
the keywords 116, 120 allow an entity to better customize content from a brand
page 104 to
social networking system users.
[0021] FIG. 1 illustrates use of keywords 116, 120 to customize content
items provided by a
brand page 104 to social networking system users. In FIG. 1, a first user 122
and a second user
126 are connected to the brand page 104. The social networking system 100 also
includes a
first user profile 124 for the first user 122 and a second user profile 128
for the second user 126.
FIG. 1 shows the first user profile 124 having a stored interest of "tennis"
and the second user
profile 128 having a stored interest of "running." However, the user profiles
124, 128 may also
include additional information about the first and second users 122, 126.
[0022] In FIG. 1, the social networking system 100 includes a content
selector 170, which
receives the keywords 116, 120 from the brand page 104 and retrieves data from
the first user
profile 124 and from the second user profile 124 to select content items for
presentation to the
first user 122 and to the second user 126 via the brand page 104. The content
selector 170
compares user profile information for users connected to the brand page 104 to
the keywords
116, 120. In one embodiment, the content selector 170 also receives a content
identifier from
the brand page 104 identifying the content item associated with keywords 116,
120. The
content selector 170 then delivers a content item to users connected to the
brand page 104 that
have user profile information matching one or more keywords or that have at
least a threshold
affinity for a keyword. In the example of FIG. 1, the content selector 170
delivers the first
content item 140 to the first user 122, because the first user profile 124
identifies "tennis" as an
interest of the first user 122, matching the first keyword 116. Similarly, the
content selector 170
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=
delivers the second content item 144 to the second user 126, as the second
user profile 128
identifies "running" as a interest of the second user 126, which matches the
second keyword 120.
[0023] The example of FIG. 1 also illustrates customization of content
displayed to the first
user 122 and to the second user 126. For purposes of illustration, FIG. 1
shows a first news
feed 132 delivered to the first user 122 and a second news feed delivered to
the second user 126.
However, in various embodiments content may be delivered to the first user 122
and to the
second user 126 in a variety of ways, such as via messages to the users 122,
126, modification of
the brand page 104 appearance when accessed by the users 122, 126 or any other
suitable
distribution mechanism.
[0024] In FIG. 1, the first user 122 has an interest in "tennis," which
matches the first
keyword 116. Hence, the first content item 140 is included in the first news
feed 132 in
addition to additional stories 148, which may describe actions taken by other
social networking
users connected to the first user 122. As shown in FIG. 1, the first news feed
132 does not
include the second content item 120 because the first user 122 does not have
an interest in
"running," as specified by the second keyword 120. In other embodiments, the
first news feed
132 may also include the second content item 120 in a less-prominent location
than the first
content item 140. For example, the first content item 140 is positioned at the
top of the first
news feed 132 or is otherwise visually distinguished from the second content
item 144.
[0025] Similarly, the second news feed 136 in FIG. 1 includes the second
content item 144
because the second user 126 has an interest in "running," as specified by the
second keyword
120. The second news feed 136 also includes additional stories 152 describing
actions of other
users connected to the second user 126. In various embodiments, the second
news feed 126
may visually distinguish the second content item 144 from the additional
stories 152.
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[0026] Hence, FIG. 1 shows use of keywords 116, 120 to customize the
content items from a
brand page 104 appearing in news feeds for different users. In other
embodiments, the targeting
criteria 116, 120 allow additional types of customization, such as customizing
the appearance of
the brand page 104 when accessed by different users 122, 126 or customizing
messages about
content sent from the brand page 104 to different users 122, 126.
System Architecture .
[0027] FIG. 2 is a high level block diagram illustrating a system
environment 200 for a social
networking system 100. The system environment 200 comprises one or more client
devices
210, a network 220, one or more third-party websites 230 and the social
networking system 100.
In alternative configurations, different and/or additional components may be
included in the
system environment 200. The embodiments described herein can be adapted to
online systems
that are not social networking systems.
[0028] The client devices 210 comprise one or more computing devices
capable of receiving
user input as well as transmitting and/or receiving data via the network 220.
In one
embodiment, a client device 210 is a conventional computer system, such as a
desktop or laptop
computer. In another embodiment, a client device 210 may be a device having
computer
functionality, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), mobile telephone,
smart-phone or
similar device. A client device 210 is configured to communicate via the
network 220. In one
embodiment, a client device 210 executes an application allowing a user of the
client device 210
to interact with the social networking system 100. For example, a client
device 210 executes a
browser application to enable interaction between the client device 210 and
the social networking
system 100 via the network 220. In another embodiment, a client device 210
interacts with the
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social networking system 100 through an application programming interface
(API) that runs on
the native operating system of the client device 210, such as IOS or
ANDROIDTM.
[0029] The client devices 210 are configured to communicate via the network
220, which
may comprise any combination of local area and/or wide area networks, using
both wired and
wireless communication systems. In one embodiment, the network 220 uses
standard
communications technologies and/or protocols. Thus, the network 220 may
include links using
technologies such as Ethernet, 802.11, worldwide interoperability for
microwave access
(WiMAX), 3G, 4G, CDMA, digital subscriber line (DSL), etc. Similarly, the
networking
protocols used on the network 220 may include multiprotocol label switching
(MPLS),
transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), User Datagram
Protocol (UDP),
hypertext transport protocol (HTTP), simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP) and
file transfer
protocol (FTP). Data exchanged over the network 220 may be represented using
technologies
and/or formats including hypertext markup language (HTML) or extensible markup
language
(XML). In addition, all or some of links can be encrypted using conventional
encryption
technologies such as secure sockets layer (SSL), transport layer security
(TLS), and Internet
Protocol security (lPsec). The third party website 230 may be coupled to the
network 220 for
communicating with the social networking system 100, which is further
described below in
conjunction with FIG. 3.
[0030] FIG. 3 is an example block diagram of one embodiment of a system
architecture of
the social networking system 100. The social networking system 100 includes a
user profile
store 305, a content store 310, an action logger 315, an action log 320, a
content selector 170, a
newsfeed manager 325, an edge store 330, a display generator 335, and a web
server 340. In
other embodiments, the social networking system 100 may include additional,
fewer, or different
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modules for various applications. Conventional components such as network
interfaces,
security functions, load balancers, failover servers, management and network
operations
consoles, and the like are not shown so as to not obscure the details of the
system architecture.
[0031] Each user of the social networking system 100 is associated with a
user profile, which
is stored in the user profile store 305. A user profile includes declarative
information about the
user that was explicitly shared by the user, and may also include profile
information inferred by
the social networking system 100. In one embodiment, a user profile includes
multiple data
fields, each data field describing one or more attributes of the corresponding
user of the social
networking system 100. The user profile information stored in user profile
store 305 describes
the users of the social networking system 100, including biographic,
demographic, and other
types of descriptive information, such as work experience, educational
history, gender, hobbies
or preferences, location and the like. A user profile may also store other
information provided
by the user, for example, images or videos. In certain embodiments, images of
users may be
tagged with identification information of users of the social networking
system 100 displayed in
an image. A user profile in the user profile store 305 may also maintain
references to actions by
the corresponding user performed on content items in the content store 310 and
stored in the
action log 320.
[0032] While user profiles in the user profile store 305 are frequently
associated with
individuals, allowing people to interact with each other via the social
networking system 100,
user profiles may also be stored for entities such as businesses or
organizations. This allows an
entity to establish a presence on the social networking system 100 for
connecting and exchanging
content with other social networking system users. The entity may post
information about
itself, about its products or provide other information to users of the social
networking system
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using a brand page associated with the entity's user profile. Other users of
the social
networking system may connect to the brand page to receive information posted
to the brand
page or to receive information from the brand page. A user profile associated
with the brand
page may include information about the entity itself, providing users with
background or
informational data about the entity.
[0033] Content store 310 stores content items associated with a user
profile, such as images,
videos and audio files. Content items from the content store 310 may be
displayed when a
profile page for a user is viewed, when a brand page is viewed or when other
content is viewed.
For example, displayed content items may show images or video associated with
a user profile or
show text describing a user's status. These content items may be presented to
the user in a
variety of communication channels. Examples of communication channels include
the brand
page, a news feed including content items from users or entities, e-mails,
text messaging,
notifications sent by the social networking system 100, a push notification
channel sending
content items to devices associated with a user, or other suitable
communication channels.
[0034] Additionally, other content items may facilitate user engagement by
encouraging a
user to expand his connections to other users, to invite new users to the
system or to increase
interaction with the social networking system 100 by displaying content
related to users, objects,
activities, or functionalities of the social networking system 100. Examples
of social
networking content items include suggested connections or suggestions to
perform other actions,
media provided to, or maintained by, the social networking system 100 (e.g.,
pictures or videos),
status messages or links posted by users to the social networking system,
invitations, events,
items in a user's wish-list, groups, pages (e.g., representing an organization
or commercial
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entity), deals, coupons, and any other content provided by or accessible via
the social networking
system.
[0035] The content store 310 also includes one or more brand pages
associated with user
profiles of entities. A brand page comprises content associated with the
entity and instructions
for presenting the content to a social networking system user. For example, a
brand page
identifies content associated with the entity's user profile as well as
information describing how
to present the content to users viewing the brand page. The content item store
310 may also
store one or more keywords associated with each content item in the content
store 310. The
keywords may be targeting criteria identifying one or more characteristics of
a user to whom a
content item is to be delivered. Alternatively, the keywords may identify
topics or
characteristics associated with content, allowing determination of user's
affinity for one or more
of the keywords to represent the likelihood of the user having an interest in
the content.
[0036] The action logger 315 receives communications about user actions on
and/or off the
social networking system 100, populating the action log 320 with information
about user actions.
Such actions may include, for example, adding a connection to another user,
sending a message
to another user, uploading an image, reading a message from another user,
viewing content
associated with another user, attending an event posted by another user, among
others. In some
embodiments, the action logger 315 identifies interaction between a social
networking system
user and a brand page within the social networking system 100, which
communicates targeting
criteria associated with content on the brand page to the content selector 170
to customize
content presented via a brand page. In addition, a number of actions described
in connection
with other objects are directed at particular users, so these actions are
associated with those users
as well. These actions are stored in the action log 320.
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[0037] The action log 320 may be used by the social networking system 100
to track user
actions on the social networking system 100, as well as external website that
communicate
information to the social networking system 100. Users may interact with
various objects on
the social networking system 100, including commenting on posts, sharing
links, and checking-in
to physical locations via a mobile device, accessing content items in a
sequence or other
interactions. Information describing these actions is stored in the action log
320. Additional
examples of interactions with objects on the social networking system 100
included in the action
log 320 include commenting on a photo album, communications between users,
becoming a fan
of a musician, adding an event to a calendar, joining a groups, becoming a fan
of a brand page,
creating an event, authorizing an application, using an application and
engaging in a transaction.
Additionally, the action log 320 records a user's interactions with
advertisements on the social
networking system 100 as well as other applications operating on the social
networking system
100. In some embodiments, data from the action log 320 is used to infer
interests or preferences
of the user, augmenting the interests included in the user profile and
allowing a more complete
understanding of user preferences.
[0038] The action log 320 may also store user actions taken on external
websites. For
example, an e-commerce website that primarily sells sporting equipment at
bargain prices may
recognize a user of a social networking system 100 through social plug-ins
that enable the e-
commerce website to identify the user of the social networking system 100.
Because users of
the social networking system 100 are uniquely identifiable, e-commerce
websites, such as this
sporting equipment retailer, may use the information about these users as they
visit their
websites. The action log 320 records data about these users, including webpage
viewing
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histories, advertisements that were engaged, purchases made, and other
patterns from shopping
and buying.
[0039] A news feed manager 325 selectively provides content to users of a
social networking
system 100 and records the consumption of content by users. In one embodiment,
the news
feed manager 325 generates stories for a user describing actions taken by
other users of the social
networking system 100 to whom the user is connected. In one example, the
newsfeed generated
by the news feed manager 325 for a user includes comments made by other users
to whom the
user is connected. In another example, the newsfeed generated includes content
posted to the
social network system 240 by other users of the social networking system to
whom the user is
connected or other actions taken by other users to whom the user is connected.
New news feed
stories generated for a user by the news feed manager may be ranked and stored
by the social
networking system 100. The news feed manager 325 may communicate with client
devices 210
through the network 220 to provide content to users of the social networking
system 100.
[0040] In one embodiment, a news feed manager 325 may provide content
through a social
plug-in, such as an iframe, to a third party website 230 to provide content
posted on the social
networking system 100 about an entity associated with the third party website
230. As an
example, a business entity creating a brand page on the social networking
system 100 may desire
to publish content items posted on the brand page's news feed in the social
networking system
100 to a third party website 230 via a social plug-in installed on the third
party website 230.
Hence, content items posted to a brand page may be communicated to users
connected to the
brand page using a variety of techniques. The content items may be included in
a news feed
presented to the user within a domain of the social networking system or
within a different
domain, such as a domain associated with the third party website 230. In
addition, the news
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feed manager 325 may distribute content items associated with a brand page to
users via a push
channel communicating the content items to an application operating on one or
more client
devices 210.
[0041] In one embodiment, an edge store 330 stores the information
describing connections
between users and other objects on the social networking system 100 in edge
objects. Some
edges may be defined by users, allowing users to specify their relationships
with other users.
For example, users may generate edges with other users that parallel the
users' real-life
relationships, such as friends, co-workers, partners, and so forth. Other
edges are generated
when users interact with objects in the social networking system 100, such as
expressing interest
in a page on the social networking system, sharing a link with other users of
the social
networking system, and commenting on posts made by other users of the social
networking
system.
[0042] The edge store 330 stores edge objects that include information
about the edge, such
as affinity scores for objects, interests, and other users. Affinity scores,
or affinities, may be
computed by the social networking system 100 over time to approximate a user's
affinity for an
object, interest, and other users in the social networking system 100 based on
the actions
performed by the user. Examples of actions used to calculate a user's affinity
for another user,
brand page or keyword include: the user commenting on a photo associated with
a keyword or
another user, the user expressing a preference for content on a brand page or
on a user profile, the
user posting content to a brand page or to a user profile, the frequency of
interaction between the
user and the brand page or with content associated with a keyword, the user
sharing content
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associated with a keyword or another user, the user subscribing to content
associated with a user
or with a keyword, or any other suitable action. Calculation of affinity
scores is further
described in U.S. Patent Application No. 12/978,265, describes various systems
for predicting a
user's affinity for content in a social networking system. Multiple
interactions between a user
and a specific object may be stored in one edge object in the edge store 330,
in one embodiment.
In some embodiments, connections between users may be stored in the user
profile store 310, or
the user profile store 310 may access the edge store 330 to determine
connections between users.
[0043] The web server 340 links the social networking system 100 via the
network 220 to the
one or more client deviees 210, as well as to the one or more third party
websites 230. The web
server 340 serves web pages, as well as other web-related content, such as
Java, Flash, XML and
so forth. The web server 340 may provide the functionality of receiving and
routing messages
between the social networking system 100 and the client device 210, for
example, instant
messages, queued messages (e.g., email), text and SMS (short message service)
messages, or
messages sent using any other suitable messaging technique. A user may send a
request to the
web server 340 to upload information, for example, images or videos that are
stored in the
content store 310. Additionally, the web server 340 may provide API
functionality to send data
directly to native client device operating systems, such as iO,S0, ANDROIDTm,
webOSO or
RIM.
[0044] The content selector 170 identifies content items from the content
store 310 for
presentation to social networking system users based on keywords associated
with content items
and information stored in user profiles. In one embodiment, the content
selector 170 selects
content posted to a brand page that is delivered to a user by determining
whether the user has a
characteristic specified by a keyword. For example, the content selector 170
compares an
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interest identified by a user profile with targeting criteria associated with
the content.
Alternatively, the content selector 170 selects content posted to a brand page
for presentation to
the user based on the user's affinity for keywords associated with the
content.
[0045] In one embodiment, the content selector 170 communicates with the
content store
310, the user profile store 305 and/or the action log 320 to identify content
from a brand page for
delivery to a social networking system user responsive to the user having
information in a user
profile matching, or otherwise associated with, a keyword associated with the
content. As an
example, the content selector 170 identifies one or more interests of a user
connected to a brand
page from a user profile associated with the user. In some embodiments, the
content selector
170 may identify a user's interests based on interactions between the user and
the brand page
retrieved from the action log 320; this allows the content selector 170 to
used brand-page specific
interactions to ascertain a user's interest. The content selector 170 may
communicate with the
user profile store 305 to modify the user's profile to include an interest
identified by the content
selector 170 from user interaction with the brand page. For example,
interactions between the
user and content on the brand page associated with a keyword, or including a
keyword, may
cause the content selector 170 to determine that the user has an interest in
the keyword and
update the user profile store 305 accordingly.
[0046] Upon determining the user's interests, the content selector 170
determines whether
one or more of the interests match one or more keywords associated with
content items posted to
the brand page. Content items associated with keywords, such as targeting
criteria, which
match the user's interests are then delivered to the user by the content
selector 170. Hence, the
content selector 170 uses data from the user profile stores 305 and/or from
the action log 320 to
determine whether a user connected to a brand page has at least one
characteristic specified by
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keywords associated with content posted to the brand page. For example,
content assocaited
with a keyword specifying an action, a location, an event, an interest, a
connection or any other
suitable characteristic that is matched by a characteristic of a user is
selected for presentation to
the user. This allows customization of content delivered from the brand page
to connected
users to users based on Characteristics of the users. Examples of content
delivered to the user
include promotional information provided by the entity describing products and
services, product
reviews, images or posts from other users describing interaction with the
entity or other social
objects describing the entity and/or products or services offered by the
entity.
[0047] In other embodiments, the content selector 170 communicates with the
edge store 330
to determine a user's affinities for keywords associated with content posted
to the brand page.
The content selector 170 identifies content items posted to the brand page
associated with
keywords for which the user has the highest affinities or for which the user
has at least a
threshold affinity. To personalize the user's interaction with the brand page,
the content items
content posted to the brand page presented to the user, content items selected
based on the user's
affinities are presented to the user through the brand page, news feed
stories, e-mails, text
messages, or using any other suitable communication channel. Presenting
content items posted
to the brand page based on the user's affinities for the brand page increases
the likelihood that the
user will be interested in viewing the presented content items, increasing the
likelihood of
additional user interactions with the brand page.
[0048] The display generator 335 determines when a user of the social
networking system
100 has requested that information be displayed and, in cooperation with the
content selector
170, displays content customized to the user requesting the content. For
example, a user may
navigate to a brand page within the social networking system 100, and the
display generator 335
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modifies appearance of the brand page based on data from the content selector
170. In one
embodiment, the display generator 335 retrieves content identified by the
content selector 170
from the content store 310 and displays the retrieved content to provide the
user with a page
experience customized based on the user's profile or interests. For example,
content items
displayed when a user views the brand page are modified so that content items
associated with
keywords that the user matches or associated with keywords in which the user
has a threshold
affinity are more prominently displayed. The display generator 335 may provide
a webpage or
some other suitable display format to present content to the user via a client
device 210. The
display generator 355 may notify the content item selector 170 when the
display has been
generated in response to a request from the user.
Selection of Content Items to Provide to Social Networking System Users
[0049] FIG. 4 illustrates an interaction diagram of a method 400 for
selecting content
associated with a brand page for presentation to a social networking system
user. In one
embodiment, the social networking system 100 receives 405 content for posting
to a brand page
via the web server 340. For example, the social networking system 100 receives
articles, ads,
videos, audio files or other content from an entity for posting to the brand
page. In addition to
the content, the web sefver 340 receives 405 one or more keywords associated
with the content.
The keywords describe the content and/or describe one or more characteristics
of a social
networking system user to whom the content is to be presented. The content
received by the
web server 340 is communicated 410 to the content store 310, where it is
stored. In one
embodiment, the received keywords are communicated 415 to the content selector
170.
Alternatively, the keywords may be communicated to the content store 310, and
the content
selector 170 subsequently retrieves the keywords from the content store 310.
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[0050] To access the brand page, or to access content associated with the
brand page, a social
networking system user transmits 420 a request to access the brand page from a
client device 210
to the web server 340 of the social networking system 100. The request
includes an identifier of
the social networking system user, which the web server 340 uses to request
425 the user profile
associated with the social networking system user from the user profile store
305. After being
identified, the user profile is communicated 430 from the user profile store
305 to the content
selector 170. Additional information associated with the user, such as actions
from the action
log 320 and/or edges from the edge store 330 may be communicated to the
content selector 170.
[0051] Based on the keywords associated with the content posted to the
brand page and
information from the user profile, the content selector 170 selects 435
content posted to the brand
page for presentation to the user. The keywords may identify criteria such as
interests, actions,
locations, connections, connection types, events, groups or other information
and the content
selector 170 compares information from the user profile or otherwise
associated with the user to
the keywords. Content posted to the brand page and associated with one or more
keywords that
match information in the user profile is selected 435 for presentation to the
user.
[0052] Alternatively, the keywords identify characteristics of the content,
allowing an entity
providing the content to associate topics, products, events, brands, people,
entities or other
information with the content. The content selector 170 may retrieve, from the
edge store 330,
the user's affinities for one or more keywords associated with content posted
to the brand page
and uses the affinities to select 435 content posted to the brand page for
presentation to the user.
The user's affinity for a keyword provides an indication of the user's
likelihood of being
interested in content associated with the keyword; accordingly, selecting 435
content based on
the user's affinities allows the content selector 170 to increase the
likelihood of the user having
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an interest in the selected content. In one embodiment, the content selector
170 selects 435
content associated with keywords with which the user has at least a threshold
affinity.
Alternatively, the content selector 170 selects 435 content associated with
keywords with which
the user has the highest affinities relative to affinities for other keywords.
[0053] The content selector 170 identifies 440 the selected content posted
to the content store
310. For example, the content selector 170 retrieves content corresponding to
selected content
identifiers from the content store 310. The selected content posted to the
brand page is
communicated 445 from the content store 310 to the web server 340, which
presents 450 the
selected content to the client device 210 associated with the users.
Alternatively, the content
selector 170 communicates content identifiers associated with the selected
content posted to the
brand page to the web server 340, which retrieves content corresponding to the
content identifiers
from the content store 310. The retrieved content is then presented 450 to the
client device 210.
[0054] The selected content posted to the brand page may be presented 440
to the client
device 210 in a variety of ways. For example, the selected content may be
displayed to a user
by customizing the content included on a representation of the brand page
shown to the user
accessing the brand page. The representation of the brand page may include the
selected
content and not other content associated with the brand page or the
representation of the brand
page may visually distinguish the selected content from other content
associated with the brand
page. This personalizes the content presented to the user via the brand page,
increasing the
likelihood that the user interacts with the brand page. Alternatively, one or
more stories
describing the selected content are sent to the user in a news feed. In
another example, a
message including selected content, or describing selected content item, is
sent to a client device
210 associated with the user. The message may be transmitted using any
suitable
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=
communication channel, such as via a text message, via an e-mail, via a social
plug-in included
on a web page in a domain external to the social networking system 100, via a
push
communication channel or any other suitable communication technique.
[0055] FIG. 5 shows a flow chart of one embodiment of a method 500 for
selecting content
associated with a brand page for presentation to a social networking system
user. A brand page
associated with an entity is stored 505 by a social networking system 100. For
example, the
brand page is stored 505 in a content store 310 of the social networking
system 100. The social
networking system 100.also stores 510 user profiles for users of the social
networking system as
well as connections between the user profiles. One or more of the user
profiles have a
connection to the brand page. Content for posting to the brand page and
keywords associated
with the content is received 515. As described above, one or more keywords may
be targeting
criteria defining at least one characteristic of a social networking system
user, such as an interest
of a social networking system user. Other examples of targeting criteria
include a social
networking system user posting content about an entity-specified topic or
product, indicating a
preference for a product or post (i.e., "liking" the product or post), sending
a post to another
social networking system user or any other interaction with the brand page or
with content on the
brand page. One or more keywords may describe characteristics of content, such
as topics,
events, users, entities or other information about the content. Keywords may
be specified by an
entity associated with the brand page.
[0056] The social networking system 100 receives 520 a request to access
the brand page
from a user. For example, a user requests to view the brand page from a client
device 210.
The request includes an identifier of the social networking system user, is
used to identify a user
profile associated with the user that is maintained by the social networking
system 100. After
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being identified, the user profile is communicated 430 from the user profile
store 305 to the
content selector 170. Additional information associated with the user, such as
actions from the
action log 320 and/or edges from the edge store 330 may be communicated to the
content
selector 170.
[0057] Based on the keywords associated with the content posted to the
brand page and
information from the user profile, content posted to the brand page is
selected 525 for
presentation to the user. As described above, keywords may identify criteria
such as interests,
actions, locations, connections, connection types, events, groups or other
information.
Accordingly, content associated with keywords matching information in the user
profile, or other
information associated with the user, is selected 435 for presentation to the
user. Alternatively,
keywords may identify characteristics of the content, allowing an entity
providing the content to
associate topics, products, events, brands, people, entities or other
information with the content.
Hence, the user's affinity for various keywords is determined, as further
described above, and
content is selected based on the user's affinity for one or more keywords
associated with the
content. For example, content associated with keywords with which the user has
at least a
threshold affinity is selected 525. Alternatively, content associated with
keywords with which
the user has the highest affinities relative to affinities for other keywords
is selected 525. The
selected content is presented 530 to the user as described above in
conjunction with FIG. 4.
[0058] FIGS. 6A-C illustrate examples of modifying a brand page's
appearance based on
keywords associated with content posted to the brand page. FIG. 6A is an
example of a
conventionally displayed brand page 604. In one embodiment, the conventionally
displayed
brand page 604 includes an entity identifier 608, such as a name, logo, image,
video or other
information identifying the entity associated with the conventionally
displayed brand page 604.
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The conventionally displayed brand page 604 includes multiple content items
612, 616, 620.
Frequently, the multiple content items 612, 616, 620 provide a diverse range
of information, with
some of the content items 612, 262, 620 being of little value to a social
networking system user
viewing the brand page. In the example of FIG. 6A, the brand page 604 is
associated with a
sporting goods supplier and the content items 612, 616, 620 describe various
products offered by
the sporting goods supplier. For example, a content item 612 provides reviews
of tennis
racquets for sale by the sporting goods supplier. Another content item 616
provides instructions
for swimming techniques while an additional content item 620 advertises a
current sale on
running shoes by the sporting goods supplier.
[0059] Although different social networking system users likely have
varying degrees of
interest in the various sports described by the content items 612, 616, 620, a
conventionally
displayed brand page 604 shows each content item 612, 616, 620 to each viewing
user. This
may require the user to sort through several content items 612, 616, 620 to
find interesting
content.
[0060] FIG. 6B illustrates a brand page 624 customized for a viewing user
based on
keywords associated with content items 628, 632. In FIG. 6B, the keywords
associated with
content items 628, 632 are targeting criteria and the brand page 624 is
customized to more
prominently display content items associated with targeting criteria that the
viewing user
satisfies. For example, if the viewing user's profile includes an interest in
tennis, content item
628, which is associated with targeting criteria defining an interest in
tennis, is more prominently
displayed. For example, the brand page 624 displays content item 628 near the
top of the brand
page 624, allowing the viewing user to more easily find content item 628.
Alternatively, the
keyword associated with content item 628 may identify that content item 628 is
related to tennis
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=
and the viewing user has at least a threshold affinity for tennis based on the
user's user profile, so
the brand page 624 is customized to visually distinguish content item 628 from
other content
items. In FIG. 6B, the brand page 624 also displays another content item 632
associated with
targeting criteria the viewing user does not meet, but less prominently
displays the other content
item 632. For example, the other content item 632 is displayed lower on the
brand page 624, is
displayed with reduced information or is otherwise distinguished from the
content item 628
associated with targeting criteria that the user satisfies. In other
embodiments, the other content
item 632 may be obscured or not displayed to reduce the quantity of
information presented to the
viewing user.
[0061] FIG. 6C illustrates an additional example brand page 636 customized
for a viewing
user based on keywords associated with content items. In FIG. 6B, the brand
page 636 is
customized to reduce the display of content items associated with keywords
that are targeting
criteria not satisfied by a viewing user or associated with keywords
identifying characteristics for
which the viewing user has less than a threshold affinity. For example, the
brand page 636
displays a content item 632 associated with a targeting criteria specifying an
interest in running
when a viewing user's profile includes an interest in running. To increase the
viewing user's
attention to the content item 632, the brand page displays an additional
content message 644
rather than display content items associated with targeting criteria that the
viewing user does not
match or associated with keywords identifying characteristics in which the
user has less than a
threshold affinity. The viewing user may see the additional content items by
accessing the
additional content message 644.
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[0062] In
some embodiments, a user profile may include information describing how a
brand
page's display is customized. For example, a user profile includes preference
information
indicating whether to customize the brand page as shown in FIG. 6B, FIG. 6C or
to customize the
band page in another suitable manner. Thus, customizing appearance of a brand
page allows
the brand page to make.content more accessible to different users based on
user characteristics.
This customized presentation of content may increase user interaction with the
brand page,
promoting a stronger relationship between a user and the entity associated
with the brand page.
As described above, an owner or administrator of a brand page can post a
variety of content items
(such as posted text, a picture or picture album, a video, a deal, a coupon,
an event or invitation
thereto, etc.) to the social networking system. The social networking system
then determines
whether users of the social networking system who have established a
connection to the brand
page may be presented with certain ones of these posted content items. For
example, the page
owner or administrator may associated a posted content item with a targeting
criteria, which is
matched against a user's profile to determine whether the user may be
presented with the content
item. Alternatively, the system may predict an affinity that the user will
have for a particular
posted content item and then use that affinity to determine whether the user
may be presented
with the content item. U.S. Patent Application No. 12/978,265, filed December
23, 2010,
describes various systems for predicting a user's affinity for content in a
social networking
system. By selectively providing users who have established a connection with
a brand page
with content items posted in connection with the brand page, the social
networking system can
personalize its users' experiences such that their associations with a brand
page is more relevant
to each user.
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=
Summary
[0063] The foregoing description of the embodiments of the invention has
been presented for
the purpose of illustration; it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit
the invention to the
precise forms disclosed. Persons skilled in the relevant art can appreciate
that many
modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure.
[0064] Some portions of this description describe the embodiments of the
invention in terms
of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on information. These
algorithmic
descriptions and representations are commonly used by those skilled in the
data processing arts to
convey the substance of their work effectively to others skilled in the art.
These operations,
while described functionally, computationally, or logically, are understood to
be implemented by
computer programs or equivalent electrical circuits, microcode, or the like.
Furthermore, it has
also proven convenient at times, to refer to these arrangements of operations
as modules, without
loss of generality. The described operations and their associated modules may
be embodied in
software, firmware, hardware, or any combinations thereof.
[0065] Any of the steps, operations, or processes described herein may be
performed or
implemented with one or more hardware or software modules, alone or in
combination with
other devices. In one embodiment, a software module is implemented with a
computer program
product comprising a computer-readable medium containing computer program
code, which can
be executed by a computer processor for performing any or all of the steps,
operations, or
processes described.
[0066] Embodiments of the invention may also relate to an apparatus for
performing the
operations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the
required purposes,
and/or it may comprise a general-purpose computing device selectively
activated or reconfigured
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by a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may be
stored in a
non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium, or any type of
media suitable for
storing electronic instructions, which may be coupled to a computer system
bus. Furthermore,
any computing systems referred to in the specification may include a single
processor or may be
architectures employing multiple processor designs for increased computing
capability.
[0067] Embodiments of the invention may also relate to a product that is
produced by a
computing process described herein. Such a product may comprise information
resulting from a
computing process, where the information is stored on a non-transitory,
tangible computer
readable storage medium and may include any embodiment of a computer program
product or
other data combination .described herein.
[0068] Finally, the language used in the specification has been principally
selected for
readability and instructional purposes, and it may not have been selected to
delineate or
circumscribe the inventive subject matter. It is therefore intended that the
scope of the
invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by any
claims that issue on an
application based hereon. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodiments of
the invention is
intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention,
which is set forth in the
following claims.
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