Guiding progressive user engagement in an online environment

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10217172-B2
Application number	US-201213553476-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 19, 2012
Priority date	Jul 19, 2012
Publication date	Feb 26, 2019
Grant date	Feb 26, 2019

Abstract

An entity having a brand page maintained by a social networking system defines a sequence of content items associated with a brand page is determined. Different content items in the sequence include different information that is dependent on interaction between a user and the sequence. For example, content items in the sequence provide increasingly more detailed or complex information when progressing from the first content item to the last content item in the sequence. When a viewing user of a social networking system interacts with the brand page, prior interactions with the sequence by the viewing user are used to classify the viewing user and to select a content item from the sequence that is communicated to the viewing user.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
storing, in a social networking system, a brand page associated with an entity;
storing, in the social networking system, the following:
(1) a plurality of content items from the entity to be presented by the social networking system to users, the content items associated with the brand page, and
(2) a sequence for the content items having an order of presentation that is defined by the entity for the social networking system to use in presenting the content items to the users, where the order of presentation of the content items is specified by the entity to provide an increasing level of detail related to the brand page from an initial content item to one or more next content items to a final content item of the sequence;

receiving, by the social networking system, an initial request for a news feed from a viewing user, the viewing user connected to a plurality of other users in the social networking system;
classifying the viewing user based on whether the viewing user has had a prior interaction with the content items from the sequence, wherein different classifications of users are provided different content items of the sequence;
responsive to the initial request from the viewing user and the classifying, providing, by the social networking system for display in the news feed, the following:
(1) an initial content item from the sequence, and
(2) one or more stories created by the other users;

receiving one or more additional requests for one or more subsequent news feeds from the viewing user;
responsive to each additional request from the viewing user, providing, by the social networking system for display in each subsequent news feed, the following:
(1) the next content item in the order of presentation from the sequence previously defined by the entity, and
(2) one or more stories created by the other users receiving a final request for a final news feed from the viewing user; and

responsive to the final request from the viewing user, providing, by the social networking system for display in the final news feed, the following:
(1) the final content item in the order of presentation from the sequence previously defined by the entity, and
(2) one or more stories created by the other users.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
classifying the viewing user after receiving the one or more additional requests for one or more subsequent news feeds, the classifying based on one or more prior interactions from the viewing user with the initial content item.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein providing by the social networking system for display in the news feed the initial content item from the sequence comprises:
including a story associated with the initial content item in the news feed.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein classifying the viewing user based on the one or more prior interactions comprises:
classifying the viewing user based on what prior interaction the viewing user had with the initial content item such that the user will receive the next content item based on the classifying.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein classifying the viewing user based on the one or more prior interactions comprises:
classifying the viewing user based on information in the initial content item.

6. The method of claim 2 , wherein classifying the viewing user based on the one or more prior interactions comprises:
classifying the viewing user based on whether the viewing user has previously interacted with the brand page.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising retrieving demographic information about the viewing user from a user profile associated with the viewing user in the social networking system, the demographic information used in classifying the user.

8. A method comprising:
storing, in a social networking system, a brand page associated with an entity;
storing, in the social networking system, the following:
(1) a plurality of content items from the entity to be presented by the social networking system to users, the content items associated with the brand page, and
(2) a sequence for the content items having an order of presentation that is defined by the entity for the social networking system to use in presenting the content items to the users, where the order of presentation of the content items is specified by the entity to provide an increasing level of detail related to the brand page from an initial content item to one or more next content items to a final content item of the sequence;

presenting, in an initial news feed of a viewing user, the following:
(1) an initial content item from the sequence, and
(2) one or more stories created by a plurality of other users connected to the viewing user,
wherein the initial content item is presented based on a classification of the viewing user having not had a prior interaction with content items in the sequence, and wherein different classifications of users are provided different content items of the sequence;

presenting, in each of one or more subsequent news feeds of the viewing user, the following:
(1) the next content item in the order of presentation from the sequence previously defined by the entity, and
(2) one or more stories created by the other users; and

presenting, in a final news feed of the viewing user, the following:
(1) the final content item in the order of presentation from the sequence previously defined by the entity, and
(2) one or more stories created by the other users.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein presenting in the initial news feed of the viewing user the initial content item from the sequence comprises:
including a story associated with the initial content item in the initial news feed.

10. A method comprising:
storing, in a social networking system, a brand page associated with an entity;
storing, in the social networking system, the following:
(1) a plurality of content items from the entity to be presented by the social networking system to users, the content items associated with the brand page, and
(2) a sequence for the content items having an order of presentation that is previously defined by the entity for the social networking system to use in presenting the content items to the users, where the order of presentation of the content items is specified by the entity to provide an increasing level of detail related to the brand page from an initial content item to one or more next content items to a final content item of the sequence;

determining, by the social networking system, whether a request for a news feed including a content item from the sequence was previously received from a user, the user connected to a plurality of other users in the social networking system, wherein the user is classified based on whether the user had a prior interaction with the content item from the sequence and wherein different classifications of users are provided different content items of the sequence;
responsive to the classification and to not previously receiving the request for a news feed including a content item from the sequence from the user, providing, by the social networking system for display in a news feed of the user, the following:
(1) an initial content item from the sequence, and
(2) one or more stories created by the other users;

responsive to the classification and to previously receiving the request for a news feed including a content item from the sequence from the user, determining whether the content item in the request is the final content item in the order of presentation from the sequence; and
responsive to the content item in the request and the content item not being the final c

Assignees

• Garcia Martinez Antonio Felipe
• Mathur Nipun
• Facebook Inc

Inventors

• Garcia-Martinez Antonio Felipe
• Mathur Nipun

Classifications

• G06F3/0481

  based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance · CPC title

• G06Q10/40 Primary

  Business processes related to social networking or social networking services · CPC title

• G06Q50/01 Primary

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06Q10/42

  Determination of affinities or common interests between users · CPC title