Facebook is releasing a new app today called Mentions, an app exclusively for public figures with verified pages that previous reports noted the company was experimenting with.
According to Facebook, the app is made specifically for actors, athletes, musicians, and other influencers and makes for a better experiencing when sharing content and interacting with fans. The app puts a bigger focus on sharing and viewing mentions from other users opposed to viewing content posted by others. The mentions tab in the app, which provides a stream of replies to your content from other users, is something other Facebook apps don’t offer that will benefit public figures spending a lot of time interacting with their audience. Facebook told Recode that “celebrities who have tested the app have been posting twice as much as before.”
The new Facebook Mentions app is arriving on the App Store today for verified public figures with public profiles in the US. At launch the company says that will include “tens of thousands” of users, but it eventually has plans to roll it out internationally to more users including public figures without verified public profiles:
See what fans are saying about you and join the conversation… Share your story by posting updates, sharing photos or videos, or hosting a live Q&A… Get streamlined notifications about your posts, including mentions from other influencers or the media.
Mentions is currently only available for people with verified Pages in the US. We plan to roll out to more countries and verified Profiles in the coming months. If you are an admin of a verified Page, you can request access to Mentions directly. If you are a public figure, you can also download the iPhone app to request access.
