When asked the question, “Notice anything new on Facebook?” — besides the company’s  filing for an IPO, of course — my guess is you would answer it with gusto and say “Timeline” or “Ticker.” And you would be correct — at least for the most part. There was another large change that managed to fly quietly under the radar, one that’s incredibly important to marketers taking advantage of Facebook Ads: Featured Stories. In January, Facebook rolled out Sponsored Stories in users’ News Feeds and called themFeatured Stories.

Now marketers can promote user activity, including posts from their page, a user’s friend liking a page or post, and a user’s friend checking into a place, playing a game or using an app.  Users only see Featured Stories in their News Feed if they are already connected to the page or through their friends’ activity. In other words, individuals will not see posts that wouldn’t pop up organically. Not only does this mean a possible foray into mobile advertising (remember the Ticker and Sponsored Stories/Ad column, which have been the current ad locations, haven’t been included in the Facebook mobile webpage or app) but it also means that Facebook is putting a stake in the ground by emphasizing content and their Open Graph over traditional Facebook advertising. So what does this mean for marketers? It means the time has come for Facebook advertising to (gulp!) take the plunge and commit to Facebook content.

Read more: Marketing Land