Once again, Facebook is making some changes. Facebook has announced major changes to the design and functionality of its Pages. The result is that Pages now more closely resemble individual user Profiles in look and functionality. We think you're going to like the new features. You can preview the changes when you login to Facebook and visit the Page(s) you are an admin of. Facebook allows you to opt-in each Page to the new design until Mar 11, when they will automatically transition it for you. Note that once you upgrade, there is no way to revert back to the old design. Take the next couple of weeks to plan the transition. Here are some of the key features that were updated:
The Left Column Has Changed
- Tabs that previously were at the top of your Page are now found on the left column underneath the Page picture. This is now consistent with your Profile. This re-location of the tabs also allows for longer tab names.
- The Page Profile picture’s maximum dimensions are now 180×540.
- The “blurb box” (previously beneath the Page picture) has moved to Info tab on the left column.
- Pages can now “Like” other Pages, not just “Favorite” them.
The Top Of The Page
- Photostrip: The most recent photos you have posted to your Wall or photos your Page tags of itself will appear here in random order. You can control which 5 recent photos appear here at random by hiding the photos you don’t want included, just like with your user Profile. This area will not include any photos posted by your fans. We think this upgrade significantly improves the look of the average Facebook Page.
- The category type you set for your Page is now exposed at the top of your Page, right below the Page name.
- You now have the choice of seeing Wall Posts from “Everyone” or Page posts only.
The Top Right Corner
- Mutual Friends and Interests: People visiting your page will see the friends and pages they have in common with your page.
- The administrators for your page appear in the top right corner too.
Use Facebook As Your Page
- You can now toggle between your user Profile and the Page(s) that you admin.
- You can Like, comment and post on your Page and other Pages as your Page. This upgrade makes it possible for brands to truly engage in the tremendous interactive ground-swell that resulted in the tremendous growth of individuals using Facebook.
- The power of your page administrator has increased in a number of ways, including the ability to set filters on your Wall so that visitors see relevant posts first, and they will also be able to view all the content and get notices whenever some posts to your Wall.
- You can receive Page notifications and see your News Feed as your Page. You can also see the news feed of updates from Pages you “Like.”
Email Notifications
- Receive notifications when users post or comment on an item on your Page. Change these settings from the new “Your Settings” area within “Edit Page.”
Iframe Based Tabs
- Facebook now supports iframe based tabs in order to provide developers with more flexibility. This is very cool as it allows developers to create more engaging applications.
- At first this change will be seamless and the applications will operate as they do now, but in the next few months we will see many new app types to take advantage of this excellent new capability.
We recommend you take some time to preview the upgrades before implementing the upgrade. Who knows, in the next couple of weeks we may hear something from Mark Zuckerberg. As always, some pre-planning will go a long way toward making this a smooth transition.
