For any of you who manage a Facebook fan page, you may have been greeted recently by a notification to preview or upgrade to the new fan page style. I recently took the preview tour of the page. Here is a summary of the changes that are coming soon to all fan pages. These changes will become mandatory on all pages starting March 10, 2011.
Showcase Your Latest Photos
- The most recent photos that you post to your Wall or photos that you tag your Page in will appear at the top of the page exactly as they do in the new personal profiles. This area will not include any photos posted by your fans.
- To hide a photo, roll over it and click X.
For good or bad, the new fan page style is being made to resemble a personal profile by putting things where the user expects them to be on a personal profile. The photos across the top of the profile can be really great if you have relevant photos to post, such as for a portfolio, but for some businesses, featuring photos at the top of the page might not make sense. The good news is that you have complete control over what images appear there, so no spammy images allowed.
Navigation Where People Expect It
Navigation links are now on the left, just like on people’s profiles.
This may be the toughest change to get used to because it means there are no longer going to be the familiar ‘tabs’ to which we are so accustomed. The top of the page was a prime location for the navigation, so it will take some adjustment and will be interesting to see if traffic to the tabs decreases.
As with individual profiles, there is no longer an “info box” displayed below the profile picture.
Show the Top Posts on Your Wall
- You now have two Wall filters. You can show posts by your page and top posts from Everyone, a new way for people to see the most interesting stories first. As an admin, you’ll have additional filters for viewing posts on your page.
- To set a default filter for your Wall, go to Edit Page.
As an admin needing to manage the page, you can select the ‘Admin View’ and still see the posts in chronological order. This makes it harder for spam to go unnoticed at the bottom of the page.
Use Facebook as Your Page
- You now have the flexibility to interact with the other areas of Facebook as a page.
- Get notifications when fans interact with your page or posts
- See activity from the pages you like in your news feed
- Like other pages and feature them on your page
- Make comments as your page on other pages
- To try this new feature, you can go to Account above and select Use Facebook as Page.
Previously, the only way to interact as the fan page was on the fan page itself through comments and posts, etc. Now, it is possible to interact on Facebook AS the fan page.
While you still can’t post to personal Facebook profiles as a Page, you can post to other Pages as a Page. This can be useful, but should be used scrupulously so as not to confuse matters. Always make sure that before you post to a Page that you are in the proper mode (human or fan page). Potential scenarios where using this functionality would be very appropriate might be when running cross-promotions with other businesses, sponsoring an event or supporting a charity.
New settings
- You can set defaults for your email notifications and how you post to your page – as yourself or your page. You can also select which featured pages appear in the left column.
- To manage your settings for email and posting preferences, go to Edit Page and Your Settings. To select which pages appear in Likes, go to Edit Page and Featured.
These changes will become mandatory on all pages starting March 10, 2011. Learn more about the upgraded pages here.
