Facebook is changing again. Cue wailing and gnashing of teeth. Cue people threatening to leave never to return again. Cue people forgetting what the old site looked like two weeks after the change.
So what will the changes be?
Well, if your personal profile has switched to the timeline, then you will have an idea of what the new layout for your business or special interest will look like - they are very similar, with a large banner across teh top of the page, and a timeline of events and posts running down from that.
What else do you get?
There is now a facility to receive private message; people who like your page can send them to you, but you can't send messages to them. You can, however, reply to those you receive. This is good, as it prevents posts getting lost on the wall so that you never respond to them.
You can also pin posts to your timeline for up to a week. This means that they will stay at the top of the page, and not get pushed down by subsequent posts; useful if you want important announcements to remain visible for several days.
A tab at the top of the page gives you access to your 'Admin Panel' which allows you access to page activity, messages and other data. You can also use this to manage posts on your timeline.
A tab at the top of the page gives you access to your 'Admin Panel' which allows you access to page activity, messages and other data. You can also use this to manage posts on your timeline.
The 'About' page has a much neater and more professional layout; excellent if your page is for a business.
As with your personal timeline you can now include a large banner image across the top of your page. This allows you to make a strong visual impression, but there are some serious restrictions on what you can include in that image. For instance the image cannot include text such as URLs or email addresses, invites to 'Like' or 'Share' the page or, indeed, any other call to action. It cannot contain information on pricing.
Pages will also no longer allow their owners to direct visitors to a particular tab on their page; you will always arrive on the profile page. This will tend to devalue custom-designed welcome pages, although some of these can be made more visible at the top of the page. It's not quite the same, though.
Indeed all links to your photos and other apps are going to be at the top of the page and more visible, which is nice.
Posts from fans, as opposed to page admins, will have less emphasis. So if the bulk of the traffic is from the page's fans, as opposed to the people who run it, the new layout is going to throw things out a little.
As with your personal timeline you can now include a large banner image across the top of your page. This allows you to make a strong visual impression, but there are some serious restrictions on what you can include in that image. For instance the image cannot include text such as URLs or email addresses, invites to 'Like' or 'Share' the page or, indeed, any other call to action. It cannot contain information on pricing.
Pages will also no longer allow their owners to direct visitors to a particular tab on their page; you will always arrive on the profile page. This will tend to devalue custom-designed welcome pages, although some of these can be made more visible at the top of the page. It's not quite the same, though.
Indeed all links to your photos and other apps are going to be at the top of the page and more visible, which is nice.
Posts from fans, as opposed to page admins, will have less emphasis. So if the bulk of the traffic is from the page's fans, as opposed to the people who run it, the new layout is going to throw things out a little.
We have switched the AB Computer Training page over to preview the changes, and will publish it over the next few days, so you can see how the new layout works. You can preview changes to your pages HERE - click 'Turn On Preview' next to the page you want to try; it won't publish it to your fans until you click 'Publish', so you can set things up the way you want them first.
As with all Facebook changes this will take some getting used to and, if your are a business, you will find that it will require some changes in the way you use the site and interact with fans of your page. But it's not the end of the world, and, as Facebook is free, it still offers excellent value for money as a promotional tool - you get what you pay for, and more.
Update - We have switched our page over to the new format so that you can get a taste of what it is like. See it HERE.
As with all Facebook changes this will take some getting used to and, if your are a business, you will find that it will require some changes in the way you use the site and interact with fans of your page. But it's not the end of the world, and, as Facebook is free, it still offers excellent value for money as a promotional tool - you get what you pay for, and more.
Update - We have switched our page over to the new format so that you can get a taste of what it is like. See it HERE.
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