Facebook Makes Some Changes… Again
Okay, nobody panic, but Facebook made changes to their Pages layout and functionality. In fact, you’ve probably already noticed that some of your favorite Pages have already switched over to the new layout. We did. (And we all know you’ve ‘liked’ Atomicdust on Facebook, right? Right?)
Here are some changes you should be aware of:
The navigation has moved to the side. Gone are the days when you’d find tabbed options such as ‘Wall’, ‘Info’, and ‘Events’ along the top of a page. A few months ago, Facebook moved this navigation under the profile picture on user accounts, and has now echoed that change on Pages as well.
A row of pictures has been added to the top of the Page. Another feature borrowed from user profiles, this displays the photos posted to the Page’s wall or photo albums. It also means you can get creative and add some cool design to your Page. And considering we are designers, expect something like this coming to the Atomicdust Page soon.
There’s more emphasis on ‘Featured Pages’. We’ve always had the option to add another Page to Atomicdust’s ‘Featured Pages’ list, but there wasn’t much focus on them in the old design. The new layout showcases these Pages on the left hand side of the Page.
Who’s the admin? Want to know who the admin or owner of your favorite Facebook Page is? Now you can (maybe). Admins have the option to feature themselves on the Page in a section appropriately called ‘Page Owners’ on the lower left hand side. This is optional, so admins who want to keep their personal accounts private may opt out of adding this feature.
Admins can now log in as the Page. One of the features most admins are really excited about is being able to log in as the Page. This is good for us, because we can now receive email notifications when users like or comment on the Page and respond to them faster.
But that matters to me, why? Because now, when logged in as the Page, admins can comment across Facebook as that Page. That means here at Atomicdust, we can write on Barbie’s Page that we really think she needs to give Ken another chance.
Comments won’t necessarily appear in chronological order. Facebook is giving more weight to user posts on the wall, and they may even appear above the most recent posts from the Page. Power to the people!
This is all in an effort to create a more consistent experience across Facebook, and while it will take some getting used to, we like the changes (Well done, Zuck and team). And like it or not, all Pages will automatically switch to the new layout on March 10. Conformity rules.
Danielle Hohmeier writes about marketing and design in the digital world for Atomicdust, with a focus on marketing convergence and social media.
