Mar
8
Written by:
jazvt
3/8/2011 12:08 PM
Last month, you may recall that Facebook offered Fan Page administrators the option to upgrade to their new page design. A nice offer for those who really don’t like change, but kind of a tease since you will be automatically upgraded on March 10th whether you like it or not.
So, what should you know about the New Fan Page layout? For business Fan Pages, you should at least know about three major changes:
1. You can switch from your personal profile to using your Fan Page as your profile
For instance, if you’re a winery with a Facebook Fan Page and you would like to post a comment or photo on the Fan Page of a target group, such as a local wine enthusiasts group, you can now do so as the winery and not as yourself. Essentially, Facebook has made it much easier for business-to-business networking. This is about the most significant change that Facebook has brought about with this upgrade.
It's simple to switch between your personal profile and your fan page profile on Facebook; simply use the account button in the top-right corner. This lets you choose which page you want to "be" for your session. Gmail and Google account holders who use their multiple-account sign in feature will find this quite familiar.
Remember to be careful about ensuring that you are posting with the intended profile, or you might end up in embarrasing mix-ups. When you are a page the Home and Profile links behave differently, the former displaying only news from pages you’ve liked and the latter taking you to your page’s wall.
2. Instant Notifications
A popular request that's been around for a while has finally been implemented in this upgrade. As an administrator of a page, you can choose to get an email alert from Facebook whenever a comment is left on your page, sent to the email address associated with your facebook account.
Just remember to set this up for yourself if you would like to receive these updates via email. Go to Edit Page -> Your Settings, and click "View all email settings for your pages". This will take you to the "Pages" section of your Notifications area, where you can decide if you would like these updates.
3. Featured Like Pages
You will find now that you can choose to not only like other pages, but also designate them as 'featured' pages on your fan page. This gives them a special spot on the left of your page. According to facebook, "up to five pages are shown at a time, and you can specify which of your liked pages always rotate there by selecting them as featured."
You can select what pages you'd like to show in this area by clicking the "Edit page" button, and clicking on "Featured," and finally point to "Edit Featured Likes." From the popup that comes up, you can choose among your liked pages the ones that will rotate in that area.
You can use this space to promote your other pages, marketing promotions, or partners. This is very valuable virtual estate, use it wisely!
So, poke around on your Fan Page is you haven't recently. Or, if it's confusing and you don't have the time or patience to make sure your settings are correct, let us know and we'd be happy to help you configure your page for optimal performance.
866-702-0399