Facebook announced some big changes to Pages this week, which will allow more flexibility, better admin options and easier interactions with fans.
The new design has the same look and navigation as your personal page (to match recent updates to Profile pages), with a few added bonuses. One of the biggest changes to Pages is the ability for the administrators of a page to be logged in as the page itself to comment on profiles, answer questions from visitors, or even comment on other pages as your page. This also allows page admins to (finally!) receive notifications on fan activity.
Perhaps most noticeably for frequent page visitors, Tabs are moving down to the side as links, and now allow recent photos at the top of the page. The ability to show “top posts” vs. just your posts allows fans to see the most interesting stuff first.
There’s some fun stuff in there for designers too. Facebook has been talking about phasing out FBML pages for awhile now, and this redesign marks the end of using FBML for pages. Facebook is now allowing iframes for page tabs – a welcome change for those who are looking for more control over their page design (providing they have access to another publishing platform to pull the iframe from).
The new page formats are optional until March 11, when they roll out for everyone. Page admins can try out the new page layout right now, and when you visit your page the first time you’ll get a full interactive tour. There’s a great writeup on Mashable that goes into more detail and offers some handy tips. Check it out.
Until next time, stay bizzy!
@bizzykendall
