It’s here! The new Facebook Pages layout for mobile. It may not be what you expected and it WILL mean changing your strategy and perhaps even the categorisation of the Page.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about the update is visitors to your Page do not get to see your Timeline UNLESS they click through to it!
I didn’t expect to see it quite as quickly as this but if you have a PLACE Facebook Page – here’s the new look…
Image 1a: This is what a Page will look like when someone visits on an iPhone. Note the new layout. This is a PLACE Page, other pages have a different layout, with Photos shown ABOVE your timeline.
Image 1b: If you pin a post to the top of your Page this will show BEFORE everything else (map, and more information link on a Places Page)
Image 2: As the viewer scrolls down, they will see recommendations and likes followed by your most recent post. Please note again this is a PLACES page example.
Image 3: Finally your latest post will be seen – but ONLY your latest post. With a link to your main timeline, so users now HAVE to click through to see your other posts (again on a PLACES page).
Other Pages have a different layout. If you have a business page that isn’t a place, the top image is similar to a Place page, followed by number of likes, and THEN – probably VERY important… PHOTOS and a link for your fans or page visitors to flick through them, followed by your MOST RECENT post. With a link to your Timeline for fans to click through.
So, we all now have a “Shop window” for people to glance at and decide if they want to click through to buy the goods. What can you do?
1. Make sure your Profile picture AND cover photo look great, not too small and itsy bitsy but “say” (I don’t mean text remember the 20% text rule!), a lot about you and your business.
2. Make sure you have your most important update, post, link PINNED to the top of your Page so people see the message you want to get out there before everything else. This applies to ALL pages. There has been suggestion that Pinning Posts to the top may well become a chargeable.
3. Your bio/about box is compelling and also tells the visitor what they need to know.
4. Your contact links, phone number, opening times are ALL up to date.
5. Your latest image and update are a good indication of what the visitor can expect to find on your Page.
6. Make sure you are listed in the right categories for your business.
SO what do you think of the latest changes? Does it mean you have to change your strategy? Or will you just watch and wait…
Let me know in the comments below and don’t forget to share 😀
Emma
Great post Emma – with mobile now seeming to be central to Facebook’s changes it will be interesting to see how this will transition over to the desktop version.
Great post Emma – with mobile now seeming to be central to Facebook’s changes it will be interesting to see how this will transition over to the desktop version. One problem Facebook has at the moment is inconsistency in its’ design – iOS is different to Windows and Blackberry mobile, and they are different to the desktop version, with Android somewhere in the middle. Until the user experience is consistent across ALL versions, it can be difficult to come up with a “one-size-fits-all” strategy to best make use of it for marketing purposes, let alone give the average user a complete experience.