Facebook is at it again! This time the changes Facebook has made to Fan Pages seem to be a step in the right direction for business owners. Never in the history of Facebook do I remember so many changes released all at once for Fan Pages.
If you have yet to know what I’m talking about, on Thursday, February 10, 2011 many Facebook Fan Page administrators began seeing a test version of the “new” fan pages that are set to take effect for everyone in March. 
There is a brief tutorial included in the test version, but very little explanation provided to guide you through what all of the changes mean and/or how to take advantage of all the new features. I’ll do my best to explain the changes, but please post your questions in the comments section below.
New Layout
The new layout of Fan Pages will closely resemble personal profiles. Tabs have been removed from the top and replaced with links on the left side. Photos will display at the top, and it appears there will be a little less space for profile pictures and custom pages due to the larger right-hand side column.
Email Notifications
This feature has been sought after by page administrators for a long time. Until now, page administrators were forced to visit pages and check for comments by fans. While this encourages the habit of staying actively involved with your fan page, it isn’t always feasible to be on Facebook as often as required. Now page administrators will get email notifications when someone interacts with their page(s). If you administer multiple pages, this may mean an influx in emails to your inbox. You can limit the number of emails you get or turn off this feature by going into your Account–>Notification–>Pages–>Email Preferences.
Post as Yourself on Your Fan Page
While some businesses prefer to have page administrators under one unified identity, others welcome the ability to occasionally post under their personal name; which is now possible! Facebook added the functionality to turn this on and off at will, and specific to each page you’re an administrator.
- For Example: Suppose you are the administrator for your company’s fan page, as well as your church’s fan page. If you want to post as yourself on your company’s page, but as the church on theirs, the functionality is kept separate. Also, if you want to comment personally “one time” on your business fan page, you can turn it on for that post, then switch it back.
To switch between Posting as Yourself or Page Administrator, navigate to the fan page you want to post on, go to Edit Page–>Your Settings, then check (or un-check) your preference.
Blacklist Words from Your Page
Now maintaining a professional and spam-free fan page is easier. Two new filters were added so that you can prevent spam posts from showing up on your page.
- You can set the Profanity Level you wish to allow on your page. Facebook will block the most commonly reported words and phrases marked as offensive by the broader community. Your options are None, Medium, and Strong. Go to Edit Page–>Manage Permissions–>Profanity Blocklist
- You can create your own list of words you want filtered from being posted on your Facebook page. If you no longer want someone to be able to post “Get Rich Quick” or “Gain Thousands of Likes” related posts on your page, simply add those words/phrases into the Moderation Blocklist box provided in the Managed Permissions section.
Use Facebook as a Page
This one is very exciting, but a little tricky. You now have the option of switching from using Facebook as your personal profile to using Facebook as a Page. If you administer more than one fan page, you can select one at a time. I say this is tricky because you will need to remember to switch back. You could accidentally post something as a business, when you meant it as a personal post. To switch, go to Account–>Select “Use Facebook as Page” from the drop down menu and choose the page you want. You can still use the @tag to cross-post, but the new functionality will allow to skip that step, as well as comment on posts and pictures.
While you are switched over, be sure to visit your “new” home page, where the news feed will be comprised of pages you’ve previously added to your “favorites”. You won’t see personal posts here, only fan page posts.
“Like” a Page as a Page
This is set up similar to your previous option of adding a fan page to your “favorites”. In the new fan page template, those pages are now “Likes”. As a page, you are now able to “Like” another fan page. To do that, simply switch to using Facebook as a page, navigate to the page you want to “Like” and click the “Like” button. Even if you have previously “Liked” that page as your personal profile, you can “Like” it again, as your Page.
- For Example: I “Liked” the new Hutchinson Chamber fan page days ago under my personal profile. Today, while using Facebook as a page, I revisited the Chamber fan page. The “Like” button appeared for me, and I was able to “Like” it as Vivid Image.
After you “Like” pages, you can select the pages you want to rotate in the featured section on the right side of your fan page; only 5 can show at one time. To do this, go into Edit Page–>Featured–>Likes
Reveal Your Admins
If you want to display who is the administrators of your fan page, you can. Your options are to show none, one, as many as you like, or all of them. To do this, go into Edit Page–>Featured–>Page Owners.
Photo Tags of Fan Pages
You can tag photos with your fan page. In the new layout, photos are featured across the top of the page. Those that are tagged with your fan page will be featured in that section. If you do not tag any photos, then the most recent photos will display there, but the display will not feature any photos posted by fans.
SMS Text Updates to Phone
Just as you can get email notifications of updates to your fan page, you can get text updates to your phone. Go into Account–>Notifications–>Send Notifications to Your Phone via SMS
Wall Reorganization
Probably the most controversial change Facebook made to the new fan page layout is the restructuring of items posted to your wall. In an effort to show the most popular/relevant information, Facebook will automatically select and move posts to the top. This means they will be out of chronological order. The issue with this is that newer posts (theoretically) don’t have a chance to be as popular and commented on if they never get the “top” spot. Also, timely information posted by a business could be automatically pushed down and not noticed. Facebook is getting bombarded with complaints about this, so stay-tuned if these changes will be amended.
So I just noticed, that when I am “using Facebook as EasyStand” that my “like” buttons on my blog and website disappear. When I switch to “use Facebook as Jackie” they magically re-appear. Facebook is smarter then I thought!
That is so interesting. It’s something I would try. I’m going to check into it more. I am liking some of the new features, but it does mean a whole new linking strategy and some extra steps to make sure I’m posting as the correct person and/or page.