In 2013, Facebook made a series of changes to its News Feed and how Facebook is viewed on mobile devices. One thing you can always expect from Facebook and the other Social Media platforms is “change”. In order to keep engagement up and people coming back, so that they don’t end up like MySpace.com, social media companies will continue to enhance and manipulate the overall experience of the user when they are on it. Now on to the next update from Facebook about “Facebook Pages”, or as I call them “business pages”.
Facebook announced on March 10th, 2014 the rolling out of a new look and layout for business pages being viewed on a computer screen (Your page will have a different look depending on the type of device you are using like a phone, tablet, or computer). The new layout is being rolled out this year, at the time of this article you have to request the new page if you want it. Eventually, Facebook will make all business pages convert over to the new layout.
What does this mean for Real Estate Agents?
Well this really depends on how you use Facebook. Are you using a Fan Page? Or are you simply just using your Personal Profile Page? This article is not about Facebook Strategy but you can find more about this topic here on the blog or by attending one of my training classes. However, if you’re using a Fan Page / Business Page then you’ll want to know about these upcoming changes.
The new layout appears to be more streamlined and looks like the Personal Profile page with a single column for all of your posts on the right side. See the image below that Facebook posted giving you a look at the new layout.
1: First, the single one-column display on your Page Timeline means that your posts will appear consistently on your page and the news feed. This means that if you use a specific image with one of your posts it will size up the same way on your Page as it does in the news feed. Your posts will all align on the right hand side. On the left hand side column info about your business like the phone number, website URL, map, and photos & videos will appear. This is really similar to your personal profile/page layout.
2: Second, one thing appears to be missing right now and those are the Tabs. These tabs are often used for third-party apps. Facebook didn’t say anything yet about removing them but they are also not here in the example that they presented. For real estate agents using third-party apps, the question you will have is:
Are your third-party apps compatible with the new layout and features of the updated Pages. As more information becomes available and the third-party app developers get this info you’ll see them make adjustments to the apps and even see new ones come online. If you’re currently looking at getting a new Facebook app on your Fan Page then you will want to take this into consideration.
Here you can see my own Facebook Fan Page and the highlighted Tabs. This is before the new Facebook Page update.
3: And finally, new features to the Page Insights Tools. Page Insights give you data about the performance of your posts and how many people it reaches, etc. A new feature labeled “Pages to Watch” can possibly be a really cool and powerful tool for real estate agents and marketers. This feature will allow you to create a list of Pages that are similar to your own page (your competitors) and compare the performance of their page’s postings. You will be able to see which posts they posted that created the most engagement. Just think how powerful it can be? There is a flip side to it also that your competitors can monitor your own page as well, but heathy competition is good for all businesses if you know how to use it.
So in the end this is just business as usual in Social Media. When the new layout becomes available to everyone and the changes are made you will hear a combination of praise and anger from the online world. My advise: Don’t listen to the negative commentary. When the changes happen learn how to use them to advance your marketing activities on Facebook. Learn how to adapt your marketing techniques and strategies to work within the new changes.
If you want to read more about the new Facebook Page redesign and features you can go directly to Facebook’s “Facebook for Business” blog. CLICK HERE to access the article directly from Facebook.
My new Social Media Training for Real Estate Agents online classes are coming up online soon!!! If you’re looking for marketing training covering Social Media, Video, Photography, and Real Estate Blogging on WordPress then subscribe to my mailing list as I will be updating everyone with the new classes.
Let me know your thoughts about this article, I would love to hear from you. Thanks George
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