New Facebook Pages: A Guide for Social Media Marketers

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As more and more marketers use Facebook as a key conduit for brands online, it is important to note some of the new changes to their Business Pages. Following last fall’s overall redesign, these pages will now migrate to the same Wall and tabs design that personal profiles have used. You can explore the new format and follow Mashable on Facebook at Mashable’s Facebook page.

Following is a rundown of what you need to know:

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What’s Changing

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In the redesign, Pages will change from a “box-oriented” design to a “Wall and tabs” design; they will closely mirror the current structure of Personal Profiles.

1. The Mini-feed and Wall will be merged together into a “Wall” tab, which will become front and center of Pages.

2. The company information and other static content will live on an “Info” tab, and most photos will live on a “Photos” tab.

3. Most custom content and application boxes will live on “Boxes” tabs; Page admins will be able to add multiple Boxes tabs and will likely be able to give tabs custom names. Some custom content and applications can be added to the left column of the Wall tab like on Personal Profiles.

4. Pages will now be able to share Status Updates (short, frequently updated blurbs) in the same way that personal Facebook users do. These updates will be visible on the Wall tab.

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What’s Not Changing

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Although the structure and design will differ, Business Pages will maintain the same core functionality as before – the ability to share photos, videos, text, applications and custom content.

There has also been no mention of any costs associated with Business Pages (aside from optional advertising).

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Opportunities

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1. Stronger Interaction with Fans
Because the Wall tab will become the focus, Pages will feel much more active and dynamic than ever before. This will encourage more participation and interaction between brands and their Fans.

2. Increased Virality
Content posted on the new Wall will also show up in Fans’ News Feeds more often. This means that posting updates to your Page is much more viral and has the potential to drive significant traffic to your Page.

3. More Ways to Communicate
The Status Update will provide a powerful way for Pages to share short interesting blurbs with Fans in a way that is less obtrusive than an Update delivered to their inboxes. Brands that use Twitter can sync their accounts so that selected Tweets will automatically post to Facebook as Status Updates.

4. Specific Landing Page for Non-Fans
The Wall tab will be the point of entry for all Fans when they visit a Page (with the idea that they’ll first be exposed to the newest content). When it comes to non-fans, Page admins will be able to choose which tab they’d like to use as the landing page. This means that if a Page has a new application or custom content that they’d like to promote, they can set this as the point of entry for all new visitors to the Page.

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Challenges

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Overall, the new design will make Pages more dynamic and viral, but it will also pose some challenges too:

1. Content will need to be updated frequently and consistently to ensure the Wall tab (the new focus of Pages) stays fresh.

2. The addition of Status Updates will require brands to establish guidelines on what content can be posted here on a consistent basis.

3. Page admins will need to determine what content (text, links, photos and videos) Fans will be able to share on the Wall tab so permissions can be set accordingly.

4. Static brand content will become secondary to Fan-to-brand interaction, so there will be less content control for brands.

5. Placement of custom content and applications will need to be determined so that it remains visible and accessible for Fans.

6. Static brand content will now need to adhere to the standard template, so Pages may need to adjust the format of their About and Contact information to fit.