Today Facebook rolled out a new version of pages that look much closer to profiles thanks to the addition of Timeline. As reported, this release coincides with the Facebook Marketing Conference (fMC) occurring today in New York. The new look Pages have much bolder and visually appealing look:
Some of the highlights of the new pages give admins the ability to add milestones, cover pages, customize the page with pertinent information, message privately, view activity logs and have access to more admin tools.
Cover Photo
Just like Timeline for profiles, Pages will now have the ability to add a cover photo at the top of their page. This 851 x 351 pixel photo can be an existing Facebook photo or a new photo that an admin uploads:
Pinning & Wide Posts
An extremely valuable tool to marketers comes along with the new version of Pages that allows specific posts to achieve greater visibility or be pinned at the top of the page. By selecting a star button on a post, the width will increase to draw a higher visibility. If the pencil icon is selected, the post will be pinned to the top as the main post.
This is a great feature that can really make a Facebook page act more like a landing page with targeted messaging being more visible than daily chatter.
Important Info At Top
Photos will remain in the first spot, but every other position can be changed to what matters the most. Additional spots can be filled with current information or (up to 12) Facebook applications:
Noticeably absent are the presence of Facebook tabs. InsideFacebook reports that custom tabs will not be able to be used for landing pages as all users will be driven to the main timeline enabled Page. Instead it is recommended to awkwardly pin a specific post to the top of your page that links to a Facebook tab.
Private Response Messages
A very nice new communication feature is included that allows brands to privately respond to users. New messages will show up in the notifications panel and can be turned off if a Page desires:
Improved Admin Panel
The admin panel of a Page now adds in notifications much like typical profile pages. Included in the new look admin panel is messaging and a snapshot of recent activity and likes:
Enabling Timeline For Pages
In order to see the new Facebook page preview, an admin must be enable it for the page. To do this simply head to the status page and click upgrade on the page you’d like to update:
Currently its up to administrators to publish the new version, but all pages will be migrated to the new system on March 30th. For more information on the new Facebook pages, see the official release from Facebook.
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