8th January 2021
POV: Facebook Pages Redesign
Background:
Facebook is rolling out a redesign of Pages, focusing on Follower count rather than Likes and providing a new look and feel with new tools and insights for creators. Testing for the new design began last July and the changes will now begin to roll out to all Facebook Pages over the coming months.
Details and Implications:
The new features include: a new cleaner and more streamlined look and feel which includes giving the Follower button more prominence; getting rid of the Like button and giving the profile picture more focus; a dedicated News Feed which provides more opportunity for brands and creators to interact as the Page itself; a new Q&A format for engaging followers inspired by the popular Q&A feature on Instagram; updated admin controls giving Page admins more granular control over roles, access and permissions; updated navigation between personal profile and Pages; and new and updated safety and moderation features.
A big change is the shift away from the Like button to the Follow button, in order to simplify the way people connect with their favourite pages. Facebook says that the number of Likes no longer truly represents the popularity of the Page because many people like Pages and then unfollow so don’t see any of its content. The Page will now show the total number of people who Follow the page underneath the Follow button, indicating the number of people who have chosen to get updates from the Page.
Another big change is that brands and creators will be able to interact more easily with their audience as they will now be able to join conversations, follow trends, interact with peers and engage fans as the Page itself thanks to the new dedicated News Feed for the Page. Page owners can easily switch from their personal News Feed to the Page’s News Feed. The News Feed will also suggest new connections for users and comments from Pages that users follow will appear at the top of posts. Users will also be able to directly follow verified Pages from comments they have left on Posts.
The introduction of a new Q&A format means that followers can ask the Page questions on a topic. As the Page answers questions they become part of a stack of questions the followers can swipe through. This will help Pages to better engage with fans and could be beneficial for brands and business that might want to answer FAQs in a fun way.
The Pages redesign was well received in tests, users liked the new simplified interface, the ease of switching between private profiles and Page profiles and the better ways to engage fans.
Last year, Facebook launched its Shop feature which introduced more direct to consumer commerce opportunities for small businesses and brands. Now by redesigning Pages, Facebook is providing further opportunities for brands to directly engage consumers.
Summary:
The Pages update allows Facebook to offer a better and broader range of services to brands big and small that are looking to have a direct relationship with their customers – something that has accelerated throughout the COVID pandemic as online commerce has grown rapidly.
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