“Move fast and break things.”

This is much more than a mantra at Facebook. In fact, the social network seems to introduce changes before it has even finalized its previous modifications. Although Facebook is getting better at letting users decide if they want to accept updates and is generally more cognizant of how those updates can affect users’ privacy, the largest network on the planet doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.

On cue, the latest change comes to Facebook Fan Pages. And with so many brands using their Fan Pages as hubs for online marketing efforts, this update can have serious implications. Below is a look at what brand marketers can expect:

Tabs No More: Confusion Abounds
Those clunky, browser-esque tabs from Facebook Pages have disappeared, replaced by a slicker side navigation that is much more subtle. Taking advantage of the new-found space, Facebook uses the top of the page to feature recently posted pictures. Creative brands took advantage of this quickly, but marketers need to be aware that the new user interface may cause some confusion.

Use Facebook as Your Fan Page: Improve Engagement
In addition to the visual facelift, Facebook tweaked its functionality to provide a very interesting tool for community managers and brand marketers. Page admins can now switch back and forth from their personal profiles to that of their Pages’. This means admins can use Facebook as their brand page. When logged in as a Page, users won’t have all of Facebook’s functionality – they can only engage with other Fan Pages – but the update is a great tool as it allows for easier monitoring. No longer do community managers need to “hover” around their pages waiting for activity before engaging with consumers. With the new rollout, admins receive a Facebook notification and an email notification of any activity, including wall posts, comments and shared photos. For some, this is going to mean a huge improvement in speed of response and a perception of deeper community involvement. For others, it’s going to mean a flooded inbox, particularly if you manage multiple pages with vibrant communities. Luckily, each admin can modify his or her email preferences both at the individual Page level and globally.

Insights: Generating “Likes”
Facebook has also enhanced the Page Insights dashboard helping to ease the task of measuring Facebook success. Users now have the ability to export reports based on date ranges. Previously, admins could only view specific timeframes using a somewhat awkward slider underneath the graphical representation of the page trend. Now, Facebook has provided handy boxes at the top of the page to help users specify a date range. The data from a specific date range can also be exported into an Excel or .csv file. This will be very helpful for smart marketers who rely not only on the dashboard for monitoring their performances, but who create custom reports to dig deeper, analyze trends and maintain historical data.

Other areas that appear to have received a bit of a facelift are the user trends and referring sources. The referring sources – a truly underutilized resource for many page admins – speak volumes about what vehicles and content are driving external users to a page and generating future “likes.” Whether it’s a blog, Twitter or outbound emails that are driving “likes,” marketers need to find ways to maximize the quantity and quality of the traffic they are generating from each source. The data will help them understand what’s working – and what’s not – and are useful in determining where to dedicate more time and effort toward building a community.

The New Math: Elevated Conversations
Facebook also changed its Fan Page content algorithm, which changes how users interact with fan posts on a brand’s wall. What used to be a rank-and-file, chronological record of fan postings will now optimize friends’ posts and float them to the top of the wall. Although many people are influenced by their friends and the pages they “like,” this change will likely invite more direct engagement on a fan’s wall post. The new Pages algorithm will also elevate the ranking of highly engaged posts. From a marketing perspective, this will be useful in looking at positive and negative conversations happening around a brand and allow marketers to engage with a post actively in the hopes that it will be more visible to all fans. This is a real win for customer service-oriented organizations and a big loss for companies that delight in negative exchanges with their fans.

Although these changes may seem fast and furious and leave the brand marketer a little dizzy, they are part of a trend on Facebook that benefits brands. Facebook has recognized the value of having brands on its platform and is making the experience less make-shift and more professional. It’s safe to say Facebook will continue to innovate in ways that allow brands to interact with users (their consumers), including design, personal/business delineation, analytics and algorithms.

--Mike Hollywood, Director of New Media, @MikeHollywood
--Alex Nicholson, Director of New Media, @Alex20001
--Marcus Andrews, New Media Associate, @marcus_andrews

Comments

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August 9, 2011 1:27 PM I, for one, am impressed at the speed in which Facebook updates itself and goes the extra mile to make itself better. I think that without the constant updates Facebook stands the chance of falling into second place with the coming release of Google+. If that happens then many advertisers may pull their ads from Facebook, which could spell disaster for the social media king. The ads keep Facebook running and keep our experience on the site free. Social media advertising is a huge business and has become a big part of the marketing campaign for many businesses.

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