Facebook is out today with a major update to Facebook Pages that includes removing “Likes,” an all-new layout for the UI, a dedicated News Feed, simpler navigation, refreshed admin controls for partial or full privileges, new insights as well as safety and integrity features.
Facebook announced the new Pages experience in a blog post and said the overhaul is starting to roll out today. Here are the new key features/changes:
- Redesigned layout that’s simpler and more intuitive
- Dedicated News Feed to discover and join conversations, follow trends, interact with peers and engage with fans
- Easy navigation between personal profile and Pages
- Updated task-based admin controls giving trusted Page admins full control or partial access
- Actionable insights and more relevant notifications
- Safety and integrity features to detect spammy content and impersonator accounts
The new UI is designed to make it easier to switch between personal profiles and public Pages. Facebook says it’s also “cleaner and more streamlined” than before. It has a focus on bios, posts, and important info.
Here’s how Facebook describes the dedicated News Feed for Pages:
We are bringing the power of News Feed to Pages for the first time. Now Pages can discover and join conversations, follow trends, interact with peers and engage with fans. The dedicated News Feed will also suggest new connections — other public figures, Pages, Groups and trending content that a Page or public figure cares about.
To make Page conversations more visible to a wider audience and surfaced more frequently in their followers’ News Feed, comments from public figures will be bumped to the top of the comments section. People will also be able to follow Pages directly from comments and recommendations posts.
Another focus is “richer interactive conversations” so the Pages reboot includes a new text-based Q&A format.
No more Likes
A big change with this update is the removal of likes for Pages. Facebook has shifted this to Followers:
We are removing Likes and focusing on Followers to simplify the way people connect with their favorite Pages. Unlike Likes, Followers of a Page represent the people who can receive updates from Pages, which helps give public figures a stronger indication of their fan base.
Admins will likely be glad to see improved management features:
We’ve added new Page management features — like the ability to more clearly assign and manage admin access permissions based on specific tasks. For example, you’ll now be able to grant varying levels of access to manage specific tasks including Insights, Ads, Content, and Community Activity & Messages. This will also ensure account safety and integrity.
Finally, Facebook says it’s using the verified badge to help keep the community safe along with improving it’s detection of blocked content:
We want Facebook to be a safe place to connect with fans, so we’ve improved our ability to detect activity that isn’t allowed on our platform including hate speech, violent, sexual or spammy content and impersonation. We are continuing to expand the visibility of a verified badge to make it easier to identify posts and comments from authentic Pages and profiles. A verified Page’s comment on another Page’s public post, may appear higher in the comments section and be visible in News Feed.
The new Pages is starting to roll out today, but Facebook says it will show up for all users in the “upcoming months.”
You can find more details here on transitioning.
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