Social media platforms are in constant competition with each other and it seems that nothing ever stays the same with them for too long. Facebook have recently announced that they are making further changes to their platform, designed to bring new features which businesses and marketers will find useful. In addition to this a new style of Facebook platform will see a very different looking site.
Facebook have announced that they have redesigned their layout. One of the big driving forces behind this is a change from the number of likes to the number of followers to be seen on pages and contents. This could be seen as Facebook’s attempt to stamp authority on quality over quantity, as it is often viewed that followers are a more important overall metric when determining who is actually signed up to receive notifications on pages.
As far as businesses and the marketing community is concerned, Facebook are announcing 5 changes to the platform, and we will summarise what these are (along with their impact) below.
1) A dedicated news feed is being added to the platform. This will allow users, businesses and the marketing community to keep track of the latest trends, join new communities, or make discoveries and interaction with those who share similar interests. These can be perfect ways to make new networks and generate market visibility for businesses. As well as this, new pages will also feature prompts for adding additional connections to the profile (including well known personalities) and references from the likes of these will be prioritised at the top of the comments section in order to create conversation and engagement between others.
2) Facebook is making switching accounts easier by creating a way which users can flick between their personal and business / other associated account. This feature will be able to be accessed through the navigation bar. As a business or marketer, this takes the time and frustration out of having to move between accounts and is a welcome user-friendly feature.
3) There will be greater emphasis on page management tools and the ability of these to produce desired results. Owners and Admins of Facebook accounts will now be able to grant degrees of access so Ad’s, community activity and messages can be changed by others associated with the account. Businesses will now have the opportunity to have greater flexibility in allowing permissions to other users, rather than a blanket all or nothing approach.
4) Facebook is ramping up safety and security in its latest update as these are at the forefront of everyone’s mind, whether they use social media for personal or business use. New features include allowing for easier detection of spam content, anything which is harmful or abusive or classed as impersonation of another. All of these can be vital safeguards for someone who uses a Facebook account for a business purpose.
5) The further good news? Nothing is being removed. That means that all the features you have come to love and rely upon as a business using Facebook are still remaining, making this a real bonus because the operation and usability is only going to get better without anything being taken away.
To find out more on social media and how it can help your business, visit our dedicated section now to find out more.