Major Facebook Revamp Coming To You Soon
Facebook announced a major overhaul for Pages today.
Facebook Pages are public accounts used by organisations, public figures, events, etc. to share content, news, and updates. It’s different from personal profiles, which can be set to public or private settings and are usually used by individuals.
The changes, which will be rolled out over the coming weeks include: a more streamlined layout, dedicated Pages news feed, updated Admin controls, enhanced insights and notifications, and finally, strengthened safety and integrity features.
Here’s a quick run down:
Intuitive Page Design
Whenever Facebook updates its layout, one constant is true: it drives people nuts.
This time though, this just might be one of their better updates.
The clean design makes it easier to see important information, such as bios and posts, and navigate between them easily.
Navigation has also been simplified for users who have both a personal profile and Pages profile under their account, navigation between each section.
Futhermore, Facebook has given Admins more tools to play around with on their Page. Along with assigning team members either full or partial control for different tasks including accessing insights, creating ads, posting content, or managing community activity.
Additionally, enhanced Pages experience will offer actionable insights, more relevant notifications, as well as safety and integrity features for catching spam and fake accounts.
No More Likes
Instead of the confusing choice between Liking or Following a Page, which give users different access or alerts depending on the option selected, Facebook has stopped Likes and will only offer users the opportunity to Follow the Page of their choice.
This is part of their new drive to shift away from what’s know as “vanity metrics”, of which Likes are a big component. Vanity metrics have been attributed as one of the influences on users’ mental health, a topic which garnered more attention and conversations since the pandemic began last year.
According to their official blog: “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.”
A fun feature that brands and creators might end up using regularly is a new Q&A feature where user can select a topic for their followers to ask and as they are answered, they form an interactive element that people can explore.
Page admins will also be given access to a dedicated Pages News Feed, which will enable them to discover more relevant content, as well as interact with others. This News Feed will also suggest new connections specifically for each Page, whether relevant public figures, groups, or other Pages.
Additionally, comments from public figures will now be bumped to the top of the comments section for any Page posts, for wider visibility as part of Facebook’s attempts to combat disinformation.
Users will also be able to follow Pages directly from both comments and recommendations posts.
More transparent ‘Access Your Information’
In 2018, Facebook launched its Access Your Information tool so users can see their data and download it.
It was divided into two major categories: Your Information and Information About You.
Now, this function is getting a major update.
Facebook will break your information into eight distinct categories, which are further broken down into hyper-specific subcategories.
- Your Activity Across Facebook
- Friends and Followers
- Preferences
- Personal Information
- Logged Information
- Ads Information
- Apps and Websites Off of Facebook
- Security and Login Information
Users will also be able to see what’s being collected with a simple search for keywords, such as “location”, which will then show all of their location history. Then using the new Access Your Information tool, they will be able to see exactly how Facebook uses your information to customise your experience, including what ads you see, on the platform.
The new version of Access Your Information can currently be accessed only through the iOS or Android Facebook app, but it will be available via desktop in the near future.