Facebook's new page experience is here

Do you remember the last time the Facebook Business Page layout changed? It was OK wasn’t it? All the familiar features were there, and we grew to love it!

But it wasn’t going to be long before once again, Facebook announced that it’s changing our Facebook pages again. Earlier this year many of us may have been prompted to change to the new Facebook page layout – and if we haven’t yet agreed, no doubt, like me, you’ll have received many more prompts since.

With any change, it has its good points, it also has its bad ones too.

So, before you swap over to the new Facebook page experience, I ask that you pause, think about what it is that you need from your Facebook business page, and make the decision that is right for you.

Classic Facebook page vs Facebooks New Page Experience

Immediately, you’ll see a difference in the two Facebook pages.

I’ve kept my original ‘classic’ setting, but one of my clients, Liam from Vincovits, has moved over to the new Facebook business page experience. Here are our two pages for comparison:

You’ll see that the profile pic/logo is now in the centre of the Facebook banner. So, if like Liam you have something important in this part of your banner, you’ll have to redo it.
You can now create a short strapline to sit underneath the business name.
The tabs are different and run across the top of the page, and they can’t be changed, added to, or moved around in order of priority at the moment
‘Mentions’ is the new title for the ‘Community’ tab.
The ‘Page Likes’ feature is missing. Instead, you only have followers. If you swap to this new layout, you’ll lose anyone who liked your page but opted out of following you.
All the page management functions listed on the left of my page have gone from the new Facebook Page Experience
There’s a new Manage button (can you see it, it’s the one with the spanner icon?) to explore too in the new Facebook page experience. And believe me, it takes some exploring to find your way around!

Facebook new page experience: The three dots

The headlines that sit underneath the three dots have changed too. Here’s a comparison of the classic and the new Facebook layout.

I must admit, it’s good to see that Facebook have reintroduced the ‘View As’ feature enabling us to view our page through the eyes of our followers. That’s a good move Facebook!

And you can also switch back to the Classic Facebook page layout if you’re not getting on with the new Facebook page experience.

But beware! Switching back to the Classic Facebook Pages has glitches!

If after a couple of weeks, you really want to go back to how things were, there are a few things you need to be aware of.

Due to the current glitches, you will lose all the posts you have published on the new Facebook page experience. You may also lose the reviews that you’ve worked hard for, any stories that are live and even your shop.

So, my advice is, if you do choose to go with the new layout – commit to it. Personally I’m sticking with the classic page layout until Facebook irons out some of these teething problems.

Facebook business new page experience: The More button

Wow, this Facebook page layout change is more like a personal page. I’m not too sure what the relevance is of having options to share your favourite books, TV shows and movies, but I do know that this layout experience is targeted for public figures and celebrities.

And wait! There’s no shop in the new experience! If you don’t currently have a shop, there’s no option to add one. This is a key deciding factor!

To make it easy for you see the difference, below is an image of my classic layout showing what’s under the More button

Manage Page Settings

Another real interesting fact to make note of is that in some instances it pays to find

Settings are no longer placed down the left-hand side; they are now under the new Manage button and many are missing.

Here’s the classic layout – nice and easy:

And here’s the features under the new Manage button – they appear as a Professional Dashboard layout:

The classic setting’s list is integrated in this dashboard – it’s not very intuitive so you’ll need to spend some time getting used to it and there are lots of things missing.

These settings are no longer available:

Check ins
Contact info (used to be in the about section)

I wonder what Facebook plans for the future.

It’s clear that they have made these changes for a reason. Maybe it’s part of the bigger picture. But as this social media platform continues to evolve, I’m sure it will become apparent soon enough.

As ever, I’ll keep you informed and let you know when the glitches have been ironed it!

But if you’d like to see all these changes explained in more detail before deciding whether to go with the new or stay with the classic, head over to my YouTube channel.

Would you like to learn how to use Facebook Ads?

Come along to my next online Facebook Ads workshop.

I’m going to teach you how to effectively advertise through Facebook and Instagram to generate more business.

If you are boosting posts rather than using the Ads platform or you’ve dabbled in Ads manager, but not had much success and don’t really know how it works then this workshop is for you.

Throughout the week, you will set up your own ads that go live.

You will come away confident on how to create, edit and identify which ads give the best return on investment for your business.

Starts Tuesday November 16^th 2021