Earlier this year, Facebook began rolling out and testing a redesign update. The motivation behind this update has been to simplify some Facebook layouts. Specifically, Facebook has made a significant change to the Facebook Page experience. The new Page layout has been designed to easily display only the key information of the Page and has cleared up some of the complexities that Pages once had.
Previously, a Page had both ‘Like’ and ‘Follow’ buttons. Visitors to a Page had the option of choosing how a Page would display in their newsfeeds. If their interest in a particular Page changed, users could select the Unfollow button, therefore, removing potential content reaching their feed. The Page would still display the total amount of likes and users were able to engage with it when needed, but the metrics of the Page were unnecessarily confusing. With this update which is currently being rolled out to new pages being set up, a Page only has a Follow button and count. The Like button has or will be removed altogether. This change better reflects a Page’s true reach as it shows how many people receive the Page’s updates in their newsfeeds.
By focusing on Followers, Facebook has improved how Page owners manage their Pages, build their community and achieve their business objectives. With so many people and businesses continuing to practice social distancing and preferably staying connected online, this new feature of Facebook is noteworthy. Page owners have access to several newly added insights. Not only do they get a better reflection on who their Page reaches, but they can also gain metrics on top-performing posts and see where their audience overlap when their Facebook account is connected to an Instagram account.
As Facebook is presently rolling out this update including current business pages, users need to check their profile settings to make sure that they follow the Pages that they originally Liked. Similarly, Page owners need to adjust their Facebook strategy so that they don’t lose any of their audience in this process of change.
When we begin to see businesses and Page owners say ‘Follow Us’, we now know what their call to action means.
