Has your Facebook business page switched over to the new Pages experience yet? Wondering what's changing and how it will impact you?
In this article, you’ll learn how Facebook’s latest Pages experience works and what you need to update so your organic Facebook business presence makes the right impression.
In February 2021, Facebook announced that the platform would begin rolling out a the new format for business pages. Known simply as the new Pages experience, this redesigned business product replaces the classic page experience by updating everything from user access and page management to layouts and feeds.
For example, the @PlannerPerfect Facebook page shows the new experience. The page has a short and sweet intro, the Featured section highlights shoppable items, and users can follow (rather than like) the page.
In October 2022, Meta announced that all small businesses now have access. If you manage a Facebook page for a small or midsized business, you’ve likely seen a pop-up similar to the one below, confirming that your page has automatically switched over.
First, it’s important to note that if your page still uses the classic Pages experience, there isn’t a way to access the update on your own. Meta automatically moves pages to the new Pages experience so it isn’t possible to request an update or prompt one manually.
Once your page switches over, you can continue to view it from its existing public URL—facebook.com/@username. However, you can no longer manage the page by logging into your personal profile and navigating to that URL.
Instead, social media marketers now have two options for managing Facebook pages. For many social media marketers, Meta Business Suite is still the best option for handling engagement and scheduling content.
But when you need to configure page settings or engage with mentions, you have to switch into the business page rather than using your personal profile. To do that, open Facebook, click your profile photo, and select See All Profiles. When the list of your available profiles and pages appears, click the one you want to use. Alternatively, you can go to your business page URL and click the Switch Now button.
After your page switches over, you may have an option to return to the classic Pages experience. Open the menu under Edit Page and click Switch to Classic Pages. Note that if you switch back, any content you published under the new experience will be removed from your page.
Since you can’t manage the new Pages experience pages from your personal profile, it’s important to make sure you and your team have appropriate access to the page so you can use essential management tools. Let’s walk through the tools and access options available for the new Pages experience pages.
To configure admin access for your page, open the professional dashboard, which you can find in the Professional Tools list in the left-hand sidebar. Under the Your Tools drop-down, select Page Access.
Here, you can see all of the people and business managers who have access to your page. Most new Pages experience pages have three levels of access:
Although the new Pages experience has fewer options for page settings, you can make select adjustments by opening the settings panel for your page. From there, you can go to the Stories and Reels tabs to review visibility and sharing settings for your content.
To control who can post on your page or review your business, go to the Page and Tagging tab. To prevent users or pages from interacting with your page, go to the Blocking tab.
Do you have linked Instagram or WhatsApp accounts? You can review and manage connected accounts from the Linked Accounts tab.
Want to make sure your page is in good standing? You can go to the Page Quality tab to review Community Standards violations.
If your page gets a lot of engagement, your team may not have the capacity to manage it manually. With Meta’s Moderation Assist tool, you can manage some engagement automatically so you can focus on creating better conversations with your audience.
To access this tool, open your page’s professional dashboard and look for Moderation Assist under the Tools to Try drop-down. The tool automatically sets up a basic rule for your page: any comments from users with no friends or followers will be automatically hidden.
Click the Add More button to configure more settings, and then browse the list of options. For example, you can hide comments with links, pictures, or specific keywords. You can also hide comments from the new accounts to help protect your page from spam.
If you manage a new Pages experience page using a desktop device, you’ll only be able to access basic content creation tools. When you go to create a post, you’ll see a prompt encouraging you to use Business Suite to improve reach.
But if you create content using a mobile device, you have additional options. Instead of posting right away, you can schedule for a future time including one of the recommended times. You can also share the post to up to three groups along with publishing to your page.
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