Oh Facebook! How you love to keep us on our toes! I knew there were changes to Facebook Pages before they even arrived. How, you might ask? You see whenever it is glitchy, not posting things, not letting me see whole pages, stopping me from doing things I would normally. There’s changes a comin’!
It seems that they have decided to make some rather incredible changes to the interface when posting to your facebook page. Here is the lowdown.
Share an update or a link
This is your traditional ‘post’ format. It is a plain text field with the option to schedule for a particular date (including an expiry date).
Share a photo or a video
Like the original ‘photo’ post, this is where you set up photos or videos to be added to your Facebook Page status, create a photo album, create a carousel, create a slideshow, or create a canvas.
It’s interesting to note that I and a few others I know have access to post images as slideshows or galleries on the Facebook Pages App on our phones. It is available on both iOS & Android. Unfortunately it has crashed when I have tried to upload photos as a slideshow.
Create an Offer
This is the same as previously and is a paid option as it uses the Facebook Ads service.
Worth noting is that posts that meet the criteria of being an offer, eg. Posts which include the words ‘% off’ will be offered to have the post go live as an offer rather than a regular post. You can decline the offer but just be warned.
Create an Event
This option is the same as the old version. Some might notice the inclusion of keywords and the ability to advise that the event is family friendly or has free admission.
Get Phone Calls
Using this option creates a populated post with your cover picture, space for some text and a call to action button for ‘Call Now’, which logs a call to your linked phone number. You can change the image by uploading another photo and unselecting your cover picture.
Get messages
This option is the same as ‘Get Phone Calls’ except when customers click on the ‘Send Message’ button it opens up Facebook Messenger and a message to your page.
So what does this all mean for Facebook Pages?
Firstly for Facebook it pushes advertising to the point of posting. You are offered to turn your posts into offers (ads) at the point of you writing the post. Facebook populates the fields making it simpler to have your offer go live. To consider is that using this removes your ability to edit the audience for your offer, unlike using the Power Editor for your ads.
In the image below, you will see the text above my photo, in the offer, is what I wrote in the post. However, the offer underneath, the part people claim, is unrelated and was generated by Facebook.
Some people will like that Facebook does it for you; I however, like to be in control of my Facebook Page Advertising.
What does it mean for your Audience?
Well it means that they have 2 new ways to interact with your page in one click, phone or messenger. Here’s where I am a little wary.
Facebook has launched Messenger Ads. Facebook has launched My Day, their version of SnapChat. Facebook is pushing people to use Messenger more. Am I excited about this? Yes & No. If I was the kind of business owner who wanted to push my followers to Message me, I would be happy. If I was the kind of business owner who knew that my clients would be happy to see Messenger ads, I’d be happy. I’m not that person, nor am I the kind of person who wants ads in my Facebook Messenger App!
What about getting the calls? Now this I like! This is a great way if you have a good offer that you want to put up and get people to “CALL NOW”. Here’s the best way I can imagine using this.
Put up an unbelievable special as a ‘Get Calls’ post. Ignore Facebook when they want you to turn it into an offer. Publish the ‘Get Calls’ post and open up Google Chrome & then Facebook Power Editor. Run an ‘Awareness’ Campaign to “Boost Your Posts’ and select your ne ‘Get Calls’ Post and target your audience. Wait for the calls to come in!
So overall, it’s not a bad change. I think business owners need to be wary of what is happening. I think they need to take some time to educate themselves on Facebook Ads and their clients. I’m also curious to see where this is all headed.
If you are interested in learning more about growing your Facebook Page or Facebook Ads, I offer a free 30 minute call where we can discuss technique, strategy, or I can advise on any problems you might have. You can book your time directly into my calendar (they are listed at 15 min intervals but are 30 min slots). Chat soon!
