Facebook has been updating their platform at such an incredulous rate this year that I can barely keep up with the changes! In fact, there will probably be a bunch more new changes within weeks of this post being published.
In the meantime, however, I wanted to at least round up the latest Facebook updates of 2013 for you.
Graph Search
Graph Search has now been rolled out to all US English language users. This feature changes the way your Facebook page looks and how you can search for things within Facebook. Graph Search takes a little getting used to but does provide some real advantages - especially to those who manage Facebook business pages. If you want to read more about Graph Search you can check out this post I wrote for the Social Solutions Collective.
New "Like" Button
Facebook has done away with their iconic thumbs-up symbol on their "like" button. While the change is subtle, it is still a migration from what we know Facebook to be. You'll notice on sharing icons that the button is now just a simple blue box with the word "Like" or "Share". If you're updating any of your printed materials, you may want to take this change into consideration.
Page Insights
Business page managers have been begging Facebook to update their insights (analytics) for years. And in 2013, Facebook came through! This new feature provides a much deeper and more accurate assessment of your page activity. For more details on how to use and interpret this data, read this post from Jon Loomer. The new insights have been adjusted a couple times and can now be found in the upper menu option.
Pages to Watch
This is a recent feature that, in my opinion, isn't of much value. This is now found in the middle of the lower admin panel (where the insights used to be). You have to choose at least 5 pages to follow in order to activate the feature. The only information you will see here is the number of page likes gained or lost for each of the pages you choose to follow. If you want to follow your direct competition and see how many likes they gain every week, activate this feature. But otherwise, it doesn't provide any real value. The page managers of the pages you follow will receive a notification that "someone" is following them but your name and page are not revealed.
Scheduling Tool
Facebook has provided a post scheduling tool for page managers since last year. This tool is a big advantage for your social media strategy. If you would like more information on how and why to use the scheduler, you can read my previous post. Recently, Facebook updated the tool to a more user-friendly version. Rather than choosing each of the day, month, and year from a drop down menu, Facebook now provides a calendar to quickly and easily choose the date to post. The predictive time selection allows you to choose from 5 minute intervals or to type in the exact time you would like the post to appear.
Edit Posts
One of things that most of us wanted was the ability to edit posts after posting. And this year, Facebook finally allowed this function! After publishing a post (or a comment on a post), you can choose to edit it. Your posts and comments will display the word "edited" at the bottom of the text to inform your readers that you have since edited the content. But now we can quickly and easily correct those typos and errors!
(Quick Note: As of this post being published, many people that I've spoken to do not have this feature active. It was rolled out and we were all excited. But it seems to have been revoked... we're hoping it comes back soon!)
Larger Image Previews
Over the last year, Facebook has been working to improve the visual experience. Now photos appear larger in the news feed. And even more recently, Facebook has increased the size of image previews in posts with links. As a page manager it is that much more important to create quality images, both for your regular posts and your blog post links. A great image will get users to stop and read your post.
Edgerank
Edgerank is a word that makes almost every social media manager cringe. The secret algorithm that Facebook uses to determine who sees what posts has been a mystery since its launch. This year, fortunately, Facebook not only improved the algorithm, but also offered more transparency to businesses. So, no, not every person who likes your page will see your posts. But now, those pages that share valuable content should see greater reach and engagement. The new algorithm also punishes post that include the word "like". Be careful when wording your posts and don't ask fans to "like this post" or your reach will decrease.
Hashtags
The term which has become common vernacular is now activated on Facebook as well. Any terms used as hashtags in your posts are clickable and searchable. This functionality is still being rolled out to mobile users but is active for desktop users. Be cautious when using hashtags on your business page posts though. Facebook seems to reduce the visibility of posts including hashtags.
Contests
Page managers have frequently grown their fans, their lists, and their product interest through contests on Facebook. And Facebook always had really strict rules about how you could run a contest. Until recently contests had to be administered through third party apps. But this year, Facebook changed everything once again and opened up the rules on contests. Now page managers can run contests directly on their pages. Even though most businesses seemed to get excited about this change, it's important to remember why we run contests. If your goal is to grow your list or opt-in's through a contest, you'll still need to use third party apps. For more insight into the rules and advantages/disadvantages of the new contest restrictions, check out this post from Social Media Examiner.
Power Editor
The ability to advertise on Facebook is paramount for a lot of business pages. And with the improved functionality of the Power Editor, it's even easier and more practical now! The Power Editor now allows page managers to select targeted users to view their ads. Page managers can exclude specific locations, target mobile users, and even target fans of their competition's pages. For a detailed description of how to use the Power Editor read this post from Social Media Examiner. To further support the improved ad targeting, Facebook also improved the variety of images available for ad users to choose from.
Cover Images
The introduction of cover images inspired many page managers. The options for creative displays and the opportunity to really showcase their business was rewarding. However, Facebook initially restricted the amount of space that could include text to only 20%. And they had strict instructions on what could be included in terms of calls-to-action and contact information. But this year, they abolished all those rules and now cover photos are a giant canvas to use freely! This is probably one of the most celebrated Facebook updates of 2013.
Like I said, it's been a busy year for Facebook! And if they maintain their current trajectory, we'll have a ton more changes in 2014.
If you would like assistance in developing or improving your Facebook strategy, please contact me.
I am with you Jenn. I do not see value in the pages to watch feature. On the FB pages that I manage for my Church, this feature for me is just taking up space. Perhaps in a “business” setting it would make sense. I have something else on my pages I manage. Have you seen the “targeted” feature on the bottom of posts? Is this new or has it been there and I have missed it? Do only some have it?? If you are not sure what I am talking about – I can send you a screen shot . When I click it is says I can target my posts to gender, relationship status, educational status, interested in , age, location and language. I am not talking about on the advertising pull down for “boost your post”. It is a “circle” next to the scheduler. In your post How To Schedule Posts on Facebook – On the images you put up – I don’t see the “circle” button that I see on our pages. You have the schedule button and the location button. This is a third (in the middle of the “clock” for schedule and the push pin for location) button on our FB page . (https://www.facebook.com/StGabrieltheArchangel) Is this something facebook hasn’t given to everyone? I can see practical ways as a church we can use this to target a women’s retreat for example., etc. Also, our FB page has a few followers from different parts of the world so if I wanted to post an event that it is obvious they won’t be able to come to (unless they want to fly in for it) , I could target by location not bother those who are not in our geographic location. Again, I just noticed it the other day and then today I saw this post about the new features.
Never mind I see you addressed it in Power Editor. Fee stupid now.
No worries, Cyndi. You should never feel like a question is stupid. If you’re thinking it, then so are others! You can see my response to your previous comment.
Hi Cyndi. Thanks for your comments!
I’m wondering how long Facebook will keep the Pages to Watch feature active before they replace that area of the admin panel with something more useful.
As for targeted posts, I did not include that in this list because Facebook actually introduced that feature last year. I do not have it activated on my pages simply because I don’t feel I have the need for it but it is a valuable tool for some.
If you already have a well targeted audience, the need to further target (and potentially reduce the overall reach of your posts) seems a little short-sighted. However, if you have a diverse audience that spans multiple time zones around the globe, targeting may be useful. For example, saying “good morning” at 8 am EST works well for your North American audience but your European audience are finishing up their work day at the same time. In this case, you may want to use targeting to direct your messages to specific audiences at the most opportune times.
As you mentioned in your comment, with an event like yours, targeting based on geographic location would be a reasonable time to use this feature.
This feature can also work well if you want to test A/B posts to determine which one provides the best results.
I hope this helps clear up the targeted posts for you. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Jenn !! OK heres a plea for help. Im only 8 months into Social Media Mgt, learning fast, loving it, but constantly frustrated by the simple fact that it appears few if any of the main platforms can be bothered answering questions when things go wrong. So, can you help me sort out a mess on several Facebook pages i manage.
I used to love Facebooks step by step scheduler. It was simple. It was i know a bit lengthy as processes go but it worked. Then a few weeks ago they changed it. They made it more simple, 12 steps down to four. Cue nightmare. Suddenley my options for scheduling days ahead disappeared, suddenly the drop down list of days “stopped” at 21 so i couldn’t schedule beyond week3 !!! Worse, much worse, the TIME options went crazy…..i now only have a UTC time option instead of GMT and yes i know thats unified time etc BUT if i schedule a post for 1930 GMT Facebook immediately sets it as 1430 in the scheduler and yes thats when it posts it……
Can you help steer me towards a way of sorting this as frankly its wrecking our pages which is impacting a very small business in the UK and my volunteer work for three fundraising patches in Cheshire & Merseyside for Macmillan Cancer Support – any advice will be hugely appreciated.
cheers, Mark
Hi Mark. Sorry to hear you’re having such issues with the Facebook scheduler. I haven’t personally encountered any of the issues you mentioned on any of the pages I manage.
First, for the time errors, Facebook bases its clock on your computer clock. Make sure that the time on your computer is set to the correct time. If you’re having issues with time zones, like it seems you are, you’ll need to confirm your Facebook settings. Facebook bases your time zone on your profile information. So if you’re in one time zone, but your pages are based in a different time zone, your posts will generate on the time zone in which you are located. Without knowing your exact situation and pages, I can’t confirm that this is the issue though.
As for choosing the dates, I don’t think I can be much help. I’ve never seen the tool where you can only choose how many days out to post. I’ve always had the option to select the month, day, and year up to 6 months in advance.
Just as some other troubleshooting options, have you tried to manage your Facebook pages in a different internet browser? I know some browsers can get finicky. If you’ve tried reaching out to Facebook support directly but haven’t received any response, you might want to consider posting a comment in the Facebook forum. Someone else might have more direct experience with this issue.
I’m sorry I can’t be of more help. I will keep my ears open and if I hear of anything, I’ll be sure to let you know.