Cindy Shebley

Facebook rolled out the new updated layout for their Fan pages late last week.

Users can take a tour or upgrade -- but be warned if you upgrade there is no turning back. If you haven't already upgraded it might be best to wait a few days until a few of the bugs are ironed out. Users have until March 1st to upgrade, after that FB will start migrating pages automatically.

One noticeable bug is the reduction of size on the FBML tab pages -- which cuts off the right side. Facebook has acknowledged it as a bug and is trying to correct the problem.

Let's take a quick look at some of the big changes that are being rolled out.

Layout

The look is consistent with the profile so users will be able to easily navigate the pages.

1. The profile picture (avatar) is going to be a smaller size 180X540 from 200X540


2. Photos across the top pulled in from the page photo album(s) -- as the admin you can edit which ones will show by default.


3. Tabs across the top have been moved (removed) to under the profile picture. Facebook feels this will make it easier for the visitor to find, but in my opinion it de-emphasizes the tabs and their usefulness to marketers. Page admins will still be able to set the new visitor default page.


4. My favorite change is this one! You can now, truly keep your business and profile separate by being able to post as the page.
5. You now have two Wall filters. You can show posts by your page and top posts from Everyone, a new way for people to see the most interesting stories first. As an admin, you'll have additional filters for viewing posts on your page.

Other changes include more advanced filtering, editing, and sorting to customize your users' experience.

Many of us have been bombarded by spam, or worse on our pages. Facebook continues to address this issue with this release. Included in the update are two new features to block unwanted posts.

One is a filter to block certain words from posting. The posts will move automatically to your spam file if used so users will not see the posts.

The second is a profanity filter. From a drop-down menu you can choose to filter by Strong, Medium or none. This will be something we'll all have to monitor closely to see how much is being block accidently or if current settings are enough.

Finally -- we can see who is interacting with our pages in real time!

A new setting allows us to receive email notifications when visitors post on the wall. Although -- right now I love the idea, I'm also the admin on several client pages and have started getting bombarded with email updates from users…..

FB announced application (and FBML landing page) developers can start using iFrames. It's still not completely clear how or what special codes they'll need and the FB developer board seems to put March 11 as the target date for answers.

The new layout is designed to make it easier to navigate pages and cut down on some of the administration work that page owners had to keep up with.

I'm sure there will be more changes throughout the year. As page admins start adapting to this round and finding ways to make their fan pages more effective FB will continue to roll out more upgrades.