Updates to Facebook Business Pages

Ever since Facebook introduced their “meaningful interactions” update in January 2018, engagement on business pages has dropped significantly. Despite the fact that 80 million businesses use Facebook pages and every week, two out of three people on Facebook visit a local business or event page, that drop has been by than more than 50 per cent over the last 18 months, according to this report from BuzzSumo and Buffer.

The update to the Facebook algorithm prioritized posts from friends and family, which made it much harder to get page content seen in news feeds. However, Facebook recently announced a series of changes to mobile versions of its business pages to make connections with their user base “simpler and more valuable.”

This is how the social media giant aims to improve those connections through their new layouts, which will be different for each page category:

Recommendations

Facebook has retired their star rating system for customer reviews. Instead they have added recommendations to pages, this allows users to write in-depth reviews of at least 25 characters in length, with pictures and text. They have also added category-based business tags which are easily selected, easy to search for and work like hashtags for your business.

As Facebook say, “People can easily indicate if they recommend your business to others by simply answering "Yes" or "No", and can explain why with tags, text and photos. By selecting a tag, they can help themes emerge in the feedback from Recommendations, making it easier for potential customers to see what your business is known for.”

Actions

People will now be able to tap on a simplified and prominently featured selection of buttons to take actions like book an appointment for a haircut, order a pizza, send a message or write a Recommendation, all on mobile. Page managers will have the option to select the action buttons that make the most sense for their business.

Increased Visibility for Stories

Page Stories were added to Facebook in 2017, yet have never been as visible as those on Instagram and their original home, Snapchat. With Facebook’s new changes, the content can now be viewed by simply tapping on the business page profile photo.

Customized Business Info

Businesses can now feature information such as hours and prices, recommendations and restaurant menus much more prominently on their pages, as well as special events and offers.

Events

700 million people use Facebook Events each month and now businesses will be able to sell tickets directly through Facebook Pages. Facebook is also creating event-specific ads to help with promotion and marketing.

Jobs

To help more local businesses hire people, Facebook are expanding Jobs to all people and businesses across the world in the coming months.