Recently, Facebook made changes to Fan pages which affect the way that people, brands, public figures, topics, etc. are connected as it relates to pages on Facebook. With these changes comes the introduction of Community pages and new restrictions set forth on what are now ‘Official Pages’.
(Yes, I know I wasn’t sure in my last post on the subject of ‘Official Pages’ however it’s now… well… ‘Official’)
What used to be ‘Fan Pages’ have now become ‘Official Pages’ or 'Community pages'. 'Official Pages' are now restricted to being created by authorized representatives of an entity, while 'Community Pages' now have more of a 'Community' feel (and are controlled by Facebook).
Both types of pages have changed the ‘become a fan’ language to simply ‘like’. Facebook states that this particular change offers a more ‘light-weight’ way for people to connect with entities.
According to Facebook:
"Only the official representative of an organization, business, celebrity, or band may create a Facebook Page. The Page creator can then add other representatives to help them manage the Page. Each Page admin will be able to update and edit their Pages from their own accounts."
Community pages on the other hand are designed to allow people to connect and discuss topics, experiences and causes. These new Community Pages will be connected with Wikipedia under the creative commons license and will display logo and profile information based on the Wikipedia article for that community’s topic. Facebook will also be displaying related posts in real time on Community Pages.
So what is the difference?
According to Facebook:
"Community Pages are built around topics, causes or experiences. Official Pages are maintained by authorized representatives of a business, brand, celebrity, or organization, and they can create and share content about the entities that they represent. Community Pages, on the other hand, won’t generate stories in your News Feed, and won’t be maintained by a single author."
What this means to you..
You can still create an ‘Official Page’ for your business or brand, however if you would like to create a generic page to discuss ‘all things real estate’ or ‘all things foreclosure’, then you would do best to start a community page on the subject. When people like your business or brand, they simply click ‘like’ to connect with you and/or your business/brand. People can ‘like’ up to 500 pages and that comes out of their 5,000 connection total for people and entities combined.
What’s my takeaway on this change?
I personally like the change.
For one, the change of the terminology ‘become a fan’ to ‘like’ offers a more ‘non-committal’ way for people to connect with your business. To me, ‘become a fan’ seems more of a commitment than someone simply clicking ‘like’. I think this gives businesses more of a reach in the long run. People are making the same connection to your business, but to the consumer it is less of a commitment to ‘like’ something than it is to become an all-out fan.
Also in my opinion, what the ‘Official’ and ‘Community’ page change does is clean up the mess.
For example, this eliminates the annoying… "Become a fan of"…
'Can this page get more fans than [fill in the blank]’
'How many [fill in the blank] does it take to [fill in the blank]'
'I hate my [enter brand here] cell phone because_____'
'Farmville fanatics fan page #99,999,999'
‘Mafia Wars fanatics fan page #99,999,999’
You get the picture. Pretty much, now you will either have to have a company, brand, or be a public figure in order to set up a page. If you really feel compelled to talk about Mafia wars or Farmville, you can visit the one (1) community page designated for that topic.
What do you think about the change?
Also check out:
Facebook: How to Add Your YouTube Videos to Your Business Page
Facebook: Profiles, Fan Pages, and Groups… Oh My!
How to Create Your Own Facebook Custom Fan Page
How to Add Your ActiveRain Blog to Your Facebook Fan Page in 10 Mins
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