*Updated August 24, 2010* AllFacebook has released some additional details about the merging of a brand’s Facebook Page and Place. Here’s what we’ve learned thus far:
In order to begin the merge process, business owners will first be asked to visit their Place to claim that business as their own. The easiest way to do this is to check in to that Place via your phone and then do a search for your business’ name on Facebook.com.
If a business is not already in the system, users will be given the option to create it as a Facebook Place. The user will then click the “Is this your business?” button to begin the verification process.
Once verified as the owner, the user will then be given the option to merge their Page with their Place. But this is where things get a little tricky…
Merging a Facebook Page and Place will cause the layout of that business’ Page to be drastically altered. Let me say that once more just to emphasize how important this really is…
Merging a Place with a Page will DRASTICALLY change the layout of your Facebook Page. We’re not talking about a couple of changes; we’re talking about a full redesign of your Page that you’ve worked so hard on.
You can view an example of the merged design here or see a screenshot below.
Some of the bigger layout changes we’ve noticed include:
- Top navigation has been moved to the left-hand side of the Page. This is the most significant of the changes, altering how users will interact with your Page and its content areas.
- Addition of a Bing map to the top of the Page. Facebook has also added a “Get Directions” button.
- Removal of the “Write something…” box. Users must now click on buttons that read “Write on Wall,” “Add Photos,” and/or “Post Link” in order to post something to a Page’s Wall.
- Addition of “Check-ins,” which notifies users of how many times people have used Places to check in to that location.
- Removal of the “# People Like This” box. Rather than showing you the names and images of people who “Like” a business’ Page, Facebook now just tells you how many people are fans.
It’s still unclear as to whether or not these changes will be the standard for all brand Pages moving forward. But, as you can imagine, they are likely to cause waves among business owners and marketers who have invested countless hours into learning and tweaking their Pages.
As for now, MGH recommends refraining from beginning the merge process until more details about Facebook’s plan for Pages/Places become available.
*UPDATED 8/24* After reading through a series of blog comments, it appears as though most users have not yet been given the option to merge their Place with their Page. Perhaps Facebook is still working out the details? More to come…
