For now, Facebook is allowing Page administrators to decide whether or not they want to make the switch before an automatic upgrade takes place on March 10.

So to help ease you in this inevitable transition, we’ve compiled a list of the most important design and functionality updates you can expect to see upon upgrading.

Design

1.  Top navigation moved – Previously, users relied on tabs at the top of a Page to navigate different Page sections. In an effort to mirror design elements of one’s personal profile page, Facebook has replaced this top navigation with a series of buttons on the left-hand column. It’s unclear as to what impact this change will have on views to other sections of one’s Page, but it’s likely that views will drop off in the short-term, as users adjust to these new changes.

Old Facebook Page navigation

New Facebook Page navigation

2.  Photo banners added – A series of five photos now appear at the top of each updated Facebook Page, representing a Page’s most recently tagged photos. This change allows brands to expand upon the limited design elements of their Pages, and get a little creative in the process. As an example, we’ve tagged five of our favorite ads on our MGH Facebook Page: http://facebook.com/mghus. Involver, a social media app developer, used that space to highlight their service lines: http://facebook.com/involver.

Facebook Page photo banner

3.  Favorite Pages replaced – “Favorite Pages,” a box on the left-hand column which featured other Facebook Pages “favorited” by a brand, has been replaced by a “Likes” box. This “Likes” box allows a Page to select up to five other Pages to be highlighted through thumbnails and links. Admins can select which Pages to feature in this section by visiting Edit Page > Featured > Add Featured Likes.

Old Facebook Favorite Pages box

New Facebook Favorite Pages box

4.  Page Owners box added – If you’ve ever tried to contact an administrator of a Facebook Page, you know what a pain that process can be. That’s because, in the past there was no way for admins to easily identify themselves, thus making it difficult for fans to know who was in charge. Page administrators now have the ability to identify themselves via a new box in the left-hand column entitled, “Page Owners.” This box features thumbnails of the admins with links to their profiles.

Page Owners box

5.  Avatar size reduced – Facebook has reduced the size of its Page profile pictures from 200 x 600 pixels to 180 x 540.

6.  Like box changed – Prior to its upgrades, Facebook Pages featured two “Like” boxes in the left-hand column – one for total number of “Likes” that Page had received, and one featuring a list of users’ friends who also “Liked” the Page – both of which offered thumbnails of those who “Liked” the Page. In its changes, Facebook has replaced the overall “Likes” box with the number of “Likes” that Page has, eliminating images of those who’ve “Liked” it. And they’ve also moved the “Friends who ‘Like’ this Page” box to the upper right-hand column, with a minor redesign.

Old Facebook “Likes” boxes

New Facebook “Likes” box #1 (left-hand column)

New Facebook “Likes” box #2 (right-hand column)

7.  Wall filters changed – In the older design, visitors to a Page’s Wall could select between viewing posts by the Page only, the Page and its fans, or just the fans. Facebook has removed the ability for fans to view posts made only by other fans, and now offers the option to view posts by everyone (both the Page and its fans) or posts made just by the Page.

8.  Information box removed – Facebook has eliminated its “Information” box, which previously lived under a Page’s avatar. We’ve read that brands will eventually be able to insert a block of copy under their Page title, but have yet to see any sign of this.

9.  Photos and Links boxes removed – The “Photos” box, which previously lived in the left-hand column and featured a snapshot of several of that Page’s photo albums, has been replaced by a “Photos” button in the left-hand navigation. The “Links” box has also been removed and exchanged for a similar button.

10. Admin buttons moved – Previously, admins used a series of buttons located under their avatars to manage and edit their Pages. Admins can now access their administrative tools by clicking the “Edit Page” button in the upper right-hand corner.

11. Admin Insights moved – Facebook used to provide admins with a snapshot of their Pages’ Insights (or analytics) directly on their Page. This small box has been removed and replaced with a button to “View Insights” on the left-hand column.

Functionality

1.  Administrators posting as Pages – One of the most significant changes Facebook has made in its updates is providing administrators with the ability to log in as a Page and to perform a series of actions as that brand Page.

This change brings about a series of opportunities for brands looking to enhance their Facebook efforts. Here’s a quick list of what this change means for you.

-  Ability to comment on other Pages – Admins will now be able to post comments, Wall posts, etc. to other Pages as a brand, as opposed to posting a personal profile. This means your pizza shop with 25 fans can now post to a local university’s Facebook Page with 25,000 fans actually as that pizza shop, instead of having to post under your actual name and personal profile.  We recently discussed the potential threat this new feature could pose to brands and users. Based on our prediction, it’s likely that Facebook will eventually move away from this new feature, so be sure to capitalize on it now (without being a jerk SPAM’er).

Example of brands posting to others’ Facebook Pages

-  Allows administrators to receive notifications – Once logged in as a Page, administrators can receive notifications in the upper left-hand corner when any fans “Like” a Page or perform an action on that Page (“Like” or comment on a post/picture/etc.). Previously, admins had to visit their Pages in order to see increases in “Likes” and/or new comments on posts.

Facebook Page notifications

You can now toggle back and forth between personal profile and Page by clicking the “Use Facebook as [Your Page Title]” button in the upper right-hand corner.

2.  FBML replaced by iframes – Another one of the more significant changes being made by Facebook in this update, particularly for application developers, is the switch from Facebook’s mark-up language (FBML) to the iframes system. Previously, developers were asked to build custom tabs and applications using Facebook’s own language, but they’ve been instructed to begin making the transition to the newer system.

For those of you unfamiliar with iframes, they allow developers to insert a window of a webpage into another webpage. It’s a way to pull a block of a website into another website, using a small snippet of code.

For Facebook developers, this means that all application and tab development will take place outside of Facebook, and will be pulled in to their Pages via iframe code. This also means that developers don’t have to spend time fuddling with FBML, and can program in languages that they’re more comfortable working with, saving both time and money.

Even more importantly, however, the change will also mean that most Page’s existing landing tabs will no longer function once the switch is made on March 11. These custom tabs will need to be redeveloped in order to meet Facebook’s new standards.

3.  Posting to Page as a user – A common complaint frequently made by Facebook Page administrators has been that they’ve been unable to interact via their personal profiles on their own Pages. For example, if I managed a pizza shop’s Facebook Page and wanted to comment on a post, I was forced to do so under the name of the pizza shop, as opposed to posting under my actual name. This prohibited administrators from interacting on a personal basis with many of their fans. In order to post under your personal account via your Page, go to Edit Page > Your Settings > Posting Preferences.

4.  Tag Pages in photos – Under the new changes, administrators will have the ability to tag their Pages in Facebook photos. The five most recently tagged photos will appear in the new photo banner section at the top of a Page.

Two things to note about this new functionality: 1) Administrators can only tag photos that have been uploaded by other administrators, and will not be permitted to tag photos that have been uploaded by fans of a Page. 2) Fans of a Page will not be able to tag Pages in photos; only administrators will have the ability to tag their own Pages, alleviating possible concerns of fans tagging brands in inappropriate photos.

5.  Email updates – Administrators can now choose to receive updates when fans post or  comment on Pages. As you can imagine, if you manage Pages with large, active communities, these alerts can become slightly overwhelming. So to turn off your alerts, go to Edit Profile > Your Settings > Email Notifications.

6.  Ability to change category – Under the old system, administrators were locked into the Page category they had initially identified when developing their Page. There was no (easy) way to change this description of one’s business. Now, by visiting Edit Page > Basic Information, administrators will be able to reset their Page category.

By changing categories, administrators may be presented with different fields to complete for their Page’s profile. For example, by choosing the People > Actor/Director category, administrators are given the option to list awards, gender, and birth date for their Page. Selecting Books & Magazines > Book, on the other hand, gives them the ability to fill in an ISBN and Publisher field.

Facebook changes more than my mother when getting ready for an evening on the town – always keeping us on our toes with new features, redesigns and updates. The only difference is that Facebook doesn’t repeatedly ask whether it looks fat in its new cocktail dress.

While this is a pretty extensive list of updates, we’re all still figuring out what impact the changes will have on Page results. But, with that being said, initial results point to the changes offering big benefits to all of us in the marketing community.

Drop us a line if you have any questions as you begin to make the transition. You can reach us at rgoff@mghus.com

Valentine’s Day can definitely be stressful – what do you buy that special someone? Where do I get $100 for roses? No fear! Here at MGH WOM we have decided that there is no need to spend extravagant money for Valentine’s Day this year (don’t blame us if you end up on the couch).We have put a list together of the 5 best ways to put your tech-savyness to work this February 14^th.

1) Give a nice holiday greeting on Facebook. The “Fun Card” app is our favorite for sharing Valentine’s wishes. I chose to give one to my boss, a little sucking up never hurt anyone.

2) Put a little bit of humor into the day by giving your sweetie an e-card from someecards.com. This happens to be our choice for the occasion, but remember, Some Ecards remind you to “Hug a loner this Valentine’s Day”.

3) Take your lover out dancing. Well you don’t actually have to take her anywhere, Faceinhole.com does that for you! Upload both of your photos, and to the disco you go. Here is me and my date, star of G4’s Attack of the Show, Olivia Munn.

Click For Video

4) iPhone apps galore! Pull out Lovetricity over that romantic dinner to see the real connection between you two! Hopefully it doesn’t end in heartbreak. I am pretty sure this app just randomly generates answers, but you don’t have to share that knowledge unless it doesn’t tell you what she wants to hear.

5) If you are determined to send her flowers, use the send-a-bouguet app for your iPhone. This clever little app lets you customize a bouquet and send it to her via email. You can even add your picture in the background. That way, when you can play the “I bought you these flowers, but left that at home” card you can show her photo “proof”

We hope these tips helped you and your sweetheart have a great Valentine’s Day. Let us know how they work out.