Pages, they are a-changin’
By now you should be familiar with Facebook’s new Page layout (see Tim’s recent article on the Social Media Examiner if you still have questions). Besides the new layout and Admin features, there is one little easy-to-miss option that could potentially have a big impact for the way you use Facebook. Page Admins may have noticed the new link on their Pages that gives them the option to use Facebook as their Page.
When you click “Use Facebook as (Your Page)” you leave your Profile-self behind and enter a new Facebook entirely. When you post on another Page Wall, you represent your Page, not yourself. Of course, if you have created a Page for yourself as a public figure, this could look very different. But typically Pages represent a business or organization, not just one person.
The best part: You can do this for each of the Pages you administer, individually!
There are some other significant features, which I will outline below. I hope this helps you use your new powers wisely and effectively:
How to Use Facebook As Your Page*
*and still follow the social media rules of engagement…
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Posting on the Wall of another Page in your Industry:
It’s a big rule of social media, in general, to never spam people with self-promotional material on their Page or Profile. With Facebook especially, keep in mind the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Only post something if it adds value to the conversation. Don’t just link back to your website or Page for no reason, or just plug your services. Share a link only if you have something to offer. Be genuine and transparent.
Here is an example of a good interaction between two Pages in the same industry. I posted a link to one of our blog posts on the Wall of Room 214, a social media agency. I felt that it was a post they would find interesting, nothing that promoted HyperArts services.
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Personalize your Comment
We, and many of our colleagues, consider it “good etiquette” to sign your comments when posting as a Page:
This makes your post feel personal despite the obvious branded persona. Also, if you want a response, you give the Page admin an opportunity to call you by your real name, not just your brand name. Another good reason to sign your name: accountability. If your Page has multiple admins accessing Facebook as the Page, you might want to enforce this as a rule to keep track of who says what! -
Recommended Pages
Now that you are using Facebook as a Page, you will see recommendations of other Pages you might like, instead of people and friends of friends.
These recommendations will appear in the right column of the page, and often pertain to your industry. They are also usually relevant to other Pages you have liked. This is a useful tool for a Page Admin who wants to grow their new Newsfeed of Pages (see below for more info on the new Newsfeed). You can easily develop relationships with other related businesses or organizations if you use proper etiquette and post comments or questions on their Walls. -
The New Newsfeed
A very powerful tool is the new ability to see a Newsfeed of your favorite Pages rather than one of your Friends. Before, using Facebook to administer a Fan Page meant that Admins had to consciously ignore many of the Facebook Profile features while working on a Page. When you went to the Facebook “home” page, you were seeing a stream of activity from friends and family, not necessarily related to the work you might be doing on a Page. Now, you can actually make the switch and see only posts related to your Page. Only Pages you have “liked” as your Fan Page show up in this stream.
If you want to keep up with other Pages in your industry, this is the best way I have seen, so far, to actually get all of their feeds in one place. -
Notifications and Likes, All in One Place!
In that same vein, when you are looking at Facebook as a Page, you see new Likes and Page Wall comments instead of friend requests and Profile Wall comments:
When you click on either icon in the top-left toolbar, you get a drop-down list of all new Fans and any interaction your Fans have had with you Page. This includes Likes and comments to any and all Wall posts.You can actually click on “See All Notifcations” and see an easy-to-read list of all notifications on one page.
On that page you can choose to subscribe to a feed of these updates via a variety of different channels. This is a HUGELY valuable thing for Admins, who no longer have to troll their Page Walls looking for new comments and questions from Fans.
BEWARE: Don’t forget to switch back when you want to be yourself again!
You can switch back in the same place, on your Page, or at anytime from the drop-down menu under “Account” in the top-right corner of Facebook:
