Big Changes Coming to your Facebook Law Firm Page

Facebook is rolling out newly designed business pages. The goal of the redesign is to focus more attention on posts so that your visitors are more easily engaged. The update also provides improved insight data, including a new competitive analysis feature. Prepare your law firm’s Facebook page for the following changes:

Updated Timeline Design

• One-Column Feed:  The two-column feed will be replaced with a one-column feed, similar to what Facebook profiles now feature. The right side of your page will display all of your posts, while the left side will feature information about your law firm, including your phone number, website URL, and business hours. Photos and videos will also now reside in the left column. That’s all good news, since previously, contact details were only visible in the “About” section and visitors had to click on the Photos tab to view images.
• New Position for Tabs:  Likes, Events, and custom tabs for other apps have also been relocated. The Like button will now overlay the cover image, while the tabs for Events and other apps will appear on the left side, rather than directly below your cover image. This change isn’t considered an improvement. The Like button may be difficult to see, depending on your cover image and moving the tabs make them much less prominent and potentially difficult for your visitors to find. However, the order in which these sections appear in the left-side column can be rearranged, so be sure that your most important information and tabs are at the top.
• Wider Posts: The new layout will now allow Page posts to be 511 pixels wide, rather than the previous 403 pixels. The increased width will improve your content’s visibility. Be sure to leverage that extra real estate by using attention-grabbing images.

Improved Admin Access

The large administrative dashboard that once appeared at the top of your page has been redesigned. Now condensed, a series of tabs run across the top of the page: Page (newsfeed), Activity (notifications, messages), Insights (info on likes, reach, engagement), Settings (page info, admin roles, privacy settings), Build Audience (Ads Manager account), Help (enough said).
A new “This Week” section has been added to the right of your cover image and will contain important information, such as the number of ads you have running, number of page likes, post reach, and notifications. Clicking within any part of this section will yield further details.

Pages to Watch

Pages to Watch is a new feature available to all Admins within Page Insights. Admins can create a list of Pages that are similar to their own, and then monitor the performance of those Pages. Information on total page likes, new page likes, posts, and engagement for those pages will be available. Admins are notified when their Page is added to someone’s watch list, though the identity of that Page is not disclosed. Analysis of this data could provide some great insights into how your competitors are successfully growing their online communities.
These updates will eventually be made to all business pages, but if you’re anxious to see the new design on your law firm’s page, you can request to be put on a waiting list. We’re looking forward to the implementation of the new design on the Academy’s Facebook page. Like our page and let us know what you think when the new layout is implemented!

Rita Chaires
SEO and Social Media Manager
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (800) 846-1555
www.aaepa.com