Early this year, Facebook began a slow roll-out of completely redesigned business Pages. This new streamlined look is designed to make Pages easier to navigate while also emphasizing certain features that will have a huge impact on the way that dentists use Facebook.
A look at the new design and major changes:
1. The admin panel has been replaced by a floating sidebar and simple menu of options at the top of the page. Page admins can now see a quick update on your Page activity and any unread messages by glancing at the “This Week” sidebar. Full Insights and access to your settings are found at the top menu.
2. There is now a higher emphasis on Star Reviews. The star system combines reviews seen on the desktop version along with ratings left on the mobile version of your Page. Hovering over your review stars will show a breakdown of your reviews.
3. A single column newsfeed means that your posts are no longer staggered between two columns. Picture sizes have increased steadily on Facebook, but gone are the full, wide-screen highlighted posts.
4. Facebook is pushing paid advertising on no less than five places on your Page. Admins are encouraged to purchase ads from Facebook using “Build Audience”, “Boost Post”, and “Promote Page” in three separate areas.
5. The “About” section now includes a map of your practice location along with your website address. Previously these two features were only available by actively selecting “About”.
6. Facebook Page Apps have been moved to the left column. While they can still be found under the “More” menu option, they are no longer prominently displayed under the cover photo. This means that visitors to your Page will need to scroll down to see up to three apps.
How do these new features affect dentists?
To be effective in marketing to new patients (and connecting with current patients) using this new design is going to require a shift in how you use Facebook. Begin viewing your Facebook Page through the following principles:
Facebook is now a major review hub.
The placement of Star Ratings just under your profile picture and cover photo means that they are one of the first things that new visitors to your Page will see. With each one of your Facebook fans having between 200-300 friends, you simply cannot afford to have a low star ranking. Thankfully, it is incredibly easy for individuals to leave business reviews on Facebook, both on desktop and on mobile. Your focus should be on finding ways to build reviews by encouraging your happy patients to leave them. Holding regular Facebook contests or using tools like Smile Savvy’s Review Builder is a great option.
Remember that great pictures get likes.
The success of sites like Pinterest and Instagram has pushed older social media sites like Facebook and Twitter into making their user experience more visual with larger pictures. Posts with pictures also get 53% more likes than those without. Your posts should almost always include a picture. We suggest purchasing a “practice ipod” or other device that can stay connected to your Facebook Page. In this way, staff members can quickly take behind the scenes pictures or post pictures of patents (with permission, of course.)
A small amount of paid Facebook advertising may be necessary.
While great, engaging content is always the best way to drive traffic to your Facebook Page, it may finally be time to consider devoting at least a small amount of your budget to advertising there. Even with highly shareable content, only a fraction of your current followers ever see your posts and almost no one who hasn’t previously liked your Page will see them. We generally don’t recommend products like Google AdWords for our customers. However, Facebook advertising is a sure-fire way to help your Page grow and reach a larger audience. One word of caution: Be sure to do your research and understand how pay-per-click works before diving in. Subscribe to this blog or contact us for more information on ways to learn more about advertising on Facebook.
Is it still possible to have a Facebook presence that doesn’t require a lot of extra staff time to maintain? Yes, Smile Savvy can help manage your social media presence and give you consistent content that frees you to focus on the fun stuff. Contact us today to see how we can help!
