Cerebra

Change is inevitable, it’s something that Facebook has navigated quite successfully over the eight years following its inception. Most of the changes have been consumer-based, aimed at the average Facebook user.

As of March 2012, Facebook will roll out some interesting changes to its Fan Pages, which will affect how everyday users engage with brands.

The two biggest changes are:

1. Ads: Facebook has realised that ads and Fan Page growth does not result in quality engagement.
   Ads will now be called ‘Page Post Adverts’, which are posts on the wall of the Fan Page that are converted into ads. This is significant because




Facebook wants to move away from bookings made purely on a campaign basis
Facebook wants their clients to start looking at the bigger picture, specifically a year-long social strategy and a corresponding media plan
A move away from media spend that pushes traffic to a page with little or no activity
Statistically speaking, Page Post Ads perform the best and have the highest engagement rates
The ads will be in a social setting from the start

There are six variations of Page Post ads, namely Photo, Video, Question, Status, Event or Link.
This benefits consumers because it promises a richer experience on the Fan Page (engagement already exists). This also keeps brands on their toes as it means that posted content has to be rich. Brands no longer have the ability to drive traffic to a dormant page - Facebook is trying to ensure a better experience on their platform.

2. The second change, which is probably the most exciting, is the ‘Special Offers’ box. It will appear above the wall on the Fan Page and is a space for the brand to offer something to fans exclusively. Consumers are able to accept the ‘Special Offer’, receive an email with the offer, present it at an outlet and redeem the offer. These offers will appear in the fans’ News Feed, and they will be notified when their friend(s) redeems it. Brands are now able to add exclusive, tangible rewards to their pages and offer a better user experience.

Facebook is trying to create a richer experience for their users by eliminating the dead ends on their platform. These are just two of the exciting changes to look forward to. Let’s wait and see how Facebook evolves over the next year.