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Wednesday 24 April 2013

Facebook Updates Mobile Business Pages

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Facebook has redesigned its business pages for mobile devices, putting more focus on information that might be handy to users on the move, such as reviews, a map, and share, like and call buttons, at the expense of content posted on the page by administrators.

According to the announcement article on the Facebook Studio news page, the company has redesigned the page layout because over half of the millions of people accessing business pages every day are doing so via a mobile device: it makes sense, then, that those accessing pages on their phones and tablets are going to be provided with a “layout tailored to the way people look for information on their mobile devices.”

Mobile business pages for administrators, brands and individual locations have all been redesigned. Beneath the cover photo on the brand and store pages are interaction buttons: Like, Message and Share on brand business pages; Like, Check-In and Call on individual location pages. On the brand page there is a map and address information showing individual locations within the user’s area. Navigating through to one of these locations will display a page which also has a map and address information, but this time contains a star rating, as well as ‘like’ and ‘talking about’ figures.

The admin version of the business page gives administrators the option to either write a post or share a photo, with previously written posts and shared photos displayed in a scroll-down list beneath. Administrators cannot pin posts on mobile devices however, which could be a problem considering the fact that other mobile users won’t see posts unless they scroll down. If administrators really need a post to be seen, they’ll have to pin it on the page using a desktop device. Admins can switch between an admin and a public view at any time.

There are no longer specific video and event sections on the mobile app business pages, but a side-scrolling photos section remains. Administrators can still pin video and event posts using a desktop device, however.

The new layout definitely makes it easier for mobile users who are out and about to find stores and brands, contact them and interact with the page, but perhaps also makes post interaction less likely. It is unclear, however, how much post interaction occurred on mobile pages before. Posts will still appear on timelines, which is probably where most of the interaction with them occurs.

What do you think of the redesigned Facebook business pages for mobile?

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