This week, Facebook announced they are revamping “Pages” -- which, if you’re new to Facebook, are essentially timelines for anything besides an everyday individual like you or me. Think businesses, organizations, brands, products and bands.

Refreshed Design
Facebook Pages will now have a new, cleaner design similar to the layout you’ve probably noticed on your own personal timeline. The new design will feature a two column layout, much like the current version. However, instead of posts appearing on both columns, the left side of the page will feature general information about your business (like your website, phone number, business hours and photos), while the right side will be home to all of your posts. A rail on the far side will provide a summary of any ads you’re currently running on Facebook, as well as additional notifications that may need your attention. The jury’s out on where additional custom tabs (such as contest entries and additional media) will appear, but my guess is that they will live under the “more” tab.

Facebook shared this image in their announcement as an example of what the redesigned Pages will look like.

An Eye on the Competition
Facebook is also adding a new feature called “Pages to Watch,” which, as the name suggests, will allow Facebook admins to make a list of similar Pages they’d like to keep an eye on. Facebook admins will be able to access basic analytics for the Pages they watch to get an idea of how they’re performing. For property managers, this feature could be a great opportunity to check out what other properties in the area are doing on Facebook and how effective their strategies are.

The announcement from Facebook said the roll out for the new Pages look and the “Pages to Watch” feature will begin this week, but no word on if it’ll be a phased approach or everyone’s Pages will be updated at the same time. We’ll just have to keep checking to see.

What do you think of the new Pages layout?