Goodbye FB Likes, Hello New Page Experience

Facebook recently announced the rollout of their "New Page Experience" which means more changes for all of us to adjust to. 

They claim this update provides easier navigation, more "actionable insights" and better safety features among others. The biggest headline in this release is the announcement they'll be removing page likes which has caught some people off guard. 

So let's break this down.

WHAT DO WE KNOW

Facebook started rolling out the option to try out the New Page Experience to all pages starting in Mid-January, so you might soon see an alert on your page that it's available.

For now, switching to the new layout is optional but we expect it to become mandatory at some point.  You have the ability to switch back and forth between "classic" and "new."

WHAT HAPPENS IF I SWITCH?

If you try out the new page, you'll see the updated layout along with new features for managing your page.  The likes on your page will be gone, but followers will remain. 

According to Facebook, you will not be able to cross-post, schedule or pin posts in the New Page Experience although you may be able to access those features on other platforms (likely 3rd party tools). 

WHAT ABOUT THE LIKES?

Getting rid of likes is actually a smart move by Facebook.  Followers are a better metric for understanding how many people actually want to see your content, not just show support for your page.  And the overlap between likes and followers has been messy and confusing for years. 

If you're worried about losing your likes, it's not a bad idea to ask your fans to be sure they're following your page (not just liking).  You can also take the opportunity to ask them to mark you as a "favorite," significantly boosting the chances they'll actually see your content in their newsfeeds.  

SO, SHOULD I TRY IT OUT?

It's probably worth toggling over to the new layout to see what it looks like and play with some of the features.  But unless you're a fan of early adoption, it's likely best to switch back while Facebook works out the bugs. 

Any likes on your classic page will still be there when you switch back, so no worries there.  But keep in mind, any ads or posts that you create in the New Page Experience will disappear if you go back to the classic version. 

But if you frequently schedule or pin posts natively within Facebook, those features will be sorely missed in the new layout until they figure out how to bring them back. 

Like most Facebook updates, there are sure to be bumps in the road and most of us don't have time or interest in being a part of the platform's R&D team.  Leave that to others and wait for things to smooth out before jumping on board.