Facebook has announced new changes for business pages which will impact both the ways that we view pages and their data tracking.
First in the line of changes is the removal of gray verification badges that Facebook intended to display a Page’s authenticity. Important to note is the difference between Facebook’s gray badges and their blue verification badges, the latter which is intended to verify the identity of public figures, celebrities and brands. Only the gray badges will be discontinued.
Facebook has made the decision to remove the little check-mark as a result of feedback from users who were unclear on what the badge actually signified. It is definitely understandable how users may have been uncertain about the difference in authenticity for official pages with blue badges versus Pages that have gone through a more basic identification process and therefore display gray ones.
Additionally, the process to receive a gray tick was not foolproof to impersonators. Someone could have created a phony page for a company, applied for the verification tick, and then presented themselves as the official page for that company.
Therefore, it’s almost pertinent that Facebook remedies this system immediately, which is what they are aiming to do.
Next in line for a change, Facebook’s calculations for organic page impressions. This change, experts predict, will likely lead to a decline in perceived Page and post reach numbers.
Namely, Facebook is updating the time range for which they filter out repeat interactions from the same user. The intention here is to limit duplicate metrics from the same person visiting your Page or post multiple times. Facebook’s goal is to produce data that is more accurate to the actual number of unique people visiting your page or post. But this may lead to a drop in your numbers.
What do you think of Facebook’s new updates and changes? Let us know in the comments below!