ESTIMATED READING TIME: 3 MINUTES

One of the perks of working in the social media business is fast access to all of the goodies that our favourite sites roll out. This week we are pumped about the makeover our client Facebook pages are getting, so we thought we'd show you how one of our very own clients is making out with the new format.

Introducing: Niagara Skilled Trades Academy

About: A business that completely rocks their social media and digital presence through beautiful branding (props to our design guru Jared), spectacular engagement and really really really happy former students that now have great jobs. They train gas technicians, an in demand trade, and they do it in a fraction of the time it takes in the traditional education system. Win/win!

The New Page

So on first glance you can see that some things have been moved around. One of the most notable changes is the absence of apps just under the banner. Perhaps this presents a challenge for some brands, but we are really digging the contact information and mini-map just below the profile picture. We think that this is a step up for our client profiles and have actually seen the impact of them already. A prospective student stopped by on his way home and said he found the school on Facebook, quote "map and everything." Stellar!

Where the apps at?

Just because they aren't as easy to see, doesn't mean they aren't there! Apps still have some pretty good real estate on the page they are located as text options in the navigation below the banner AND just a little scroll down on the right hand side... check it out:

On this page they are the items labelled "COURSES, CAREERS, CONTACT". They look like they belong in this new layout and the scroll on a Facebook page is natural because of the way content is stacked into the newsfeed.

Analytics Y'All

So what is next on our list of must-see with this new layout... analytics. We are the nerdy number crunchers that mark our success by sales and our social savvy by statistics. Connecting with one person is outstanding, pats on the back all around... never discredit any social media success by not hitting the thresholds you want to. We are in the business of bumping up those numbers and so some robust digital impact is what makes our Friday TED talk office celebration a little sweeter! Bust open some of that office-warming present wine!

Big Brother Benefits

The final section that we think is worth a mention is "Pages to Watch." This feature isn't really new, but it is one that we are just starting to implement with some strategy. Before we were clicking on what Facebook suggested, but we have been matching up our results from Semalt and HubSpot with our Facebook pages to watch function and the results have been outstanding.

How we're doing this: Basically a great SEO tool will tell you which companies are being competitive with your business online. You need to watch these companies like a hawk and take note of their digital activities so that you can match their success and then outpace them with strong pushes in the right direction. Once you know who you are actually competing with, plus them into your pages to watch and see how the progress goes. This is one more way to stay ahead of the curve and to only check your competitors out in the rear-view mirror!

Hopefully this provided you with some Facebook inspiration to kick off your weekend. Snap some great pics of your life in action and have them as shareable spring inspiration pieces for next week. Off with you, its 5 o clock somewhere!