The new Facebook page is here, and my veterinary hospital has it! I felt like it was Christmas morning when I logged into my veterinary business’ Facebook and saw the change had been released to me. Facebook is unveiling this new profile page to businesses over the next few weeks, so your animal clinic’s page may or may not have changed.
How do you change your page to the new version?
There’s a really simple step you can take once the new page is available to your veterinary business.
If you log-in and see this “Update Page” option at the top – and you’re seeing a preview of the new page – you’re good to go! Just click the “Update Page” button, and say you want to show it to your fans.
What does the new veterinary business page look like?
The new Facebook business page looks a lot more like a personal profile, in my opinion. (Related: The Difference between Facebook Pages and Profiles.) Wondering what it looks like? Here is my animal clinic, Quinebaug Valley Veterinary Hospital’s, new page:
So what changed? The overall layout! As you can see, my veterinary hospital’s Facebook posts now show up in a timeline format, all along the right side. I like this, as it doesn’t make your eyes have to jump back and forth between the page.
Generally speaking, this layout alternation is the biggest change. It looks a lot more organized now, and I’m happy to say they didn’t change the sizing of the cover, profile image, etc. (Get an image size cheat sheet here.)
Let’s focus on the layout changes!
1.) Your veterinary hospital’s business information: The important business details are really prominently featured on the left, in a box titled “About”, in a way that really stands out. I think this is great for new or potential clients who are trying to figure out where you are, where you’re located, etc.
Important note: Check that your business’ website, hours, location, etc are all listed correctly here.
My practice is adding in evening hours soon, so I will have to alter that in a few weeks! If your veterinary practice has undergone any changes, it is now critical to make sure that you keep them updated.
To edit the “About” section, just hover over the top right corner of that “about” box, above the map. A pencil icon will pop up. Click that, you you will be able to update all of your animal hospital’s important contact information.
2.) Your apps are also on the left! Custom apps, which used to be featured under your veterinary clinic’s Facebook cover photo, have moved on over to the left. I had heard lots of rumors that these were being removed all-together, but it looks like they’ve prevailed. (As a reminder: These are a desktop-only feature!) 
If you don’t already have custom apps, I’d suggest trying the FREE Woobox.com. Their “static tabs” have a type called HTML Fangate that allows you to make your own app. (Like my “Make An Appointment” one that drives traffic to a link on our site that’s for Facebook traffic only.)
If you need 1-on-1 help with setting this up, it’s a perfect topic for the monthly membership coaching calls that Snout School members get. You can start your membership here. I’d love to help you set your apps up and design a custom icon!
3.) Your clients’ reviews & posts are also on the left! You might be seeing a trend here – a lot of the changes on the new Facebook business page happened over to the left. Again, I think this separation is great. Don’t forget – you can now reply to reviews on Facebook. Be sure to be responsive when people reach out!
4.) You get some cool stats on the top right. In the top right corner, you’ll now see some Insights analytics, like how many people have liked your page or seen your content. It goes by week, so this is a great way to keep a pulse on your practice’s success.
5.) The Build Audience button. Ok – it’s no secret that I’ve become a little bit of a Facebook ads nerd, so this is exciting for me. You can now access the Ads Manager right from your business page. (You used to have to be on your personal newsfeed page to get to it, and that was a pain.)
I think this is also a great change. If you aren’t too familiar with Facebook ads for your veterinary practice, you can check out these resources:
Blog Article: The Basics of Facebook Ads for Veterinary Hospitals
Free Course: Facebook Ads – The Basics. (This is the third lesson in a 3 part series.)
So what’s the moral of the story?
Overall, I’m a big fan of the change. (Usually I’m super resistant at first, but I acclimated to this change right away!) I think it really showcases your business in a strong way, and it clearly defines the fact that Facebook is going to keep developing advertising capabilities for business pages. I feel like this new page looks like a really complete business listing, and I’m fine with that!
Has your veterinary hospital’s Facebook page switched to the new design? What do you think of it? Please feel free to comment below or contact me.