As the main Montana Grizzlies Facebook page that I manage reaches the major milestone of 100,000 likes, an equally important development will occur. Facebook will once again undergo significant changes for its fan pages or business pages, whatever you like to call them. I always welcome these changes with open arms.

Although personal Facebook users tend to believe that any changes to a newsfeed or profile page signals the end of the world, those of us who manage business pages understand and embrace the modifications. As most of us are marketers who serve as administrators on these pages we are totally in tune with the concept that you have to adapt and improve to survive…even if you are Facebook.

As I mentioned, people will immediately notice the changes. Business pages will revert back to the one column format for the main content flow, thus ending the two column timeline feature that caused such uproar when introduced a couple years ago (and what users now are completely used to). To the left of this column where all the posts will be reflected, Facebook users will see an additional column. This column will be static and will hold the basic information on the business/organization such as phone number, web address, map, and older photos and videos. Basically all the information that once held a spot at the top of the page will head southwest, occupying space right next to the main content. Replacing the business info up top will be additional tools to navigate and view page analytics.

This is what the new Facebook business page will look like.

However, those changes don’t address the new feature Facebook is offering that I am personally stoked about. Coming with this new rollout is a tool called Pages to Watch. Page administrators will now have the ability to track other business pages of interest and receive in depth analytics and information on those particular pages. I can’t wait!

I am a very competitive guy. I do all I can to make sure our social media outlets outperform those of other athletic departments that are similar to us. I also know I hardly have all the answers so I am constantly looking for inspiration from the upper-tier athletic departments and other brands with solid social media programs. To adequately make sure that we are beating our competitors and to get the guidance I need from the big boys, I am constantly leaving the Montana Grizzlies Facebook page to visit the pages of other athletic departments and brands. To now have a tool that allows me to track numerous other pages at once with much more sophisticated information than I could ever glean myself is a cool deal. The fact that I get to stick on the Montana Grizzlies page while viewing this info just sweetens the pot.

I can’t wait until Pages to Watch becomes available. Will be a great tool for all Facebook page administrators.

Facebook says that the new changes will come into play during this week. When they do I will be prepared and ready. The page administrators who utilize the new tools will undoubtedly make their page better while the ones who overlook them will miss out on valuable opportunities both for themselves and their audience. By Facebook improving itself it is also giving all of us page administrators a chance to improve as well. Best choice is to take advantage of it. Don’t Blink.