Two weeks ago, I highlighted some of the upcoming changes that Facebook is rolling out for the Business pages on that site.   Now, Pages will look similar to Profiles again.  In the last issue of the VNN Media insider, I discussed the use of cover photos, the thumbnail image, highlighting and pinning posts and adding milestones to your Timeline.  If you missed that article, you can find it here.

Now...let's look at a few other changes.  Remember, this format goes live for ALL pages as of March 30th.   The sooner you get used to it and make the switch, the easier it will be for you to continue your engagement and interactions with your fans.

One of the things that I noted is that posts by your fans (people who like your page) are not as readily visible as before.  For administrators, you will see a box on the right hand column that mentions "Posts by Others"



If you are not an administrator of a page, you can actually sort the posts on the basis of whether the page created a post or one of their fans did.  Below the header on the page is a small box called "highlights".  Click on this and you can chose what you see for that page.



Choosing posts by others enables you to see just the posts that your fans have placed on your page.  This is important to know because they could be asking questions that you are not seeing with a cursory glance of your page.

The admin panel is now hidden above your cover pic.  To see the panel, click on the Admin Panel link to the right of your cover pic.  This is where you will see a dashboard of new likes for your page, a glimpse of your Insights (are people responding to your posts), recent notifications, messages and, of course, where you can chose to post on Facebook as your page instead of as you personally.



I hope these last two articles have helped ease your mind about yet another transition within Facebook.   As always, I am here to help.  Please don't hesitate to contact me with questions.

Keeping up with our promises to deliver two customizable professionally produced story resources for you each and every month, last Thursday we released "Sleeping With Pets - Deadly Nightmare or Sweet Dreams?".   You may recall that stories highlighting the dangers of sleeping with pets have been rampant for more than 18 months now and they continue to be published routinely.  We hope that this look at the issue, along with the recommendations to keep your pet healthy, will help you ease public concern and actually highlight the benefits of pet ownership.  Thanks so much to Dr. Elizabeth Bradt of Massachusetts for her quotes in the story.   Remember...like ALL of our VNN resources, you can download this story, insert your name and local flavor and use it in your local traditional media or in your new media outreach.

In just a couple of weeks, Easter will be here.   Like most holidays, there are some significant risks for our pets at this time of year.   Our messaging on Lily Toxicity in Cats and Rabbits and Chicks as Easter Pets are just two examples of resources that you can use for client education and to connect with your media.

Also upcoming in April are observances of Heartworm Awareness Month, Prevent Lyme Disease In Dogs Month and Pet First Aid Awareness Month.  Between your great ideas and our resources, you should be able to make some great connections with your local media during April!!

Welcome back to Dr. Kyle Rozell and his team at The Pet Center on Main Street in Oklahoma.  Dr. Rozell has been active on our Linked In Group page and recently decided to renew his VNN membership after a year's absence!!  

And a very warm welcome to Dr. David Kerr and his team at North Hill Animal Hospital in Bolton, Ontario.  Dr. Kerr...it was nice meeting you at the AAHA meeting and we are glad you are part of our group!!

Finally, many of you have seen this already, but if you haven't, find ten minutes to navigate to VetNewsOnline.com and read this fantastic blog from Oregon VMA Executive Director, Mr. Glenn Kolb.  Glenn outlines just how generous veterinarians really are and this blog has received a lot of traffic and shares throughout the social network online.   Please share your thoughts and share this blog with your team and your clients!