It’s been almost two years since Facebook released its dedicated Page Manager app. If you only casually run a page, you might have noticed that you can no longer check all your notifications easily from the basic Facebook app. However, you’ll be prompted to download Facebook Pages Manager, which is free from various app markets.
Pages Manager is a standalone app that logs you in directly as your page — or pages. You’ll see new “Likes” of your page rather than new friend requests, you can access your inbox and view updates, which include comments, mentions and shares from or about your page. Messages weren’t immediately available when Facebook first released the app so the addition is welcome.
Rather than seeing the news feed as soon as you log in, Facebook Pages Manager brings you directly to the Timeline for your page. Pages Manager includes a button to your Activity Log to post or remove upcoming posts. With the app, you can also post a status update, a link or an event. The app makes it easy to view posts that others have added to your page, too.
You’ll be able to change these visuals from your smartphone or tablets. Pages Manager will appear as an option in your device’s sharing menu, Page owners can edit any information about their pages by selecting “Edit” from the menu. This screen also includes the option to receive push notifications from the app, which you may want to disable if you’re receiving too many alerts from your popular page.
Facebook Pages Manager might not be necessary if you have just a single page, but it comes in handy when you have multiple pages. Opening the menu brings up the controls for your page, most of which are accessible from the home screen. For example, you can see, share and edit all the photos you’ve uploaded to your page as well as add new ones.
You’ll have to open up the menu to view Insights about your page, however. You’ll see total and new likes, total and post reach and the number of people who engage with your page, and clicking on any option brings up a graph to depict the change in a visual manner. This is also where you go if you want to promote your page in general.
However, every post on your page has an option to share — on your timeline, in a group or on another page — and to boost the post through paid ads. Each post also comes with an alert about the post’s reach.
The menu includes a list of all the pages that you own. Tapping a name brings you to the feed of that page and changes all the menu items to pertain to that specific page. The real benefit of Facebook Pages Manager is for people who moderate multiple pages, but it might help you take care of a single page without the distractions of signing on to your personal Facebook account.
