If you manage a brand page on Facebook, you’re probably used to seeing new widgets and tools pop up on your page while Facebook tests out a variety of features. But the latest trial module we’ve seen has us crossing our fingers that Facebook will make it a permanent addition because it allows us to do something that’s been previously difficult: track our competition.
On one of our brand pages this week, we briefly spotted a new widget called “Pages to Watch” (it has since disappeared). The new feature allows us to select up to five other brand pages, which Facebook would then track, letting us know how many likes they’re accumulating and offering tips on how our own page can keep up. The list of competitors to choose from seems to be based on proximity and the category we’ve selected for our page.
There are a variety of tools already available that lets you spy on your competition’s Facebook activity (CScore, LikeAlyzer, AgoraPulse), but having the report seamlessly integrated into your own Insights would be a huge bonus for page managers. So far, there’s no indication that Facebook plans to roll out “Pages to Watch” to all pages.
