Facebook is testing a new notification that seems meant to get page owners to re-engage with pages they have neglected.

The notification shows admins how many posts and views their page recently received. Previously, page owners did not see alerts for page views. This notification was also unique in that it appeared among other personal notifications. Typically users only see notifications about page activity when they choose “use Facebook as a page.”

The prompt appears to be an effort to remind admins of pages they haven’t posted to in a while. The page we got notification about hasn’t made a post since January. If page owners know how many people recently viewed their page, they might be more likely to make a new post, update information or respond to comments. With the mandatory switch to Timeline on Friday, it is especially important for page owners to review their presence on the social network.

According to Facebook, there were more than 37 million pages with 10 or more Likes as of December 2011. Many of these are updated only sporadically, if at all. But to truly encourage page owners to engage with their fans, Facebook will have to do more than let people know how many views they’re getting. Many businesses and organizations create Facebook pages, but then don’t know how to build an audience or what type of content to share. Facebook has done outreach and provided resources on how to use page tools and ad products, but many page owners would benefit from learning more about how to decide what to post, develop a voice and build relationships online.