Facebook Business Page Changes

Unless you’ve been under a rock, you’ve heard that Facebook is changing all Business Pages (once called Fan Pages) over to the new Timeline on March 30, 2012. They will now be called Facebook Timeline for Brands. Congratulations, if you have one, you are now a “brand!” That was easy!

While not a lot is changing in terms of how to interact and engage an audience on Facebook, the layout will change and there are some things you’ll want to take care of right away.

The first is the Facebook Timeline Cover Photo. You can see mine at my page, and while it’s temporary, it gives you an idea. And it is shown below, with red arrows pointing out things to be aware of. I’ve highlighted the text below in red that correlates to the photo.

The cover photo should be done in these dimensions – 851 wide x 315 height in pixels. There are some pretty strict policies around what can and can’t be used on your photo. You’ll want to be in compliance because they will be removing/deleting photos out of compliance. Here are the basics:

No contact info including a website URL or email address. Bummer, huh?
No terminology enticing people to Click or Like your page.
No coupons or promotions.

Facebook outlines its policies here.

 
You still have a profile picture, but it won’t be a long banner down the left side as before. Sizes for that are 180 x 180.

No more custom default landing pages to guide people to initially, although they do still exist as tabs.  You can see mine on my page, right under the cover photo.  I am currently profiling my Profit in Your PJs tab, Videos and a Like Tab.

You can get really creative in how you use these tabs, using photos or text as a call to action for your visitor.  The size of the images for this is 111 x 74.

There is now a new Message feature that allows your fans to send you a message, and you have a choice whether to use it or not. It can be a great tool for engaging with people, so I suggest using it. You control this in the admin panel of the page.

Speaking of the Admin Panel, this is also a new addition, and this gives you a wealth of information about what is going on with your page – new “likes”, insights, messages and other notifications.

The ABOUT section is still very important and you’ll want to lead into it with a URL so people can easily see where to click to learn more OFF of Facebook. Use this space wisely for maximum exposure.

And, the Highlights area is where you can add important events in the life of your business and brand. Perhaps when you started in business, photos that had not been uploaded before, etc. Think out your strategy here!

There are two new features that allow you to highlight specific posts on your page. You have a “pin” feature, and a feature that allows you to span the post across the entire width of the page.

The pin feature allows the post to stay at the top of the page for 7 days. The span feature allows the post to be stretched across the entire width. Currently, you cannot stretch and pin the same post. The photo below shows how to “pin.”

The “star” icon on the top right of a post is what allows you to span it across the timeline. See below –

So, in a nutshell, make sure you have a cover photo up, and not just a blank white space on the 30th of March, and begin playing around with the tab applications under the cover photo.

Will be covering more on our calls and blog posts about how to continue to engage effectively and how to maximize both your profile and your “Brand Timeline” for business over the next few weeks. Or, longer, depending on how much more Facebook is going to change!

If you want to access a helpful resource by the guy who created pages and the Social Media strategies for companies such as Starbucks and Ford, among others, you can learn more here-  Facebook Fanpage Simplified

I welcome your comments below!