Its a fact, Facebook have changed the playing field again whether we like it or not. The addition of the new timeline to business pages will be rolling out and there is nothing we can do to stop it.
The fact is that these new changes come with (in my opinion) both good and bad changes. With this in mind the question is what is best thing you can do?
I guess the simplest answer is to accept that the new Facebook business page timeline layout is here to stay (at least until they decide to change again) so we might as well get use to it and make the most of it!
This piece outlines some important tips as well as several Facebook reference urls at the end which you may find of use.
So without any further time wasting lets get right down to it:
The new look Facebook pages will launch on all business pages on the March 30th, 2012.
You can start playing with your new page now and see it in preview mode before actually pushing live. It encourage you to do this as soon as possible. Dont wait until the last minute and then be stuck with a boring page that shows you were not prepared.
The new cover image format does provide a great opportunity for branding and to visually inspire and connect with your fans. The options are endless as long as you stay within the Facebook guidelines which are covered in the next section. Its a good idea to create several different timeline covers if possible to keep things fresh.
The optimum size for the timeline cover image is 851 x 315 pixels
As you would expect, the guys at Facebook have set some pretty strict guidelines for what can and cant be done with the new timeline cover image:
On the face of it it sounds pretty harsh – but put simply, the cover image is provided to connect with your fans as opposed to blatant self promotion or hard sales.
Finally it goes without saying that you should have legal copyrights to all images and content.
For many companies, this is one of the biggest impacts that new Timeline changes bring. Once the new format is rolled out across all of the business pages it will not be possible to define a default landing tab. Like I said this can be a ‘deal breaker’ for some but before you ranting about how terrible this is, remember there are a few things you CAN do:
As we have already covered, the inability to define a default landing tab for new visitors to your Facebook page doesn’t have to be a huge headache. There are still many ways you can leverage apps.
Apps have a unique url that can be used to drive traffic to a specific app(see #6 below).6. Use a unique url in place of landing tabs.Although you can no longer set a default landing tab, you can still easily get around this. Since each app has its own unique url you can use the unique url to direct traffic from inside or outside of traffic to a specific app.
One option is to purchase a unique url that you can use to drive traffic to your Facebook app of choice this is because regardless of how many times Facebook changes the apps, tabs, timelines, pages or other, you can stick to one or two urls that you use on a regular basis.
This very easy thing to do make a world of differenceIt is super easy to create a custom thumbnail image for each and every app. (with the exception of photos and likes).
In order to make the changes follow these simple steps:
Well almost – you can not message your fans. However the user (fan) is able to send private messages to you. Using messages are a great way to encourage one-to-one communication if you have an interest in doing such with your fans.
You can set milestones for your business for current, or past dates. This is a great way to highlight key events such as grand opening, ribbon cuttings, launch of new products, new partnerships, business milestones and achievements. Milestone images are 843 x 403 pixels.
You can set any post to be highlighted which means it will take up both sides of the page. I know, the name highlight just doesnt make sense to me either. I expected to see some type of real highlight. This feature enables you to bring special attention to a particular post within the timeline.
You can set a post to be pinned to the top of the page. Pinned posts will stay on top of your timeline for up to 7 days.If possible, try not to wait the full 7 days before you change out the post unless you have a very important message to share. Chances are you have repeat visitors coming to your page throughout the week. Give them something new and fresh to check out.
The like button will now show as liked for all fans who have already liked the page.
There are also new interest lists that can be accessed with a simple hover of the like / liked button. You can create your own list as well as subscribe to lists the page owner has created.
Users can also select if they want to see your posts in their timeline right from your Facebook timeline by hovering over the same like button.
I will do more research on these feature and provide further detail in a subsequent post.
No need to over complicate this. Note the required image sizes and jot them down on a sticky. Stick it to your computer monitor and you wont have to look them up or worry about forgetting them.
Dont get too hung up on all these changes. If you are focusing on only likes then you have much bigger problems than the Facebook default tab going away.
At the end of the day the important thing to remember is what happens after the ‘like.
The worst thing you can do is go into freak out mode. If you are completely freaked out over these changes then you really need to do the double think on your online marketing strategy. Remember, you do not own Facebook. Facebook can make any changes they see fit, whenever they decide to do so. It is a free platform and although you may have put too much weight into the platform for the success of your business, use the anxiety you feel today as a positive to move at least a few eggs out of the Facebook basket. Putting all your eggs in one basket is never a good thing, particularly when it is a basket you do not own!
Listed below are a number of the most useful Facebook links and resources. They provide detailed information that will hopefully help you with the most recent changes as well as the standard guidelines for Facebook features such as advertising and promotions.