On 2/29/2012, Facebook Timeline for Brand was released for businesses to update from Facebook Fan Pages to the new visual representation of your business format. At the end of March, this change will be mandatory. So what are some of the differences between the Facebook Fan Page and the new Facebook Timeline for Brands? Here is the Facebook Timeline for Brands cheat sheet, which will assist you with the knowledge and implementation of setting up your new Page.
Facebook Timeline for Brands Cheat Sheet | Cover Photo
The cover photo in Facebook Timeline for Brands, just like in the personal Timeline, is the top cover that will provide your customers with their first impression of your page. The dimensions of the cover photos are 851 x 315 pixels. You can re-size and re-position this image after you upload it to Facebook. The goal of the cover photo is to show what your company is about in pictures rather than text. To ensure compliance with this visio, Facebook has listed what it will not allow you to do with a Cover Photo:
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Price or purchase information, such as “40% off” or “Download it at our website”
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Contact information, such as web address, email, mailing address or other information intended for your Page’s About section
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References to user interface elements, such as Like or Share, or any other Facebook site features
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Calls to action, such as “Get it now” or “Tell your friends”
Instead of being spammy with your cover photo, use this space to heighten the brand experience on your page.
Facebook Timeline for Brands Cheat Sheet | Profile Image
Under the old Facebook Pages, you could expand this profile image to 180 x 540, giving you a good opportunity to list benefits of your business. Now, the profile pic is simply 180 x 180; about enough room for a simple logo. You’ll want to make sure that you have a nice profile image because this image will be shown as a thumbnail everywhere whenever you post. While it is okay to change your cover photo, for best branding practices, it is recommended that you keep your Profile Image the same.
Facebook Timeline for Brands Cheat Sheet | Application Tabs
Under the cover photo are four 111 x 74 boxes with images identifying the top application tabs you would like your users to see. The first tab, ‘photos’, is fixed; your users will always see this one. The other tabs can be interchanged as needed. Wildfire apps gives the following advice on which tabs to display:
Make the most of tabs:
• Devote some time to building out your Photos tab since it’s ever-present
• Switch up your three customizable tabs periodically, according to current brand objectives,
product releases, or product popularity
• Utilize a good page analytics tool to determine which tabs to promote day-to-day
Additional best practices for tab images and content:
• Choose tab images that are descriptive, include iconography or copy, and comport
with specifications
• Assign names to your tabs that clearly indicate to users the content the tabs are driving to
• If you drive users to a landing tab, include an on-brand call to action in the tab name that
encourages users to click (e.g., “Start here,” or “Party with us!”)
Facebook Timeline for Brands Cheat Sheet | About
The ‘about’ section of the Facebook Timeline for Brands page is where Facebook would like you to put all pertinent information about your business. You can put a summary of your page in about 150 characters, a company overview, and a description. Also, in the about section, you are able to put in your contact information.
Facebook Timeline for Brands Cheat Sheet | Pinning
Perhaps my favorite addition to the Facebook Timeline for Brands page is the ‘pinning’ function. This function allows you to keep an important post at the top of our feed for up to 7 days. So if you’re running a contest and want to keep the contest details at the top of the page, rather than having it pushed down by your fans’ comments, then you can ‘pin’ to the top. The photo n the right shows you how to pin. Simply move your cursor over the top right of the post and you will see a pencil icon appear. Click on that and you will see a ‘pin to top’ option appear. If you want to ‘unpin’, then simply unpin the image. Very quick and easy to do.
Facebook Timeline for Brands Cheat Sheet | Highlights and stars
While you can only pin one post on the new Facebook Timeline for Brands page, you may still have other relevant posts that you want to stand out. Just like on the personal Facebook Timeline, you can highlight and star important events. When you run your cursor over the top right of a post, to the left of the ‘pencil’ icon for pinning, you’ll see a ‘star’. By clicking on the star, your post will double in size and stand out from the rest of the posts.
Facebook Timeline for Brands Cheat Sheet | Milestones
With the old Facebook Fan Pages and even the newer personal Facebook Timeline, your timeline would only go back as long as you or your company had been on Facebook. However, with the new Facebook Timeline for Brands, you can now go back as far as you would like, even before Facebook existed. When you enter in a status, on the bottom left, you will see a ‘clock’ icon. By clicking on it, you can enter in the year. By entering the year, you will then have the option of entering in the specific date. Then as people scroll to the bottom of your Facebook Timeline for Brands, they will see your company history.