In less than two weeks, Timeline will become mandatory for all Facebook users and business pages alike. Some folks have been stalling to make the change while other brands have embraced the new features and have become more creative to get the most of this new look in Facebook.
So what are the major changes you should know about Timeline for your business pages?
The Cover Photo. If you’re familiar with the timeline for personal accounts, you might have noticed the large banner image at the top of one of your friends’ timeline. This is similar for business pages. You’ll have an 851 x 315 pixel space at the top of your page to showcase what your brand is all about — this is the place to let your creativity shine. There are, however, some guidelines that you must follow for the cover page. You can read about them here.
No More Default Landing Pages. If you have previously installed a default landing page on Facebook, this will no longer be visible once you shift to Facebook Timeline. You can still add new pages for your promotions and contest and use the other new features of Timeline as a workaround.
Photos, Tabs and Custom Apps are Now Shown at the Top of the Page. Photos are by default shown in the first spot but you can rearrange all the other tabs to highlight your most important information. Your top three items, together with the photos tab, will always be shown below the cover photo while the rest will expand when the dropdown button is clicked.
Highlighting and pinning. The new timeline now allows you to pin posts at the top of your page or highlight them so they don’t get bumped when new posts are added.
New admin panel. Monitoring activity on your page and viewing Insights are now located in one convenient place. From the new Admin Panel you can now edit page settings, access page Insights, and respond to comments.
Messaging. This new feature, which can be enabled or disabled, allows users to send personal messages to the page admin. This makes it easy for administrators to have a private conversation with their audience to discuss in-depth any customer service issues or topics that other users might not find as interesting.
Creating milestones for your brand. If you wish to highlight your business’ achievements (new and past) to your timeline, you can now do so by adding milestones in the status box. You can create milestones for new product releases, awards and recognitions you’ve received, or even to celebrate your fan growth in Facebook! You can even add a 843 x 403 pixel image to go with it.
If you haven’t tried out the new timeline for business pages or you don’t know where to start, you can check out this “Complete Guide to Setting up the New Facebook Page” from Hubspot. You can also check out these sample Facebook covers for inspiration.
