Facebook Rolls out Timeline for Fan Pages: What It Means for Your Business

On Wednesday Facebook announced it is preparing to expand Timeline to brand and business-focused pages. You can preview your fan page in timeline until March 30, when the new designs are planned to me released,  Facebook said.  The new layout is a much more visually engaging and dynamic destination for consumers to spend time exploring a brand. According to Facebook’s Timeline product manager Sam Lessie, “Timeline for profiles was designed to make Facebook a better medium for individuals to tell the stories that create their identities, and the philosophy for brands is no different.”

Here are ten things you should know about the new setup:

1. The Cover Photo

Perhaps the most visibly obvious change is the cover photo. At 850 pixels by 315 pixels, the cover photo can be especially powerful for its ability to display logos, products or personalities. Be careful though, cover photos can not contain any of the following:
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• Price or purchase information, such as “40 percent off” or “Download it at our website.”
• Contact information, such as web address, email, mailing address or other information intended for your Page’s About section.
• References to user interface elements, such as Like or Share, or any other Facebook site features.
• Calls to action, such as “Get it now” or “Tell your friends.”

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Here’s a preview of the cover photo:

2. Default Landing Tabs Are No Longer Available

Facebook has removed the ability to create a default landing tab. Instead, the new tabs can be up to 760 pixels wide and your default page will always be the newly designed wall.

3. But Fan Gating is Still Possible

Visibility setting are still available, allowing you to restrict content and offer fan-elcusive promotions, enticing visitors to Like your Page.

4. Photos, Likes, And Apps Are At The Top Of The Page

Photos, likes and apps are now at the top of your page, so highlighting the most important content on your page is easy. Photos show in the first spot, but you can change the order of everything else so people see what matters most. You can show a maximum number of 12 apps.

5. Pin Your Posts to Bring Them to the Top of Your Page

You have more control over what content is featured for viewers. You can hover over a story and click on the star icon to make the post wider. Click on the pencil icon to pin the item to the top of your page, hide it or delete it from the site altogether.

6. There’s a New Administrator Panel

You can now keep track of your activity on your page from the admin panel. It gives you the ability to respond when people write on your page timeline, and view your latest insights.You can also visit your activity log to review all your posts and activity.

7. You Can Message Fans Directly

Now people can contact you privately using messages, making it even easier for you to collect leads directly from Facebook! Notifications about new messages will appear right in your admin panel.

8. You Change Your Fan Page Name

For those brands who have been stuck with the dreaded “misspelled” or “inaccurate” fan page name, you now have a way to request to change it. Multus Media we suggest everyone be sure to make the fan page name your actual business name.
Simply navigate to this link to request to change your fan page name.

9. Humanize Your Brand by Marking Business Milestones

Add “milestones” to mark key events in your business life and humanize your brand. Milestones present an important and dramatic opportunity to educate the public and craft the story of your brand over time and can help to stimulate conversations around major achievements. Our analyses of Page engagement for various clients have continually shown that brands posting content that depicts behind-the-scenes activities, promotions, or exclusive updates promotes higher engagement rates and user interactions.

10. Content is Still King for Facebook

Facebook believes brands should be indistinguishable from your Facebook friends. That is, if a business or brand posts something interesting, it should get picked up in your feed, but if they post something boring, it should not. By offering greater engagement and reach opportunities for brands who have well-run Facebook brand Pages, Facebook hopes to make it the cornerstone of any marketer’s outreach while ensuring that brands offer quality and engaging content.

Visit the official page dedicated to the timeline https://www.facebook.com/about/pages for a product tour.

Let Multus Media keep your business current by designing your Custom Branded Facebook Timeline today!