How Small Businesses Can Utilize

Facebook Timeline

By: Chris Vaughn/Ashley Sasnett Design: Jenn Bryant

Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Visual

2a. Cover Picture 2b.ProfilePicture 2c. About Us 2d. Tabs and Applications 2e. Landing Pages

3. Function 3a. Pinning 3b. Starring 3c. Milestones 3d. Post Management

4. Administration 4a. Admin Panel 4b. Messages 4c. Publicly Displayed Brand Information 4d. Insights

5.SpecificationsReview

6. Conclusion

1. Introduction

OnMarch30th,Facebookwillbeginamandatorytransitionofallbrandpagestothenewtimelineformat.Whilelearninganewwayofmanagingyour brand page might seem challenging and time-consuming,youshouldplaceapriorityonlearninghowtimelineworkssothatyoudon’tlosetheopportunityto share content or optimize fan engagement.

ThenewFacebook Timeline is all about storytelling. It’snolongeraboutpostingcontentthatwillbepresentedinthenewest-to-oldestnewsfeed,butnowbecomes about creating an interactive experience that takes your fans on a journey of your business, andengagestheminawaythatthecurrentformatdoesn’tsupport.Inthisguide,you’lllearnhowthenewtimelinewillhelpyoutotakeyourfansthroughthestoryofyourbrandwithpictures,videos,storiesandmore.

LetthiseBookserveasyourstep-by-stepguidetosettingupandmanagingyournewFacebookbrandpage.Bythetimeyou’redonereadingit,we’reconfidentthatyou’llnotonlyunderstandyournewpage,butyou’llbeexcitedtobeginoptimizingitandengagingwithyourfansonanevendeeperlevel.

2. VisualTherearesignificantchangestotheaestheticsofthenewFacebookbrandpages.Withanemphasisonstorytelling,eachelementandgraphiconyourtimelinepagewillservetotellthestoryofyourbusinesstoyour fans.Belowarethekeychangestohowyourtimelinewillappear,withstep-by-stepexplanationsonhowtogetthe most out of your timeline.

2a. Cover PictureThecoverphotoservesasthe“mainevent”ofyourpage.It’sthefirstthingthatvisitorsorfanswillseewhentheycometoyourbrandpage.Facebookhasprovidedguidanceforthecontentonthecoverpicture,buttherewillstillbeplentyofwaystomakeitveryengaging.Withyourcoverpicture,youwanttocapturetheattentionofvisitorsquicklyassoonastheycometoyourpage. It should be:

1. Welcoming

2. Visually appealing

3. Representativeofyourbrand

Cover Picture Guidelines● Size: 851x315 (pixels)

● Must not have price or purchase information.

● Mustnotcontainanytextthatsays“downloadhere”oranytextthatimpliesit.

● Mustnothavecontactinformation(SuchasURLorcompanyphone#).

● Mustnothavecallstoaction(Suchas“Likeusnow”or“Clickhere”).

● You can click and drag the cover photo around to reposition it.

● Mayupdateorchangethecoverpictureasoftenasyouwish.

2b. Profile PictureIfyou’vehadaFacebookpagebefore,thisgraphicisfamiliartoyou.It’sbeentheprimaryidentifyinggraphicforyourfansinthepast,andwillcontinuetoserveasabrandingtoolforthenewtimelinepages.

Many brand pages are integrating their company logo directly in to the cover photo, instead of having it as theirprofilepicture.Someareoptingtousetheirlogoastheirprofilepicture.Whateveryouchoose,it’simportanttokeepbothyourcoverandprofilephotosinlinewithyouroverallbrandingstrategy.

Profile Picture Guidelines● Size: 180x180 (pixels)

● Willalsoserveasyour‘avatar’inconversationsandcomments.(Thatgraphicis32x32inpixels,somakesureit’soptimizedtolookgoodinthethumbnailversionaswell)

2c. About UsThiswillpullthetextyouhadenteredinthe‘BasicInformation’partofyourFacebookpage.Thistextwillfallrightbelowtheprofilepictureandisanopportunitytosuccinctlyexplainyourbusinesstoyourvisitors.There is a 150 character limit to this text box.

Users,byclicking‘About’underthistext,willbeabletoreadmoreinformationaboutyourbusiness.Makesuretospendsometimecreatingandreviewingthecopyforthesesections:

● Founded date● Companyoverview● Description● General Information● Mission● Awards● Products● Website

Youwanttomakeuseofthisspace.Yourmostengagedandlikely-to-spendprospectswillwanttolearnasmuchaboutyouaspossiblebeforegivingawaytheirbusiness.

2d. Tabs and ApplicationsRememberhowyourbrandpagehadanavigationpanelontheleftsideofthepage,whereyourfanscouldnavigatetodifferentpartsofthebrandpage?Thenewtimelinehaschangedthat,replacingthatnavigationmenuwiththeseapplication“tabs”thatyoucancontrolandusetodirectyourvisitorsaroundyourpage.

Tips and Tricks For Your Tabs Bar

● ThefirstapplicationlistedwillalwaysbePhotos.Thiscannotberemovedormoved,andwilldisplaythe most recent photo uploaded.

● Afterphotos,placetheapplicationtabsinorderofimportance.(Whatdoyouwantyourvisitorstosee?Wheredoyouwantyourvisitorstogo?)Keepinmindthetoprowoftabswillbeyourmostvaluablerealestateonyourtimeline,andyou’llwanttoprioritizethatcontentaccordingly.

● Tochangetheapplicationtabplacement,selectthedropdownarrowtoshowafulllistingofyouravailableapps.Hoverovertheappyouwouldliketomoveandnoticeapenciliconintheupperrightcornerofthetab.Clickonthepencilandthenfollowthecommandstomovetheapptotheappropriate position.

● Tabswilluseadefaultimage,butcanusuallybeedited!Gotothe“Manageapps”sectionofthepagemanager,andmostofyourappswillallowyoutochangetheicon(sizespecs:111x74pixels).

● Younowhavetheoptiontohidehowmany‘Likes’youhavefromyourhomepage(UserswillstillbeabletoseeLikesiftheypulldownyourtabsbar).Ifyouaretryingtobuildafollowinganddon’thavemanyvisitorsyet,youmaychoosetonotdisplayyourtotal‘likes’inthattopbar.Incontrast,ifyouhavealotoffollowers,youwillwanttopubliclydisplaythatinformation.

2e. Landing PagesYouwillnolongerbeabletodirectuserstolandonaparticularpage.(Forexample,sendingavisitorstraighttoapromotionorproductspage)The“wall”pagewillnowbedefaultforallvisitors.

Customgraphicscanbeuploadedwithcalltoactiontextandtitles,andaddedtotheappstoencouragefanstoexplorethatcontent.Customcontentcreatedusingappscanstillusea“fangate”asawaytonecessitate a user to “like” the page in order to access that content, but not to access the page itself.

ThischangemightseemlikeitwillnegativelyaffectyourabilitytoconvertleadswithyourFacebookbrandpage,butproperlymanagingyourtabsandtheothernewtimelinefeaturesshouldnotonlyreplacethelanding pages, but should increase overall engagement and conversion.

3. FunctionThenewtimelinedoesn’tjustlookneat,itservesbothformandfunction.Keepingwiththestorytellingmotif,Facebookhasincludedasuiteoffeaturesthatwillallowyoutooptimizeyour‘Wall”topresentyourfansandvisitorsspecificandtargetedinformationaboutyourbrand.

Belowareanoverviewofthesefeaturesandsomebestpractices.

3a. PinningYouarenowableto‘pin’specificpostsonyourwall.Thisissimilartomakingsomething“sticky”onamessage board or blog, ensuring it is prominent to all visitors.

Pinningwillbeapowerfulstrategyfordirectingtime-specificandpromotionalcontenttoyourfanbaseandprospects. These posts can include calls-to-action or product highlights. As noted earlier, there are no longer specificlandingpagesonthetimelines,butagreatpinningstrategyshouldbeabletoengagejustaswell,ifnot better.

‘Pinning’ Guidelines and Tips

● To pin a post, just hover over it and click the the pencil icon totherightinthepost’sframeandselect“pintotop”

● Apostwillonlystaypinnedfor7days,atwhichpointitwill

be relegated to its proper place in the timeline. You can re-pinafter7daystokeepitpinnedlonger.

● Youcanunpin(priortothe7thdayexpiration)thesame

wayitwaspinned.

● Only one story can be pinned at time.

● Whenpinned,thesizeofthepostwillnotbeaffected.

3b. StarringMuchlikepinningapost,starringapostwillallowyoutodisplayrelevantanddesirableinformationonyourtimeline.Themajordifferencebetween“starring”and“pinning”isthatstarringthepostwillgiveitaboldandprominentplacementbystretchingitacrossthewidthofthescreen,whichwillsetitapartfromtheother content on your page.

‘Starring’ Guidelines and Tips

● To star a post, hover over it and click the star to the right. Thiswillstretchtheposttothewidthofthepage.

● Starredposts,unlikepinnedposts,willnotbereorderedto

the top of your feed.

● Unstarapostthesamewayyoustarredit.

● A starred post might be a visually engaging or more

evergreenone,whereasapinnedpostwillbesomething that’smoretimelyanddirectivetoyourprospects.

3c. Milestones‘Milestones’areperhapsthemostfunandengagingwaytotellyourstory.Younowhavetheabilitytoprovidethehistoryofyourcompany,whichwillserveasagreatbusinessresourceforvisitors.

‘Milestones’ Guidelines and Tips

● Toaddamilestone,gotoyourstatuscomposer’sboxandclickmilestone.Listtheeventandprovideatimeandlocation.Givedetailsoftheparticularmilestoneifyouwish.

● Addingaphotoishighlysuggested,unlessyouarehappywiththeflagplace-holderthatFacebookuses as a default. (Size specs for milestone images: 843x403 pixels)

● Youcancreatepastmilestonesandbackfillthosedatestocreateabrandactivityorhistory.

● Some great milestone examples:

○ Whencompanywasfounded

○ Newproductlaunchorchanges

○ Newhiresatcompany

○ Companyacquisitionsormergers

○ Special events or anniversaries

3d. Post ManagementYou’llnoticeawidevarietyofactivityonyournewtimeline,andtherewillbetimeswhenyouwanttoeditor change your posts. There are some advanced controls in place for you to make sure each piece of content isdisplayedjusthowyouwantit.

Change Post Dates● Hover over the post and click on the pencil and choose

‘ChangeDate’

● Thiswillreorderthepostinthefeedonthepage,butitwillnotchangethesizehowever,likestarredposts.

Hide a Post● Hover over the post and click on the the pencil and select

‘HideFromPage’.

● Will hide post from all visitors, but not from page admins.

● This can be applied to any post on the page.

● Excellenttooltoremove‘clutter’fromapage.

Delete a Post● Hover over the post and click on the pencil and choose

‘Delete’.

● Will permanently delete the content from your page.

4. AdminstrationWhilethepresentationandthefunctionsofthenewFacebooktimelinebringmanyimprovementstothepage, there are also some additions and improvements on the “back end” of your page that only page administratorswillhaveaccess.

Listedbelowaretheareasinwhichyou’llbeabletokeepyourpageoptimized.

4a. Admin PanelThe‘AdminPanel’isthemainhubofallyouradministrationduties.Thepanelhasfourprimarysections:

● Notifications(Alistofyourmostrecentpageactivity)

● NewLikes(Yourmostrecentfans)

● Messages (Most recent messages in your Inbox)

● Insights (A brief look at your page analytics)

Youcandrilldownintoanyofthefourcategorieswiththe‘seeall’optionintherightcorner.Ifyou’dliketohidethepanelwhileviewingyourpage,clickthe‘Hide’buttonintheupperrightcornerofyourpage.Clickon‘AdminPanel’whenhiddentobringthepanelbackup.

4b. MessagesFanscannowdirectlycommunicatewithyourbusinessviamessaging,andyoucanrespondbackviaprivatemessageaswell.

Private Messaging Guidelines

● Usersarenotrequiredtohave‘liked’thepagetocommunicatewiththepageorforthepagetocommunicatebackwiththem.

● Youcanremovethemessagingfeature(andbutton)fromyourpagebyselectingthe‘manage’optionandthenselecting‘editpage’andde-selectingthe‘showmessagebutton’onpage.

● PagescannotinitiateprivatemessageswithFacebookprofiles(fansorvisitors-itmakesnodifference).Theycanonlyrespondwhenthevisitorhasmessagedthem.

● Abusinessmayonlyreplytwicetofansandthenitscappeduntilthereisaresponsefromthevisitor,atwhichpointthebusinessmayonceagainreply.

While the private messaging guidelines might seem strict, they are aimed to protect Facebook users fromreceivingspamorunwantedsolicitation.You’llhavetheopportunitytoparticipateinthetwo-waycommunication if your page has engaged a visitor to the point of direct contact. This is even more reason to spendsufficienttimeoptimizingyourtimeline!

4c. Publicly Displayed Brand InformationWhenauserclicksonyour‘Likes’tab,theywillbetakentoapagethatwillprovidethemwithsomeofyourbrand page analytics. This includes:

● Total likes

● Total‘PeopleTalkingAboutThis’

● PageInsights:Yourpage’sdemographicsandmostpopularcontent

● A30-dayriseandfallofyourpage’sactivity

4d. InsightsIfyouclickthroughtoyourFacebookInsightsfromyourAdminPanel,you’llnoticeapagefeaturingsomeofyourbrandpage’smostimportantanalytics.Thisincludes:

● TotalLikes–Howmanypeoplecurrently‘like’yourpage

● FriendsOfFans–Thiscountsallyourfansmultipliedbyhowmanyfanstheyhave

● PeopleTalkingAboutThis–Thenumberofuniquepeoplewhohavecreatedcontentaroundyourpage (seemorebelow)

● WeeklyTotalReach–The#ofuniquepeoplewhohaveseencontentonyourpage

You’llalsonoticespecificanalyticsoneachpieceofcontentyou’vepostedtoyourpage.Youneedatleast30 fans to access Facebook Insights.

ThereareavarietyofwaysyoucanexploreandlearnfromyourInsights.ForacomprehensivereviewofFacebook Insights, head to our Facebook Insights guide.

5. Specifications Review Thenewtimelineisavisuallystunningandengagingenvironment.Yourcovergraphicwillstandoutasthefirstthingyourvisitorssee,andyou’llnowhavethechancetospreadoutcertaingraphicsyouchooseacrossthewidthofyourpage.Whateveryourphotosstrategyisforyourpage,you’llhavecompletecontroloverhowtheyarepresentedtoanyoneviewingyourtimeline.

Facebookwillautoresizeyourphotosifyouuploadthemtothespecificplaces,butifyouwanttogetthebestqualityandresolutionfromeachgraphic,hereisalistingoftheexactspecificationsforallofthetimeline photos.

Facebook Cover Photo● Size: 851x315 (pixels)

ProfilePhoto● Size: 180x180 (pixels)

‘Avatar’Photo (The graphic that is used as a button or thumbail in comments)● Size: 30x30 (pixels)

Tab Photo(Someofthegraphicsonyourtabsarecustomizable,see‘TabsandApps’section)● 111x74(pixels)

Milestones Photo● 843x403 (pixels)

6. ConclusionAs outlined in this guide, the appearance and management of your Facebook brand page has undergone significantchange.Yournewtimelineshouldtellastorymuchlikeabookoramoviewhereyouvisitortakesawalkthroughthehistoryofsuccessesofyourbusiness.Thisshouldhelptofamiliarizeyourselftoyourclientsandprospectsandbuildanatmospherewheredialogueandengagementisencouragedatahigh-level.

It’simportanttorememberthatFacebookisthesametwo-waycommunicationtoolitwasbeforefancydesignandfunctionchanges.Afancynewpaintjobdoesn’tmeanyourcarwon’trequirethesamecareandmaintenance.Engagementisaboutatwo-waydialoguebetweenthebrandandtheaudience.ThinkaboutandexecutethestepsfromthiseBook,andyournewtimelinewillpropagateyourbrandandyourmessageclearly and effectively.

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