.
Are you ready for the transition? Time is almost up! According to Facebook, by the end of today, all business pages on Facebook will convert to the new page design, embracing the Timeline look whether you like it or not.
Some businesses are scared of the change. But you, the reader of this post, shouldn't be! The new Timeline design will require you to make some changes to your Facebook business page, but acting quickly and optimizing your page specifically for the new design will give you an edge on your lagging competition. To help make your transition easier, we've created a 6-step cheat sheet infographic to highlight the key features of the new page design. Feel free to pin it, share it, or embed it on your own website or blog.
And if you're looking for a more detailed guide to using the new page design, you can always download our free Step-by-Step Guide to New Facebook Business Page Timelines, which walks you through the different ways Facebook's new page features can support your marketing and strengthen your lead generation efforts.
Were you one of the earlier adopters of Facebook's new business page design? What do you think of the new layout?
Posted by Magdalena Georgieva on Fri, Mar 30, 2012 @ 08:00 AM
Yup, Facebook did it to us again. This time they have added the new timeline to business pages. With it come both good and bad changes. As I wrote in this earlier post “ Quit Blaming Facebook and Fix Your Own Marketing Problems” it’s important you don’t waste too much time complaining. Instead use that same negative energy and turn it into a positive. Use it as a lesson for not putting all of your social eggs in one basket!
The best thing you can do is stop complaining and get to work. The new Facebook business page timeline is here to stay at least until they decide to make the next round of changes. Might as well get use to it and make the most of it!
Below are some must know tips as well as loads of Facebook reference urls at the bottom to hopefully save you some time in case you get stuck or have further questions.
Note, there are more changes than what I included in this blog post. For this post I tried to keep it specifically focused on the “need to know” changes.
15 Must Know Tips to Rock Your New Facebook Timeline Business Page
1. Know the dates.
The new Facebook timeline is set to launch on all business pages March 30, 2012. You can start playing with your new page now and see it in preview mode before actually pushing live. I encourage you to do this as soon as possible. Don’t wait until the last minute and then be stuck with a boring page that shows you were not prepared.
2. Create a new Facebook timeline cover image.
The cover image provides amazing opportunities for branding and to visually inspire and connect with your fans. The options are endless as long as you stay within the Facebook guidelines outlined in #3 below.
Create several different timeline covers so you can provide a fresh and inspiration experience for your timeline visitors!
Image dimensions: 851 x 315
Download a free template I created in both Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator formats here.
3. Know the Facebook cover image content guidelines (rules).
Facebook has set pretty strict guidelines for what can and can’t be displayed and communicated on the new timeline cover image.
What you CAN do:
- Brand the heck out of your company, book or personal brand. This include brand images, logos, photos and any other visual marks.
- Inspire your audience with visually appealing graphics, colors and images.
- Use simple language that will help you inspire and connect with your fans.
What you can NOT do: (Per Facebook cover guidelines)
Price or purchase information, such as “40% 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”
Basically the cover image is provided to inspire and connect with your fans. It is not meant for blatant self promotion or hard sales.
*Obviously make sure you have legal copyrights to all images and content.
4. No default landing tabs.
You can no longer set a tab as a default landing tab. Now before you go off on a wild rant about how terrible this is, remember this is a post designed to help you move forward and do good things with your new Facebook timeline. Got it? Okay, great! Now here are a few things you CAN do:
- Maximize use and space of cover image.
- Use the unique urls of apps to direct people directly to the app from pages outside of Facebook as well as posts, status updates within Facebook.
- Maximize use of the top apps shown underneath your cover photo.
- Use the apps for call to actions and to engage your fans.
- Use this as an excuse to get out of your box and focus on truly inspiring and connecting with your audience
5. Tabs are now Apps!
Apps are the new tabs. Although you can’t set one as a default landing tab for new visitors to your Facebook page, there are still many ways you can leverage apps.
- 4 apps are always on display underneath your Facebook cover image.
- You can utilize a max of 14 custom apps on your timeline.
- Create a custom thumbnail for your app. (see #7 below)
- 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 it’s own unique url you can use the unique url to direct traffic from inside or outside of traffic to a specific app.
I suggest purchasing a unique url that you can use to drive traffic to your Facebook app of choice. For example, I purchased the domain www.pamsfanpage.com and use to use it to direct traffic directly to my default landing tab. Now I will use it to drive traffic to an app of my choice. The best part of using a domain that you own is that no matter 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.
7. Create custom thumbnails for apps.
It is super easy to create a custom thumbnail image for each and every app. Note custom images can not be set for photos and likes.
a. Create an image that is 111 x 74 pixels.
b. Click on the arrow to the right of your timeline (underneath the cover image). It will show a number which represents the number of apps you are using.
c. Click on the arrow next to the image of the app you want to change.
d. Click on edit settings.
e. Click on change (for the image)
f. Upload the new image
8. Fans can now send you a private message.
You can not message your fans. The messsages are user (fan) initiated. Messages are a good way to encourage one to one communication if you have an interest in doing such with your fans.
9. Milestones
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.
a. Click Milesone in the sharing bar at the top of your page
b. Add a headline, date, location and details
c. Choose to add a photo
d. Click Save
10. Highlighted Posts.
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 doesn’t 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.
11. Pinned Posts.
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.
12. Like button and interest lists.
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.
13. Know the required image sizes.
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 won’t have to look them up or worry about forgetting them.
- Cover photo: 851 x 315
- Profile picture: 180 x 180
- Thumbnail image for apps: 111 x 74
- Highlighted & milestone images: 843 x 403
- Images within wall posts display as 404 x 404.
14. It’s what happens after the “like” that matters most.
Don’t 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.
As I always say, it is what happens after the like that matters most. Check out this post I wrote in December, 2010 which still stands true today for tips to engage your audience after the like! “What Happens After the Facebook Like? 20 Tips to Engage Your Audience After the Like!
15. Don’t freak out.
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!
Additional Facebook Resources:
Below I have compiled numerous Facebook pages to help you get acquainted with the most recent changes as well as the standard guidelines for Facebook features such as advertising and promotions.
Start setup of a new Facebook Business Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages
Facebook Basics: https://www.facebook.com/help/?page=260315770650470&ref=hcnav
The Facebook Blog: https://blog.facebook.com/
Facebook Marketing Solutions Timeline Page: https://www.facebook.com/marketing
Build Your Brand with Facebook Pages: https://www.facebook.com/help/?page=198605806884743&ref=hcsubnav
Facebook Ads & Business Solutions: https://www.facebook.com/help/?page=195623423828629&ref=hcnav
Facebook Advertising Guidelines: https://www.facebook.com/ad_guidelines.php
Facebook Promotions Guidelines: https://www.facebook.com/promotions_guidelines.php
Facebook Cover Guidelines: https://www.facebook.com/help/search/?q=cover+guidelines
Facebook Pages Guidelines: https://www.facebook.com/page_guidelines.php
Amended Facebook Pages Guidelines for State & Local Government in the United States: https://www.facebook.com/terms_pages_gov.php
Facebook Platform Policy: https://developers.facebook.com/policy/ (apps on pages must adhere to these)
How to make a Facebook milestone: https://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=279680818764230#What’s-a-milestone?-How-do-I-make-a-milestone-for-my-Facebook-Page?
Facebook Community Standards: https://www.facebook.com/communitystandards
Facebook Data Use Policy: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/
Facebook Statement of Rights & Responsibilities: https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms
Facebook Apps, Games & Credits: https://www.facebook.com/help/?page=310847352301318&ref=hcnav
Facebook App Basics: https://www.facebook.com/help/?page=222844857728639
Facebook App Guidelines: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/guides/canvas/
Facebook Personal Timeline: https://www.facebook.com/help/timeline
Facebook Safety Timeline Page: https://www.facebook.com/security
Facebook Family Safety Center: https://www.facebook.com/help/safety
Your Turn!
So what are your thoughts on the new Facebook timeline? Are you ready for the changes? Have you already implemented and launched the new Facebook timeline cover on your page? What are your favorite features of the new pages? What tips do you have you can share with others who may feel stuck or need inspiration?
So what does the roll out of Facebook Timeline mean for higher education beyond bigger pictures and a new way of doing things? Plenty.
Colleges and universities around the country are always searching for better ways to tell their story. They struggle with the simple ways to talk about all they have going on. Timeline takes great strides to make it easier.
Timeline streamlines the brand experience into a scrollable story. It allows administrators to craft that story in ways the old wall never would.
The trick is that building that story takes time and effort. So while administrators have until March 30 to make adjustments as to how their timeline will appear, it’s best to start now. Here’s five quick tips to get you started while still in preview mode:
Select a Sweet Cover Pic
The cover pic is the most visible change to a Timeline-enhanced brand page. It’s bold and big — 851 x 315 pixels, to be exact. Use every last pixel to be creative and demonstrate the vibrant nature of campus. Do not take this opportunity to share another photo of a girl studying under a tree. We’ve seen that shot before.
Remember the rules: Cover pics cannot contain contact information, calls to action or references to other Facebook features. Essentially this means administrators can no longer put an arrow pointing to the ‘like’ button to increase a fan base.
Arrange Applications and Customize Appearance
Custom applications used to be banished to a small list on the left of a page where they were hard to organize and harder to find. No longer. The new Facebook Timeline allows administrators to add up to 12 applications to a page and selects the first four to highlight front and center.
These highlighted applications take up some prime real estate and there is no reason not to capitalize on that fact. Administrators can customize the images for each app (beyond the photos and videos) by editing the settings for each individual application. New images need to be 111 pixels high by 74 pixels wide.
Pin the Most Important Content
Seems pinning is the latest rage, even on Facebook. Timeline allows adminisrators to “pin” certain content to the top of a page for up to seven days before it falls back into place. It’s a great feature to highlight specific content and, in turn, push down content you’d rather not have people see.
Get Visual with Content
Most research on Facebook suggests photos are more engaging than the traditional status update. So why not get more visual? The new Timeline increased the size of common photos and allows certain posts to stretch across the page.
If Facebook is going to allow page admins to extend an image all the way across the page, use it when the time is appropriate.
Go Back in Time
History and tradition run deep at most colleges and universities and the “milestones” feature of Timeline is a great way to demonstrate it. Set milestones to define the key moments in an institution’s history. The milestones are added to a date selector running down the right side that tells the story of a school established long before Mark Zuckerberg built Facebook.
Adding milestones may take some time, but the rich content it adds is worth it. Special tip: Opt out of publishing each milestone to the feed you don’t want to flood fans’ streams as you build a school’s story.
Related posts:
The Facebook news feed is kind of like that favorite supermarket you shop at where you can get everything you need in one place. By contrast, the activity log on a timeline page is like mission control.
To view your own mission control, click “admin panel” in the upper right of your timeline-enabled fan page. Then click “manage,” followed by “use activity log.”
Here’s where you’ll see nifty administration features that you might not have heard about yet
New Spam Filter
The algorithm Facebook uses to determine what is spam on your fan page still needs a lot of work.
In the past, brands had to search for posts that were buried or hidden as spam in order to bring them back to life. Now, you can use the activity log feature to view all the spam in one place.
Then, you’ll likely find yourself clicking the “not spam” link on at least one post; conversely, you might have to do the converse when you’re looking at recent comments by fans that aren’t yet marked as spam.
Comment ManagementFacebook is adding a lot of self-help tools into the fan page activity log, including a new comment moderation window located to the right of the field where you post status updates, milestones, questions, photos and videos.
Scroll below that point and you have the ability to view all wall comments organized by page posts, posts by others, or just highlights.
The option to change your view in this fashion appears at the top center of the page if you scroll down to the cover image or any point lower. A box labeled highlights has a dropdown menu accessible from an arrow pointing down.
Closer Third Party IntegrationOne of the most exciting things for page administrators is a much more friendly interface to control how third parties post to your page.
Using the activity option, pictured above, you can control who each third party app can share with. This can range from public to custom list settings. Additionally, you can control where the activity generated from that app appears on the timeline.
Your turn: Have you played with your page’s activity log yet — what about on a timeline profile?
The ability to back-date content on Facebook’s timeline profile only goes back to 1800, which previously would not have been an issue due to the lack of 212-year-olds on the social network.
But some brands have been around for more than 212 years, and the launch of timeline for pages is forcing those brands to be creative.
Mashable reported that the U.S. Army and Navy, as well as Princeton University, have run up against the 1800 barrier.
Here’s how the three have handled it. The Army said in a post listed under 1800:
At this time, this page only allows us to go back to 1800. However, we were “founded” in 1775. The Army’s birthday: June 14, 1775.
When the American Revolution broke out, the rebellious colonies did not possess an army in the modern sense. Rather, the revolutionaries fielded an amateur force of colonial troops, cobbled together from various New England militia companies. They had no unified chain of command, and although Artemas Ward of Massachusetts exercised authority by informal agreement, officers from other colonies were not obligated to obey his orders. The American volunteers were led, equipped, armed, paid for, and supported by the colonies from which they were raised.
In the spring of 1775, this “army” was about to confront British troops near Boston. The revolutionaries had to reorganize their forces quickly if they were to stand a chance against Britain’s seasoned professionals. Recognizing the need to enlist the support of all of the American seaboard colonies, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress appealed to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia to assume authority for the New England army.
Reportedly, at John Adams’ request, Congress voted to “adopt” the Boston troops June 14, although there is no written record of this decision. Also on this day, Congress resolved to form a committee “to bring in a draft of rules and regulations for the government of the Army,” and voted $2 million to support the forces around Boston, and those at New York. Moreover, Congress authorized the formation of 10 companies of expert riflemen from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, which were directed to march to Boston to support the New England militia.
George Washington received his appointment as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army the next day, and formally took command at Boston July 3, 1775.
For more information, please visit: http://www.history.army.mil/html/faq/birth.html.
The Navy added the following paragraph under a milestone titled “Founded on January 1, 1800:”
On Friday, Oct. 13, 1775, meeting in Philadelphia, the Continental Congress voted to fit out two sailing vessels, armed with 10 carriage guns, as well as swivel guns, and manned by crews of 80, and to send them out on a cruise of three months to intercept transports carrying munitions and stores to the British army in America. This was the original legislation out of which the Continental Navy grew and, as such, constitutes the birth certificate of the Navy.
And Princeton University Social Media Coordinator Ian Cahir sent the following tweet:
Interesting issue with brand pages. I’m doing the history for @Princeton, and FB’s timeline ends at 1800. We go back to 1746 #oops
Readers: Do you think Facebook should allow timeline entries from before 1800, and, if so, how far back in time?
With Facebook timeline, brands finally have a way to bring their business to social media rather than just adding social media to their businesses, opening the door to real and meaningful interactions with consumers.
The key things that make this possible are:
Design Thinking
- A new format that incorporates design thinking;
- The ability for brands to customize their pages to fit their message; and most importantly,
- The ability for brands to make their pages personalized and relevant to consumers.
It is no secret that visualization is now the driving force behind social media. This is evidenced by the meteoric rise of Pinterest, Instagram and other outlets that let people express their lives, their passions, and their pursuits, in a highly visual and creative way.
Timeline capitalizes on this trend by allowing the brand to display stunning images “at the doorstep” to draw consumers in, and then ply them with more content and visuals as they peruse the page.
The old, thumbnail size pictures, underscored with lines of text are gone, and posts with photos are now actually showcase the photo and allow consumers to consume and interact in a much more intuitive and visual way.
Page CustomizationThe timeline page reflects and showcases the brand, helping to drive differentiation.
Since some brands have switched over to the Facebook timeline and some have not, you can see the perfect example of the difference by checking out the Facebook pages of Coca-Cola versus Diet Coke.
The Coca-Cola page has great branded imagery at top and easy to see info about the brand and what it is doing on Facebook. It also has easy to understand “like” info, and links to what the brand thinks is important to consumers.
This level of customization, while it may not seem like much, is critical for the brand to be able to express its personality and point of view. This expression is what will drive consumer loyalty for one brand or another, and allows the brand to carve out its own special niche within the consumers’ lives.
Meanwhile, on the Diet Coke page, the entire image is focused on getting the like and showcases very little about the brand.
You have to scroll down to see likes and other things that demonstrate brand credibility (and presented in non-consumer friendly way – i.e. 1,680,242 likes versus 1.7 million likes and consumers are forced to leave Facebook to get any additional info, leaving the experience feeling forced and empty.
Diet Coke wasn’t able to customize the page to fit their brand, so they opted to have all relevant content outside of Facebook. This destroys the entire point of having a Facebook page because the brand loses the rich customer context that marketers dream about.
Connect With Consumers And Their Friends
Facebook timeline allows you to see brand posts side-by-side with posts from your friends about the brand, without the clutter of pages of posts from strangers and people outside your circle of influence.
The new Facebook timeline helps bring the brand to life in a way that the old Facebook format could never do.
With a glance, consumers can see what the brand is talking about and how that relates to how their friends are talking about the brand as well, making the message and story being communicated instantly more accessible and relevant
There are comments from the brand, comments from friends about the brand, a timeline to let consumers tap into the history of the brand, and even a way for the brand to communicate directly with each consumer, building advocacy through transparency and trust in a way that wasn’t possible before.
What needs to be kept in mind is that the new Facebook timeline, as well as other social mediums like Pinterest, Twitter, and even old-fashioned blogs, is only as important as your brand’s actual interactions with customers.
While new technology is letting brands tap even deeper into the consumer’s lives, giving a rare opportunity to turn everyday consumers in to brand advocates, how your brand ultimately delivers value to the consumer through your products and services will always ultimately be how your brand is judged.
Guest writer Raj Gupta is engagement manager at Vivaldi Partners Group.
Just two days after Facebook debuted timeline for pages, four different vendors have applications for the new layout.
Facebook page creator Lujure just debuted DIY Timeline App Builder.
It enables brands to upgrade their pages to timeline and add widgets to them.
DIY Timeline App Builder allows brand managers to take advantage of Facebook’s new timeline for pages without the need for coding, via a simple drag-and-drop interface.
The application guides users through creating their new 850-pixel-wide cover images, as well as the addition of widgets for their pages, including:
- PayPal;
- YouTube;
- Images;
- Maps;
- Share button;
- Slideshows;
- Countdowns; and
- Email capture.
Best of all, Lujure’s DIY Timeline App Builder is free of charge.
Antavo
Antavo Promotion Builder allows brands to create promotions for their new Facebook timeline pages. The app accommodates sweepstakes, group offers, giveaways, and coupons.
Antoine PluDeveloper Antoine Plu created a Photoshop template for Facebook timeline for pages, which is available for download here.
247Grad247Grad announced the release of its Tabmaker Timeline app, which allows brands to create tabs for their timeline pages.
The tabs created with Tabmaker Timeline are formatted to conform to timeline’s 810-pixel width.
It was a busy week for anyone following Facebook. The company overhauled pages and introduced a number of changes to its advertising platform. All the new terminology and features are easy to mix up so we wanted to clarify a few points.
Users will not see paid content in News Feed that could not show up there organically
Facebook is not actually allowing advertisers to serve ads in the News Feed of anyone they want to target. A user must have Liked a page or have a friend who took an action on a page (Like, comment, share, check-in, claim an offer, etc.) in order for a paid story to show in the mobile or desktop feed. If advertisers want to reach people who have not Liked their page or who do not have the endorsement of a friend, then their ads will show up on the right hand side of the page like all other ads.
This is the key difference between Twitter’s promoted tweets and Facebook sponsored stories. Twitter inserts promoted tweets directly in users’ streams, regardless of whether a person follows the company or someone they follow retweeted it. On Facebook, there has to be some existing relationship between a user and the content creator before that content can be shown in News Feed.
Reach Generator only available to ‘premium’ advertisers
Reach Generator, which helps pages reach more of their existing fan base, is meant for brands spending hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions, on Facebook. These advertisers will pay a fixed rate depending how many Likes their pages have, not on cost per click like many advertisers using Facebook’s self-serve platform or Ads API tools. Pages without that kind of budget can still expand their reach with page-post ads and Sponsored Stories. The difference is that these ads are not necessarily eligible to show within News Feed or on mobile devices.
Pages cannot send private messages to users unless a user initiates the conversation
With Timeline for pages, users can now send direct messages to page admins. This allows organizations to handle customer service issues or other sensitive matters in private. Pages are not able to initiate private messages with fans or any other user.
Any page can create an offer for free, but pay to promote it to non-fans if they want
Creating an offer is meant to be as simple as creating any other post. These will be free and are not subject to Facebook approval, unlike check-in deals, which the company will be phasing out in the next few weeks. Offers will show in fans’ News Feeds on desktop and mobile. People whose friends have clicked to get the offer will also see the promotion in their feeds. In order to reach more people, a page owner could buy a page post ad or sponsored story.
Facebook to create different levels of access for page admins
Facebook announced it will give page owners an option to assign different privileges to admins, but it did not explain what type of access and restrictions will be available.
During a breakout session at the Facebook Marketing Conference on Wednesday, Product Manager Jeff Kanter said pages will soon offer five levels of admin access. He mentioned full access, publishing-only access and insights access, but did not reveal the other two levels. Facebook did not respond to requests for clarification.
It’s possible the feature could include messages-only access. After switching to Timeline, pages will include a message button that lets users send private messages to the page. It would be important for customer service representatives to see and respond to these messages, but an organization might not want those people to be able to see the page’s insights or make public posts.
Many page owners have wanted this type of feature for years. Third-party page moderation and analytics tools have helped companies protect their pages by designating different permissions for each user, but these tools are not free.
Kanter says the company hopes to release the feature by the end of March.
The full session about pages is available for streaming here.
It's here! This week Facebook finally unveiled the arrival of timeline for brand pages. A long-awaited change to the layout of Facebook pages, much welcomed by some and resistingly sneered at by others. With the announcement comes a number of significant changes to the overall format, navigation and visual layout of brand pages, including the introduction of, believe it or not, a 'timeline' running throughout the page and replacing the much-loved Facebook wall. Gone too is the emphasis on landing pages, something which will no doubt come as a surprise for many brands, particularly those who invested time, resource and budget towards designing, creating and tweaking a welcome tab to present fans and new visitors with the perfect starting point and latest promotions. In light of this, one of the key features available for brands is the ability for posts to be 'pinned' to the top of their Timeline, with 'pinned' posts remaining as the first post seen until a new post is 'pinned' in its place. Many page admins will see this area as the perfect place to do what landing tabs of old achieved, i.e. highlighting current promotions, news, products and campaign content, as well as providing visitors with a starting point for the page.
With Facebook announcing the 30th March as the automatic switch over date when all pages will change to Timeline, below are 10 key things brands should be focusing on in the weeks leading up to the switch:
1. Gather research and Inspiration – Already there are fantastic examples of creative brand uses of Timeline. Brands should take the time to collect and research the best examples and best practice out there so far. For example, ideas for how to use Timeline to tell the story of the company/products, ideas for how to use the new profile and cover images in new, visually striking ways. The Coca Cola page is a great place to start.
2. Create visual identity – Utilise the new cover image and profile image spaces to bring unique ways of capturing the identity of the brand, using this area as the perfect place to be creative and welcome users to the page.
3. Behind-the-scenes – Make use of the time available between now and the 30th March to create, preview and tweak your page before making the page live for all to see. The inclusion of a preview mode in the Facebook admin area enables page admins to test different layouts and visuals before launching to the world. That said, there is definitely something to be said for brands creating their new page sooner rather than later. For example, how important is it to beat competitors to launching a Timeline page? It is certainly all about creating the right balance between being at the forefront and yet taking the time to create the best user experience possible.
4. Tie-in the launch of your new page with a promotion / gift for fans – One of the great examples of a Timeline launch came with the promotion Red Bull integrated when switching its Timeline live. Pinning a welcome post to the top of its Timeline, Red Bull launched its new Facebook page with a competition that tied in with the idea of fans using its Timeline milestones to find the answer to enter.
5. Milestones – One of the key features brands can now take advantage of is the fact that Timeline enables page admins to create milestones throughout the Timeline, highlighting key events in the company's history, such as key product launches or campaigns. Moreover, this is also a feature which enables the business to talk about how the company was first established and founded. The Ben & Jerry's Facebook page in particular captured this concept incredibly well, creating a unique way of untilising this space to highlight the heritage of the brand.
6. Social media spring clean – Since users will now being able to quickly and easily go back and forth through a company's posts and events, page admins should take the time to ensure any content they do not want people to see in the future is removed from the page, providing the perfect opportunity to ensure content in the past is aligned, on-brand and represents the overall 'look' and 'feel' of the brand.
7. Measurement and analysis – Companies should also be sure to place more emphasis on measurement to identify how the change in layout will affect engagement and interactions on the page. Brands and online PR companies will need to be ready once again to be proactive and flexible to change their approach to outreach and content types, setting clear benchmarks and drawing a line in the measurement sand between page performance pre and post timeline.
8. Once upon a time – Brands will need to be ready to embrace the fact that the new layout leans much more towards pushing brands to become storytellers, to create narratives and stories that engage and resonate well with their audience. Additionally, the Timeline almost takes on the role of becoming a brand scrapbook (Pinterest anyone?), with content now placed within the context of being collected and archived relative to time. Layout and history aside, brands need to focus on creating stories that users will want to interact with and share.
9. Making the most of apps – Brands can now utilise Facebook Apps to create their own unique and customisable actions, such as 'Listening to', 'Wearing', 'Playing', and 'Watching' as opposed to simply being able to see that fans are 'Liking' brand content and apps. Spotify's introduction of the 'listening to' action in particular has had a fantastic impact on the music service, increasing visibility across Facebook and resulting in significant increases in users of the service. Again, it is this creating of a story, or an action that users can share and be a part of that is the key.
10. Image assets more important than ever – If text-only posts didn't get lost on user walls, they almost certainly will on user Timelines. The aesthetics of Timeline are almost certainly heavily weighted towards images and visual posts, with posts now appearing in a zig-zag-like shape and images or videos appearing much larger than previously on walls. Finding ways to use images and integrating these into brand stories and narratives in new and innovative ways will almost certainly be key to increasing reach and engagement. For example, the way users will now navigate through their Timeline will necessitate brands creating and posting visuals and images that really jump out amongst all the noise.
With the best part of a month to go before Facebook automatically switches over all brand pages to Timeline it might seem like businesses have plenty of time to get everything ready. However, there's much more to do than simply upload a new cover image. The whole way Facebook looks, works and breathes has changed. The best social media agencies and brands will be aware of this and will utilise the changes and additions as best they can to create the best social media user experience they can, applying new strategies, approaches and concepts. In fact, many are already 10 steps ahead. 29 days and counting…
On Wednesday, February 29, Facebook made several announcements at its fMC conference for marketers in New York. Several of the tools brands have available to them are undergoing big changes. These changes touch both paid tools and organic ones, emphasizing the growing link between the two. Here is what was announced:
- Timeline for Brands: Timeline for brands features bold imagery, larger stories and the ability to dive deep into a brand’s history. Brands will have 30 days to “curate” their Timelines before Facebook makes them automatically visible. Brands can choose to flip the switch before then and several beta partners including American Express, Walmart and Ford have already done so. This new display is currently available to all brands, although brands will have a month to get ready before everyone is switched over on March 30, 2012. Brands will be able to preview the new look and feel before going live.
- Coupons: Brands will soon be able to create coupons directly in Facebook. These coupons can be posted to the brand’s Timeline where users can share them with friends or on their own Timelines, allowing for great organic reach. Brands can also choose to promote coupons to sponsored stories on the Facebook home page.
- New Premium Ad Products: A number of Premium Ad Products were also introduced including:
- Sponsored stories in the news feed
- Sponsored stories in the Mobile news feed
- Sponsored stories on the (new) Logout screen
So what does this mean to us brand marketers?
Content Is King
With Facebook’s impending IPO, they’re placing a lot of emphasis on their ad products. But before you can sponsor a story, you need to have a story to sponsor.
With the new Timeline view of brand pages, the content a brand creates is front and center. Posts are bigger. Images are bigger. Videos are bigger. Content can be pinned to the top of the Timeline. It can be starred and stories made even larger.
Facebook’s best performing ads will now all be linked to the power of good content – stuff that’s engaging, compelling, and to use their nomenclature, helps to tell a brand’s story. That means consistently sourcing great content, such as videos and images, and having community managers who know how to wrap it in compelling calls to action.
Paid Media Is More Important Than Ever
It’s not enough to just direct prospective fans to the brand page anymore. Before Timeline, default tabs could be set up to draw non-fans into Like-gated engagements, forcing them to Like the brand to continue. While Like-gating is still an option, brands can no longer direct non-fans to specific tabs by default. Everyone lands on the Timeline.
Consequently, brands will have a greater reliance on paid and earned media to achieve the greatest reach for their campaigns, promotions and engagements. The more brands are willing to spend on elevating their best content in front of the most users, the more interactions their content will garner, which in turn will cause Facebook’s algorithm to reward that page as a highly engaging one. That means users who have Liked the page will be more likely to see all the content whether or not it’s been “boosted” by a paid placement. Brands with good content but no ad budget will begin to struggle for views in users’ newsfeeds.
Mobile Ads & Targeting
In this post-PC era, Facebook users are accessing the site from their mobile phones more than ever. Mobile ad products could not come at a better time. Facebook is still not being specific but in theory mobile only could become an option for ad targeting, as could much finer geotargeting than currently exists.
It’s All History
Brands now have a place to tell their stories, backdating all the way to when the company was founded. With Milestones and backdated photos and videos, brands are able to not only engage their communities in the now but to take them back through memory lane. This is particularly relevant to brands that have been around for a while.
Curate, Curate, Curate
With brand-generated stories now aggregated, remember that this means the most “popular” content will rise to the top.
More than ever, social customer service is imperative to deal with potential PR-related issues and disgruntled fans as soon as they arise. Issues that go unchecked often snowball and users get more and more vocal about their displeasure. Encourage your brand to be proactive about responding to these types of events.
Brands will need to go through their past posts and hide anything that they’re concerned will reflect badly on them. They will not have the option to hide individual negative comments on posts, only the posts themselves, so use discretion when making the decision of what to hide.
Communicate Directly with Your Fans
Customer Service on Facebook just got easier. With the new direct Messaging functionality, fans are able to interact directly with brands by sending them messages. Brands may then respond as the brand, something that was not possible before. It’s likely that this will largely be used to address customer service requests.
More Competition for API Partners
Many brands have been funneling more budget to Facebook’s API partners, who have been able to drive actions like “Likes” and App installs much more efficiently than Facebook’s in-house Premium ad units through optimization. Until Newsfeed ads become open to API partners (the trend has been for ad units like Sponsored Stories to launch as Premium and then become available for partners to sell) it may be necessary to recalibrate the media mix if indeed clickthrough rates are dramatically higher within the Newsfeed.
The Logout Experience
Log-out throws a bone to the traditional marketer with what amounts to a huge banner ad. It’s doubtful that clickthrough rates will remain high across the board for this though early results can expect to perform decently on novelty factor alone. Given that this too will be a Sponsored Story, the big question is: What’s the use case? Who logs out, sees an ad on the logout page, then logs back in to Like or Comment on it?
However let’s say Facebook is pixeling the logout page, and let’s say they launch an ad network. Now they have a way to target Facebook users outside of Facebook on behalf of advertisers and a test bed for an ad unit that does make sense adjacent to relevant content elsewhere. This is only a possibility, but it’s an intriguing one.
SWITCHING OVER
Brands will have until March 30, 2012 to switch over to the new Timeline format. This grace period should be used for previewing, making visual adjustments, adding company milestones and sorting through past posts to look for any issues.
This should allow plenty of time to get your brand Facebook Timeline ready.
The removal of default landing tabs on timeline pages will ultimately require brands to plan content more carefully and buy more advertisements.
That’s the upshot of a paper that Digitas Analyst Beth McCabe wrote about timeline for pages and the promotions that Facebook announced at its marketing conference yesterday. A copy appears below — let us know what you think by posting in the comments section at the bottom of this page.
Facebook today unveils Timeline for pages — a combination of design elements and moderation features that give organizations the controls they need to maintain an effective presence on the social network.
The redesign, the largest for pages since February 2011, creates a more unified look and feel for the site after profiles and groups were updated earlier this year. Page owners will have a 30-day window in which to redesign their pages and publish when they are ready. On March 30, all pages will automatically switch to the new format.
The layout features a cover photo and larger stories presented chronologically, similar to Timeline for personal profiles. What differs is the ability to pin a post to the top of a page and a friend activity box that makes pages more relevant to each user. Page tabs still function, but there is no longer an option to set a third-party tab as default. A new admin panel, activity log and direct message feature will help page owners manage their communities.
We had a chance to preview the new pages. Here’s what we found:
Cover Photo
In lieu of a unique landing tab, pages have a 851×315 pixel photo to convey a brand message. Facebook wants to keep cover photos from looking like banner ads, however, so images cannot include price or purchase information, contact info, calls to action or references to Facebook features such as Like or Share. Page owners might be frustrated by this, but we can see why Facebook would do it as most users won’t understand what aspects of a page are done by third-parties versus done by Facebook. If pages use cover photos like advertisements, many users could confuse them for actual ads.
Timeline
Page owners can now add milestones and choose to make featured posts larger than others, similar to what users can do with life events on Timeline (see below). Pages can also hide individual posts without deleting them. This allows pages to display only its most engaging posts without losing important data.
Additionally, page owners can pin an important post to the top of the page — something they’ve wanted to do for a long time. Pinned posts can stay for up to seven days. Unlike on Twitter, pinned posts are available to all page, not just premium advertisers.
Admin Panel
A new management tool appears at the top of pages to which a person has admin rights. It gives a snapshot of insights, people who recently Liked the page, fan activity notifications and a message inbox. Pages can now accept direct messages from users, which is similar to a feature we saw tested in December 2011. This allows customer service issues and other sensitive matters to be discussed privately instead of on the wall. Pages cannot initiate direct messages with fans.
The admin panel also includes Help Center items like “Request a name change for your page,” prompts to create ads and other tips for page owners.
Activity Log
As on personal profiles, the activity log is useful for finding and editing old posts. Admins can sort items by year or type of story. The activity log is only visible to users who have admin rights to the page. From screenshots we’ve seen, insights for each post are not shown in the activity log, but this would be a helpful addition.
Applications
Page tab apps continue to function, but instead of listing apps down the left side of the page, apps are available on the right beneath the cover photo. Fewer tabs can be highlighted above a “See more” option, but all apps benefit from larger thumbnails. App images are 111×74 pixels instead of the 16×16 pixel favicons used previously. Apps themselves can now be up to 810 pixels wide. They render on a new page underneath a header with a link back to the page, a drop-down menu with other tabs and a Like button if users don’t already.
Facebook will no longer allow default landing tabs. The company recommends pages pin a post that links to a particular tab. According to cover photo guidelines, pages cannot add images that use arrows or text to direct people to visit tabs or take particular actions. The social network seems to be weaning pages off of tab applications. The vision is for Facebook to be integrated into third-party websites and mobile apps, not to have applications running within page frames. Because many companies already invested in developing applications for their pages, however, the social network could not simply get rid of them at this stage.
We will be reporting from the Facebook Marketing Conference in New York City today, providing updates about the new pages and any other announcements the company might make at the event.
Timeline will become the most effective online tool for brand building whenever Facebook releases the feature for brand pages.
Whether or not Facebook announces a beta test of timeline for pages at the first ever marketing conference in New York, here are four things that brands can do to anticipate the changes.
Prepare Your Business ChronologyThink about adding fun dates like the day you opened your company. Here are some more points you might want to add:
- When did you launch your first big partnership?
- When did you make your first sale?
- When did you open a second location?
- When did you form a new division of your company?
All of these dates in a businesses history give you an opportunity to craft the story your brand is made of. This will enable you to connect at a richer level with your brand advocates.
Start Thinking About New Ways To EngageWith the release of timelines on both personal profiles and fan pages, you’re going to want to start thinking about how your company can leverage Facebook’s open graph.
In short, the open graph allows your brand to auto-post to users personal timelines when they are engaging with your brand. Examples include: “Listening on Spotify” or “Watching on Hulu.”
Think about how you can leverage action verbs into your Facebook engagement strategy.
Create A Cover ImageOne feature sure to be present when timelines come to fan pages is the cover image. Use this space to heighten the brand experience on your page. Take the time now to design a 850 pixel by 315 pixel fan page timeline cover image.
Try and get creative. This space will be the first chance you have to impact the minds of new viewers.
We’re hoping that, because fan pages are commonly used for commercial purposes, Facebook allows brands to feature products and offerings in this timeline photo.
Because of the large size, this image has potential to work as an effective call to action for brands leveraging the new layout.
Plan A First UpdateTo get a leg up when timeline is released, think through what your first update will be.
The goal with current status updates is always to get engagement. At this time, we’re not sure if timeline on pages will have an effect on EdgeRank and how status updates appear in people’s news feed.
However, leaked documents relating to Facebook ads suggest that engagement will still be a predominant factor.
Think through an update that has a historical twist that will invite engagement. For instance, ask: “Can you guess what year our company was created?”
Readers, what differences and similarities do you expect to see between timeline for pages versus profiles?
Guest writer Nathan Latka is the chief community builder for fan page builder Lujure.
Screenshot courtesy of Mari Smith.
Announced today, Facebook Timeline brand Pages appear to be a powerful new tool for companies and businesses. This is what they look like.
Learn how to set up your Facebook business page with the new release of the Timeline feature.
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