facebook timeline for pages: a complete guide

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Everyone was asking why I haven’t covered the timeline topic on my blog, and my answer was that my blog is probably about marketing on facebook, and whenever the timeline going to be for pages I will for sure cover this topic.

2 days ago was the announcement about the facebook timeline for pages and of course since then I started putting this guide together to help you know whatever you need to know to get your timeline page ready

Facebook Timeline Elements

1- Cover Photo. This is the first thing people will see when they visit your Page. Choose a unique photo (851 x 315 pixels) and change it as often as you like. Some examples might include a popular menu item, album artwork, or a picture of people using your product. Be creative and experiment with images your audience responds well to.

2- Profile Picture. Your profile picture represents your page on other parts of Facebook, in ads, sponsored stories and the news feed. Choose a picture that represents your business, such as a logo. Use a high  quality image that scales well from 180 x 180 pixels to 32 x 32 pixels.

3- Views and Apps. Your photos and custom apps appear at the top of your Page. You can also customize the images for your apps under “Manage” in “Edit Page” in the admin panel.

Facebook Timeline Features

1. Default Landing Tabs Are Gone. Facebook has removed the ability to create a default landing tab. Instead, the new tabs can be up to 760 pixels wide.

2. Photos, Likes, And Apps Are At The Top Of The Page. Photos, likes and apps are now at the top of your page. 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, so make sure to put your most important ones first.

3. Highlight/ Pin Your Favorite Post To The Top. 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 for 7 days, hide it or delete it from the site altogether.

4. New Administrator Panel. Keep track of your activity on your page from the admin panel. Respond when people write on your page timeline, and view your latest insights. Visit your activity log to review all your posts and activity.

5. Message Fans Directly. Now people can contact you privately using messages. Notifications about new messages will appear right in your admin panel.

6. 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. Simply navigate to this link here to request to change your fan page name. I suggest everyone be sure to make the fan page name your actual business name. As brands begin leveraging the open graph, insuring your name is accurate will be key.

7- Milestones. Set milestones to define your key moments over time. Examples of milestones include reaching a certain number of fans, opening a new store, or winning an award. Dimensions for milestone photos are 843 x 403 pixels.

Facebook Timeline Cover Guideline

looking at facebook guidelines for page, Cover images may not contain:

• 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”.

All cover images are public, which means anyone visiting your Page will be able to see the image you choose. Covers must not be false, deceptive or misleading, and must not infringe on third parties’ intellectual property. You may not encourage or incentivize people to upload your cover image to their personal timelines.

How To Get Your Page Prepared For The Timeline?

1- Start Preparing Your Timeline Image. One of the most exciting features of timeline is the large image featured at the top of the page. Facebook has given a lot of real estate to that image, and businesses should use it as an opportunity to feature something powerful and captivating. Businesses can leverage the image by changing it out frequently, featuring a weekly special or a reason for people to like your page. The possibilities are endless, so start thinking of what you want people to see when they visit your Page.

2- Go Through Your Brand History. With Timeline, businesses owners will be able to reference company events that preceded Facebook itself. Go through your Brand history and mark milestones, such as the date you were founded, your first customers, when you moved to a new location, when you added new services, or increased staff. Just like how Manchester United football club done with their page, they added all their history and achievements to their timeline, checkout their page.

Fans love to see businesses add a personal touch on a Facebook page, and everyone loves a good startup story. Take this opportunity to tell your business story, add personality, let people know how it all began and talk about how you got to where you are today.

3- Update and do some Cleaning. Now is a good time to moderate your Facebook page and evaluate the people you have involved. Look at your admins — are they all necessary? Update your information, add videos and photos and make sure your location data is up to date. One of the features of timeline is a map, so you’ll want to make sure that people can find you.

Checklist

1. Upload a cover photo. Cover photo dimensions are 851 x 315 pixels. Please refer to the cover photo policies below.

2. Use a clearly branded profile picture. Use a high-quality image that scales from 180 x 180 pixels to 32 x 32 pixels thumbnail image. Your profile picture follows your business or organization on Facebook as a thumbnail image in news feed stories, ads, and featured stories.

3. Pin a post each week. Pin an important story to the top of your Page each week. Posts can stay pinned for up to seven days.

4. Arrange your views and apps. Choose the other three views and apps you want to appear by default on your Page. You can include up to 12 views and apps.

5. Post daily to your Page. Although you can pin a post to the top of your Page, continue to post daily to engage your audience.

6. Manage your Page through the admin panel. Use the admin panel to view Page Insights, keep track of new activity and respond to personal messages.

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Tagged as: complete guide, facebook pages, facebook timeline, guide to facebook timeline for pages, timeline

Article by Faissal Alhaithami

Entrepreneur, Social Media Specialist @Kataraqatar, gladly the founder of Fansbridge. Trainer and Keynote Speaker and the Author of Facebook marketing for smart people.

Faissal has written 53 awesome articles for us at Fans bridge blog

Twitter: @alhaithami | Facebook | Google+