Facebook just announced some big changes for your business pages. Here are the five most important things you need to know to help you manage social media. It’s a bit too early for best practices, but I’ve also included four links with great information that clearly illustrate the most important tips.
Manage Social Media with Facebook Timeline
- The first point is that Timeline for Brands is now available. You’ve probably already seen the timeline layout on your friends’ profile pages and now Facebook is rolling this feature out for its business pages. After lots of buzz was heard in tech and social media blogs, its finally here. Changes were announced last Thursday.
- The changes will go into effect at the end of this month, like it or not. If you don’t change, it will change for you. Timeline will become your default view on March 30th.
- Have a ‘fan-gate’ or ‘welcome tab’? Say goodbye to it. There will no longer be a default landing tab. Every visitor (fan or not) lands on your timeline. Some are questioning whether this will make “fan gating” (hiding certain information from non-fans) irrelevant. Facebook insists that hiding coupon codes will still be a useful social media strategy with fan-gating as a way to increase “likes.”
- Start with a compelling ‘cover photo’ that helps tell your story. The cover photo is the biggest feature (literally) and careful consideration should be made when you choose it. Facebook has made it clear that there are certain restrictions regarding the content on this cover. More about that can be found in TechTools blog post – link below.
- Tabs are out – Apps are in: tabs are now called “apps” and are found under the timeline cover photo. The Facebook photo app defaults as the first app. The remaining 3 apps can be custom apps (formerly tabs).
My technical business partner over at TechTools was the first small business I know to migrate to timeline. Carol Stambaugh moves fast and she’ll share all her insider geek knowledge (The day it was announced she attended an industry seminar!). Her screenshots and step by step instructions will really help you complete and manage your social media page.
Flyte does a good job of also highlighting specific information that small businesses might want to know.
Both blog posts above are short and filled with visuals to help you get started.
DreamGrow posted a great cheat sheet that gives you all the new Facebook sizes and dimensions for the change, definitely worth a look if you manage your own social media.
Finally, KISSmetrics did a post on Saturday called the 28 things you need to know… its a little more of lengthy, but packed with good information.
Hopefully these links will help you update your Facebook Brand Page to Timeline. Keep in mind, you might want to bring in an expert if you already had tabs so they can correctly migrate your page or if you’re not comfortable using the Facebook Developer section. You can also contact us!
