Customizing Your Facebook Timeline for Brands

As you may or may not know, your Facebook brand page has recently been upgraded to the new timeline format as of March 30th, 2012. There are brands that had already made the change prior to this date, but if you’re among those who did not, here’s a list of items you should address now that the brand page is history.

Some of the new page features guidelines

• Unauthorized use of cover image belonging to someone else is not permitted.
• Pricing and calls to action should not be included in the cover image.
• References and actions such as “Like” or “Share” in the cover image should be avoided.
• Contact information such as email, website address, physical address and telephone should only be included in the “About” section of your page.

Facebook has recently revised some brand page guidelines in line with the new timeline format. These are some of the vital points to keep in mind. You may want to go to Facebook’s website for the full details.

Your cover image

The first thing you’ll see in the new timeline format is the larger size of the cover image which measures 851 pixels high and 315 pixels wide.  Note that the use of a cover image without permission of the owner and using it for selling or showing of pricing or call to action in the cover image is not permitted.

Some companies have employed subtle ways of upgrading their Facebook timeline and have managed to insert their profile picture in the cover photo. Though it seems complicated, but there are some tools that can help you with it.

Your choice of a cover image is something that should be taken seriously.  There’s only one chance to make a good impression. You need to make the most out of it. You absolutely want a cover image that is related to your brand’s message. You may want to invest time, thought, resources and money in it. In case you don’t have something that might fit, hire the service of an individual or company that specializes in photography or graphic design. If you don’t have a budget, you may want to search for free images on royalty-free stock image websites.

Landing pages

The loss of a default landing page is one of the changes that is receiving tons of complains.  Unlike the old system where you can direct the customer to different landing pages, the new system allows you to have a single default landing page.

Engagement and Messaging

The most dreaded thing that companies fear regarding social media is the fear of people posting negative comments about them on their brand page. But it is something they have some control with the old system. Now it’s no longer part of the new system, what they can do now is engage in private messages with their customers and fans. This erases the fear of some organizations about getting involved in Facebook and social media channels.

Pinned content

Important messages, posts and offers are now pinned to the top. Pinned updates will only last for 7 days. You’ll see a little ribbon at the upper right corner when you’ve successfully pinned your updates.

Milestones

The brand pages can now have milestones similar to personal pages. This feature is useful to communicate your brand and company milestones to your customers.

The 4 tabs feature

The old system provides multiple tabs, but now only 4 tabs are available. The first slot starts with the photos tab, the three other tabs are left to your control, so use them to your benefit.

Brand name changes and vanity URL

Now with the new changes, the moment you pass the 100 fans/followers threshold, there’s no way to change your brand page. The minimum 25 fans/followers that allows you to get a vanity URL will also be removed. So, if you don’t have a brand page yet, make the right choice when it comes to your brand name.

Now that you’re aware of the Facebook brand page timeline upgrade, find some ways on how you can use the new changes to your advantage.

Roja is a web design company that also offers social media design services for online businesses. Contact us to make the most your social media involvement.