Facebook Timeline: Five Things to Remember
Joyce Remy in Social Media
Did Timeline catch you by surprise?
If you haven't been vigilantly tending your organization's Facebook page, you might not know that on March 30, Facebook automatically converted all business pages to the new "Timeline" format. This new format has a different appearance and organization from the former "Classic Facebook."
If you weren't prepared for the switchover, your organization's Facebook page may be looking quite unsightly right now. For example, Timeline handles photos differently, so your profile photo may be displaying in a distorted fashion. The top of the page may consist of nothing but gray space. It's time to update. If you haven't yet reformatted your Facebook page for Timeline, you can find how-to instructions in the Facebook Help Center.
As IlluminAge is working with our web partners during the upgrade, we'd like to offer five suggestions for using the switchover to your organization's advantage:
Create a great cover image/profile image combination. The Timeline design consists of a large, horizontal-format photo and a smaller, square photo set into its bottom left. This photo combination occupies an unprecedented portion of the real estate on the first page visitors will see, so you will want to create a great first impression. Photo dimensions and resolution are important for the most attractive result. Facebook also prohibits certain elements from the cover photo—for example, no price or purchase information, and no contact information. See the Facebook cover guidelines to learn more about the photo specs and content restrictions.
This is a great time to review your entire Facebook presence, including all old posts. The new format encourages "time traveling"—it is more history-oriented, making it easy and tempting for visitors to peruse your posts from the very first day you created your Facebook account. Are there posts that no longer support your organization's mission and goals? Photos, posts or comments that don't present you in a positive light? Long-forgotten posts or photos that might violate HIPAA regulations? This is also a good time to review your privacy settings.
Fill in the blanks of your organization's history. Not only should you and can you subtract old posts, but you can also add to your Facebook presence by retroactively adding "milestone" events to your page. Facebook provides instructions on how to create milestone posts. Some companies have gone all out in creating their milestones—for example, check out the new Coca Cola Facebook Timeline.
Highlight and "pin" important posts. You can now "highlight" a post, which causes it to spread across the entire width of your Timeline page, rather than half of that column. Users report finding the new layout a bit confusing at first, so choosing the "highlight" option makes it more likely they will see a post. (Do this by hovering your mouse at the right top of the post and clicking the star icon.) You can also "pin" a post to keep it on the top for seven days (again, hover your mouse at the right top of the post, this time clicking the pencil icon and selecting "Pin to Top").
Choose the "apps" that best utilize the space under your cover image. "Apps" are applications, previously known as tabs, which were displayed on the left-hand side of the screen beneath your logo. They used to be fairly unnoticeable, but now they are prominently displayed beneath your cover photo. You are required to display three; you can feature up to four; and you can utilize up to fourteen. However, people have to use the drop-arrow to see more than four, so the four that you feature are the most important. The "photos" application is required. Think about how to best use that additional space – do you have videos that you would like to feature? Events? If you are doing an email newsletter, is there a subscription application available from your email marketing provider? Is your Facebook page full of great posts with links out to additional information? If so, the links application will gather them into one convenient location for your visitors. You can also customize the icons for these applications. You can learn more about managing your Facebook page apps on the bottom section of this page.
Once you have completed your Timeline changes, it's a good idea to have others "test drive" your page. Once again, this is a good opportunity to check all those forgotten posts and to see how you are doing in creating a unified, brand-promoting Facebook presence.
Facebook is a powerful communications tool for many organizations and is an expected feature of your communications program today. But this most recent switchover is yet another reminder that Facebook should not take the place of your company's actual website, where you have control over content, appearance and function. Limiting Facebook to a supporting, complementary role to your own website is the best policy when it comes to this ubiquitous social utility. As our IlluminAge online communications team has said more than once, "Facebook may be free, but using it improperly can cost you."
Learn More
Facebook offers information on the new Facebook Timeline, including information about known bugs and things that might be confusing.
Need some inspiration? See how other companies and organizations are using Timeline on "Discover Facebook Pages."
The Los Angeles Times recently reported that some seniors are frustrated with Timeline. Read "Facebook's Timeline Format Spells Trouble for Some Companies" to see how organizations are dealing with the repercussions of making a major change of format.
Get Assistance
If you would like assistance customizing your Facebook page, integrating it into your website, or generating valuable content to keep it up-to-date, please Contact Us today.