On March 30, 2012 your Facebook Page will join Facebook Profiles in adapting the new “Timeline” layout. Here are 5 things to know about the new layout:
1. Your Page will feature a ‘cover’ image
Cover images should be sized 851 wide and 315 tall; smaller images will be stretched to meet this requirement – thereby distorting the image.
Your cover image should not include the following:
- 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”
You can still creatively use your cover image to promote events and themes (seasonal or otherwise). Here are some examples from Adidas, University of the District of Columnia, Puma Running and Tazo Teas.
2. Your profile image or logo will have less space.
Say goodbye to those elegant long profile images that marketers found useful for promoting their businesses. Your logo or profile image must now square and be at least 180 pixels squared.
3. Visitors can now send private messages to page administrators – and receive a private response.
This is a great update if you are using Facebook for customer service, but it also means Page administrators will need to keep up with communication sent to their page. Messages will be accessible via the updated admin panel. The Admin panel will also allow administrators to review all page communication (including posts), and also keep track of page analytics.
4. Photos, Likes and apps will have greater visibility.
The placement of these items is an improvement over the current design (scheduled for retirement). Two things to keep in mind about this update is that 1) you should prioritize your most important app so that it is visible in the preview, 2) you can highlight other Pages you are connected with as well as the people managing your Page.
5. Page administrator can easily highlight posts they want fans to see.
The two main options for highlighting posts are –
- Hover over a story and click on the star icon to make it wider
- Click on the pencil icon to pin it to the top of your Page so that it’s visible regardless of new content.
Fans will also have the ability to filter page content in three newish ways – 1) by ‘highlights’, 2) their friends activity as it relates to your page, and 3) by posts made by page admin (example to the right).
Happy Facebooking! And always, if you have questions, we are here to help!