Tips to effectively utilize the new layout for your business page.
In what seems to be a yearly event, Facebook implemented their latest business page overhaul last week. Facebook released the Timeline layout for profile pages last year but was mum on when this would become available for business pages. I for one, am loving most of the updates and see this as a great opportunity for brands to visually express themselves. If you haven’t switched your page over to the new layout yet you have until March 30th to get optimized. Here are some tips to help you better understand what’s available and to help you prepare for the coming transition.
Cover Photo
 |
The new cover photo feature is a large 851 x 315 pixel area for you to showcase your business. This is the first thing your page visitors will see so make it count. Update this image from time to time and feel free to get creative. Use this area to visually express your brand with a classy image or current sale’s initiative. There are some text limitations in place though. Facebook’s Page Terms says covers may NOT include:
- price or purchase information, such as “40% off” or “Download it on socialmusic.com”
- contact information such as a website address, email, mailing address, or information that should go in your Page’s “About” section
- references to Facebook features or actions, such as “Like” or “Share” or an arrow pointing from the cover photo to any of these features
- calls to action, such as “Get it now” or “Tell your friends.”
Profile Image
Your profile image is now 180 x 180 pixels. It would be ideal to use your business’s logo in this location and keep your creative imagery in the cover photo.
Application Tabs
 |
Application tabs are one of the big improvements in my opinion. No longer is your page’s navigational items listed in the sidebar with a teeny-tiny thumbnail photo. With an increase in quality, however, comes a decrease in quantity as only four application tabs are visible. The first tab (Photos) is permanent while the following three are customizable and can be re-arranged. The Application images have increased in size to 111 x 74 pixels. The photo tab image will display the last photo you upload to your page. To view all available applications, click the drop-down button to the right.
Page Size
The update to brand pages is also a plus. What used to be 520 x 800 pixels has now become 810 pixels wide, with no height restriction. Use this additional space wisely, having text spanning the entire 810 pixel area could get a little cumbersome on the ‘ol eyeballs.
Highlighting and Pinning Posts
 |
You have two new options to help you promote important content. Highlighting a post will give it greater prominence on your timeline by increasing its width to cover the entire span of your timeline. Simply click the star in the upper right to highlight. With pins you can tag important or valuable content to the top of your timeline. A pinned post will remain up top for 7 days. In order to pin a post, click the “edit or remove” option, then select “pin to top”.
Milestones
Add some milestones for your business. You have the ability to add events such as: when your company was founded, when a big product was launched, etc. The milestone image size is 843 x 403 pixels.
No Default Landing Page?
There has been some grumbling about how Facebook has removed the ability to set a default landing page but I don’t think this will remain a big issue. The truth is, a majority of your page visits come through links. Facebook posts, links in your email marketing efforts and tweets most likely bring in most of your traffic – and you still have the ability to link directly to those specific Facebook pages.
Still not psyched about how you can leverage these new updates to your advantage? Contact us for a free Facebook consultation. We’ll review your current strategy and identify some areas to help take your Facebook presence to the next level.