March 28th, 2012 | By the Partners in Social Media | No Comments »

This Friday, March 30, the new Facebook Timeline will be applied to all pages, updating the display to a chronological format and offering features to improve analytics, branding options, and overall fan interaction. Will your page be ready to go? If you’re still wondering what you need to do in preparation, here are some highlights and the most important things to keep in mind:
Cover-image eye candy
The Facebook cover image (the wide, horizontal 851 x 315-pixel photo across the top) adds instant personality to your brand’s page. Be creative! Choose an image that conveys your brand and will be appealing to your audience. Don’t try to get too sales-y though. Facebook won’t allow calls to action, contact information or website addresses in this image area.
Profile-picture limitations
Gone are the days of the vertical profile image. You’re now restricted to an image that’s 180 x 180 pixels, inset with your cover image. Your best bet is to utilize your company logo. And remember, this is the image that will be sized down to a mere 30 x 30 pixels on news feeds. It must be easy to recognize!
Bye-bye landing tabs
Facebook has removed custom landing tabs from the Timeline. Instead, users visiting your page will go directly to the brand Timeline. No worries: The time/money you’ve invested in creating custom tabs isn’t lost. Tabs can now be found with the other apps you’re using on the page (photos, video, etc). These apps are located just below the cover image, with only four showing at a time (photos always show in the first spot). By hitting the down arrow, users can find up to a total of 12 apps for the page. You can customize them any way you want, including using call-to-action imagery or messaging.
Private messages
Consumers now have a new way to communicate directly with you without commenting on your wall for the world to see. By simply selecting the message button in the right-hand corner of your page, users will get a pop-up box that lets them send a message to your page administrator’s inbox.
Easier access to admin panel
On the top of your page, administrators will find highlighted information from the admin panel. This dashboard-like feature is divided into five sections: notifications, messages, new “likes,” Insights and page tips. This format gives you a quick overview of your page’s performance without spending lots of time digging through the more extensive information found in Insights.
Go back to day one
Brands are no longer limited to posting content only since the time their Facebook page was established. Using Timeline, brands are encouraged to take visitors back to their beginning, showing a true history and all of the major milestones for the brand. And, while the previous format could display photos and video, Timeline’s more visually engaging arrangement of multimedia content will captivate visitors more than ever before.
Highlight content
You can highlight content in your Timeline by clicking on the star icon in the top-right corner of the story box to make it wider. You can also “pin” content to the top of your Timeline by clicking on the pencil icon. Doing so will keep that story at the top of your Timeline for seven days, giving it special attention.
Understanding these updates and optimizing your page for the new Timeline will help continue building your brand and earning you fans. If you have questions or would like help with your brand’s Timeline, reach out to us. We always welcome questions and love to collaborate!