This morning when I have looked backed for Google analytic s the top most referral traffic is through Facebook. I really believe that timeline is ultimately an expression of their complete social life on Facebook. The same now applies to fan pages as well—Red Bull is an example of a brand that had done this very well.
Even in some cases Visits from Facebook are greater than visits from Google across several vertical. The average % of traffic from passed links varies considerably by vertical. We suspect some of this is due to the demographics of the audience on a given site. Also, the content found in some verticals is just much more likely to get passed along than in others.
But some brands may have a history they would rather forget, for most companies the Timeline offers an opportunity to tell the larger story.
The tabs for your apps have been re-configured, allowing a few to be highly visible as “chicklets” along the top, but others are hidden almost completely.
So in order to bootstrap all the efforts and quickly mummify that how can brands create a facebook Page :
- The Timeline Cover Photo – This is probably the biggest and most beautiful of the new features. Depending on your industry, it could be the perfect portfolio or your worst marketing nightmare.
- Your About Info – The about info for your company moves from a tiny box on the sidebar to one of the first areas people will see after they take in your cover photo. Although Facebook doesn’t need to do it, this is the perfect place for you to put a link to your website so you can get a higher click through rate.
- Apps – After the box for your photos (which is not moveable) are three prime spaces for your apps, assuming you don’t want to keep your number of likes on the top row. There are twelve boxes total – ten for apps.
Step =1 It’s All About the Cover Photo
The biggest piece of branding on the new Facebook pages design is the timeline cover photo. Here are the things you need to know.
- Size – The optimal size for your Facebook page’s cover photo is 851 x 315 pixels. While Facebook says they can be as small as 399 pixels wide, you should go with the full resolution size so you get the best image quality.
- Rules – There are lots of rules when it comes to the cover photo. The first warning that pops up about cover photos when you go to upload yours for the first time is that they cannot be advertisements, promotions, or coupons. When you go to the read more page, you will see additional restrictions including no price or purchase information, no contact information that should be in your About section, no references to Facebook features such as Like or Share, and no calls to action.
- Ideas – Once you get past all of the rules, you have to start getting creative. Some ideas for a cover photo include a great photo of your latest product, an image of your services, a photo of your company’s employees, or an extension of your logo. Be sure to check out the new Facebook pages in the upcoming inspiration section.
In the ‘About’ section of the tour, you’ll first be prompted to choose what’s called a cover photo for your page. If you’re familiar with Timeline for personal profiles, this is similar to the large banner image that is shown at the top of the page. For pages, the cover photo dimensions are 851 x 315 pixels.
Step =2 Your Profile Picture… , Status updates, about info
- Link to your wall, simply paste the link in the Status update box and it will automatically pull up the link preview.
- If you want to post a video from YouTube, paste the link to it in the Status update box and it will automatically pull up the video.
- To post photos or video, click the Photo option and upload photo or video from your computer. You can also use your webcam to take a photo or create a photo album.
- To ask an open ended or poll question, click on the Ask Question option.
- To post a milestone (such as expanding offices to a new location), click on the Milestone option.
- Don’t forget to use the targeting option to put specific updates in front of the right demographic of your fan base.
Once you’ve posted an update, you also have additional options.
- Pinning – Want a particular status update to stay up top? Hover over your update, click on the Pencil icon, and then click Pin to Top. This will keep the update pinned to the top of your wall until you choose to unpin it or pin another update.
- Highlighting – Bring extra attention to important status updates by hovering over your update and clicking on the Star icon. This will stretch that update across both columns on your page’s wall.
- Changing the Date – Did you forget to add your latest blog post from Friday onto your wall as an update and realize it after you added Monday’s blog post? Don’t worry. Just add Friday’s blog post on your wall, hover over the update, click on the Pencil icon, and then click Change Date.
- Number of Apps & Custom Tabs – As I mentioned earlier, you can use up to 10 apps and content tabs on your Facebook page. While there are twelve boxes, one is reserved for your photos and another is reserved for your page’s number of likes.
- Prioritization – While the photos box always will stay in the first position, you have the option to put your apps and content tabs in the next three spaces. This way, you can display your most important apps and custom content tabs without having to hope that a visitor knows to click the down arrow. Click on the down arrow next to your row of apps, hover over a tab, and click on the Pencil icon. Then use the “Swap Position With” options to move your boxes around to the order you would like them displayed.
- Custom Name & Icons – For any box other than Photos and Likes, you can change the tab name and image. To do so, click on the down arrow next to your row of apps, hover over a box, and click on the Pencil icon. Select Edit Settings. Here, you can enter a different name for your tab or click on the Change link to change the tab image. Images should be 111 x 74 pixels. Use larger images with the same proportion so they will scale down to fit inside the box. Images smaller than 111 x 74 pixels will not fill the entire space.
- Content Size – Custom content and apps now have a width of 810 pixels to work with. Any of your current apps or custom content should be centered within this space until they are changed by you or your application provider to fit the new layout.
- Direct URL – The only alternative to a default landing tab is directly linking to the tab you want to direct your fan page visitors to. Click on the tab you want visitors to see first when they come to your page, and copy the URL from your browser’s address bar as shown below. Then use this URL when you link to your fan page within your website content, email signature, and other locations.
Once you click ‘Next,’ Facebook will prompt you to adjust your profile picture, which is the image that will get shown next to each of your updates on your wall and in users’ news feeds; it will also appear with any sponsored stories or ads that you run. A logo is a good choice here, but you can choose any image that is representative of your brand. Choose an image that fits 180 x 180 pixels and also looks good when scaled down to a thumbnail size of 32 x 32 pixels.
Step 3 Apps (organize and view….)
The new design features photos, likes, and apps at the top of your page below your cover photo. Photos are automatically featured in the first spot, but page admins can rearrange the rest to feature the most important ones first. Overall, a total of 12 apps can be shown here, which can be viewed when page visitors click the dropdown arrow (highlighted in orange in the image below). Admins can also customize the images that get shown for each app in this toolbar using the ‘Manage’ >> ‘Edit Page’ dropdown via the ‘Admin Panel,’ which is accessible at the top right of their business page
- Number of Apps & Custom Tabs – As I mentioned earlier, you can use up to 10 apps and content tabs on your Facebook page. While there are twelve boxes, one is reserved for your photos and another is reserved for your page’s number of likes.
- Prioritization – While the photos box always will stay in the first position, you have the option to put your apps and content tabs in the next three spaces. This way, you can display your most important apps and custom content tabs without having to hope that a visitor knows to click the down arrow. Click on the down arrow next to your row of apps, hover over a tab, and click on the Pencil icon. Then use the “Swap Position With” options to move your boxes around to the order you would like them displayed.
- Custom Name & Icons – For any box other than Photos and Likes, you can change the tab name and image. To do so, click on the down arrow next to your row of apps, hover over a box, and click on the Pencil icon. Select Edit Settings. Here, you can enter a different name for your tab or click on the Change link to change the tab image. Images should be 111 x 74 pixels. Use larger images with the same proportion so they will scale down to fit inside the box. Images smaller than 111 x 74 pixels will not fill the entire space.
- Content Size – Custom content and apps now have a width of 810 pixels to work with. Any of your current apps or custom content should be centered within this space until they are changed by you or your application provider to fit the new layout.
- Direct URL – The only alternative to a default landing tab is directly linking to the tab you want to direct your fan page visitors to. Click on the tab you want visitors to see first when they come to your page, and copy the URL from your browser’s address bar as shown below. Then use this URL when you link to your fan page within your website content, email signature, and other locations.
Step =4 Star, Hide and Pin
The new Admin Panel which, as we mentioned earlier, page admins can access from the link at the top right of their business page, allows admins to track all of the activity on their page in one convenient place. From here, admins can easily respond to comments, edit their page settings, access Page Insights (i.e. Facebook page analytics),create new ads, and even change the name of their page.
Step 5: Enable Messages
The Facebook guided tour ends with information about messages, a brand new feature for business pages. Admins can now allow users to send them personal messages. This makes it much easier for admins to have private conversations with their fans. Use this feature when you need to discuss a topic or customer service issue in more depth, and when you’d prefer the conversation not be made public for all page visitors to see. We don’t recommend limiting methods of communication available to your fans, but admins can also choose to turn off messaging capability by accessing the Admin Panel, choosing ‘Manage’ >> ‘Edit Page’ >> ‘Manage Permissions,’ and unchecking the ‘Messages’ box.
Additional Features
In addition to the new features we’ve covered in the tour above, there are several other features available in the new page design that you should also know about.
About: Although the ‘About’ section of your Facebook page isn’t exactly a ‘new’ feature available with these updates, it’s still worth mentioning due to the prominent placement it gets in the new design (see below). This section gives you the opportunity to briefly explain your business and let new visitors quickly understand what your business is about. Keep it brief so the description doesn’t get cut off, and include a URL to your business’ website.
Step =6 Feature Milestone
The new design feature allows admins to feature what are called “Milestones” on their page, highlighting some on their business biggest achievements.
Anybody have other suggestions for what would be on your must-do 6 step list? Or a suggestion of an additional item that someone can execute? Let me know in the comments below. And offcourse please like my Faceook Page
