The New Facebook Timeline for Pages Takeaways

I attended two webinars on Friday about the new Facebook timeline format for pages. By now you’ve likely heard that Facebook will be rolling out this new(est!) format on March 30, 2012 for all Facebook pages.

By now I’m used to “new” formats on Facebook and Twitter (and YouTube and beyond) – I don’t think the upgrades will ever go away. Just like a website should be fluid and always in the process of one update or another, changes in functionality and usability are just a part of the online (mobile, appified, etc.) world we live in. Instead of getting frustrated or overwhelmed, I try to approach the upgrades as just that – upgrades.

The list of changes coming with the latest Facebook upgrade is long enough that I’m going to devote a few posts to them instead of packing it all into one long post. Plus, Mashable and so many other tech bloggers will create catchy lists that will summarize everything for us in the coming weeks. For now, we’re all here to process the information and approach our pages with renewed focus and tweaked strategies.

Takeaway #1 for the new Facebook timeline for pages format:
Your page will have a cover photo space, measuring 850 X 315 pixels. There are plenty of neat ways to use this space BUT before you create your cover graphic, here are a few things to keep in mind (per Facebook):

• Your cover photo can’t include price or purchase information about your products or services

• Your cover photo can’t include any contact information about your brand

• Your cover photo can’t include a call-to-action (“like us for a chance/coupon/special offer…” etc.)
See how pretty the cover photo space can be!
Now that you know what you can’t include in your cover photo, don’t get discouraged!

There are plenty of great uses for this space.
  • Beautiful branding presented in a crisp, classy design.
  • Exceptional photography that showcases your business best.
  • Playful designs that make good use of the space.
  • And more!
I’ll be back soon with more Facebook timeline takeaways…

PS – I finally dropped to ".blogspot" portion of my URL. I’m in the same place, though! Shortened it up to “MarketingWithLaura.com” – easier to say and remember. I’ve long had a separate business website and personal blog, but was bothered by the URL over here. Hope we don’t notice any disruptions in feeds, etc! If anything seems off, please let me know.

Laura is a marketing professional and blogger who has been active in social media since 2005.  If you enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing to this blog via Email or  RSS. Laura can also be found on Twitter (@LauraCatherineO), Facebook, and LinkedIn

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