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The Anatomy of a Facebook Timeline

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The Anatomy of a Facebook Timeline

Facebook is replacing Business Pages with Facebook Timeline for Business. In order to help with this transition to Facebook’s latest change I’ve broken Timeline for Business into a few simple steps.

Your Facebook Timeline will be the first page the public will see (fans and non-fans) so you’ll want to make sure it’s visually striking and conveys your business’s or brand’s story.

This is an example of what Facebook Timeline looks like:


To see this Timeline live click here.
____________________________________________________________________________
NOW, FOR YOUR BUSINESS’ FACEBOOK TIMELINE!
THE ANATOMY OF A FACEBOOK TIMELINE:


1)   Cover Photo
Think about an image that tells your brand story. It’s a very large horizontal photo (850 x 320 pixels). Do you have a photo or a group of photos that you love? If you don’t here’s an article on 19 great resources for timeline creators. You can get really creative with this: to add neat effects try TrickedOutTimelines.

2) Profile Picture
This is the place for your logo or an image that conveys your brand. Keep in mind width is now 180 pixels, height 180 pixels and Facebook will auto-adjust this to 125 pixels wide by 125 pixels high.

3) Views and Apps
Facebook “Tabs” are now called “Views and Apps”. You can have up to 12 of them, but only 4 are visible without clicking and now you have an image to represent each of them 111 x 74 pixels)
Of these 4 “Photos” are static but the remaining three tabs are interchangeable (the other 8 tabs are hidden but users can access them by hitting the expand option).
Here are some examples of Views and Apps that businesses are using on their Timelines:

  • Blog
  • Coupons
  • Contact Us
  • Countdowns
  • E-Commerce
  • Events
  • FAQ
  • Contests
  • Twitter
  • Foursquare
  • Galleries
  • Google+
  • Job
  • Maps
  • Newsletter
  • Offers
  • LinkedIn
  • PayPal
  • Pinterest
  • Polls
  • Email Capture
  • Share Button
  • Testimonials
  • YouTube
  • Chat

To make your own custom apps or re-size the apps you already have on your Facebook page, try Tabsite.com – they have an easy and great free version for just getting started!

4) About Section
If you are a local business, company, organization, or institution you’ll ned to provide           Facebook the following:

  • Name of your Facebook Business Page
  • Your Business Address(es)
  • Telephone Number(s)
  • Hours of Operation (optional)

If you are a brand or product:
What would you like Facebook Timeline to say about your business or brand? Only the first 150 characters (approximately 15 words) will display directly on the Timeline Cover Page. Think of this as your business or brand’s core value statement. Don’t worry: Facebook users will have the ability to expand the about section to view more of your business’s or brand’s description, if you want to say more.
 
5) Milestones (appear as updates in your newsfeed, by date)
Timeline has created a new feature called Milestones allowing you to fill in the gaps from       when your business or brand was founded and when you joined Facebook. This is where we can go back in time and add images with captions to indicate significant events in the history of your business, such as:
Milestone Ideas:

  • When your business launched
  • Your first partnership
  • Your first sale
  • Expanding or opening a second location
  • Your first hire
  • Forming a new division
  • TV or magazine appearance
  • Important press

All of these events in your business’ history create your Brand Story.

Start with the year your business was founded and the location where this occurred. Provide a story (optional). Think about what you want to say about the concept or inspiration for your brand or business’s inception. Keep in mind the first 255 characters (approx 25-30 words) will be visible. Facebook users can expand to read a further description. Last, but not least, provide a photo, video, or link of this important milestone in your history!

You can add as few or as many milestones as you like, and you can change them later on, too. Try to really tell your brand story so Facebook users can interact with your entire history.

You can also go back and delete any posts that you don’t want to appear (ones that didn’t get good engagement, for example).

Still confused? Try Facebook Help for more assistance or give Be Visible Associates a call.