This morning Facebook announced that it’s recent Timeline feature for Profiles is now available for all official brand Pages. Admin will now see a message on their Pages inviting them to switch, and all Pages will make the switch after 30 days.
Much like Profiles, the emphasis of Timeline for Pages is on the significant presence of the Cover photos and Profile photo. Profile photos are 180 x 180 pixels. Cover photos are 851 x 315 pixels, and in an effort to prevent promotional banners they cannot contain the following items:
- Price or purchase information,
- Contact information (It’s in the About section),
- References to other Facebook interface elements such as “Like” or “Share,”
- Calls to action.
Admins can edit the Timeline portion of their Page to add important milestones and call out special stories by staring them which expands it to the full width of the layout. Individual posts can also be “pinned” to have them prominently displayed at the top of the page. This will always appear at the top of the Page’s timeline with a flag in the upper corner. A post will remained pinned for 7 days.
Another major change is the new Admin Panel, essentially an easy to read dashboard that includes recent notifications, new likes, basic Insights, and the ability to send private messages to fans of your Page. This Admin Panel can be toggled on and off and appears right above the Cover photo.
What used to be known as custom tabs are now called Apps. Admins of the old Facebook Pages used to be able to build custom pages and select default landing tabs to highlight a special promotion or contest and entice people to like their Page. However, admins can no longer select a default landing app. All users will arrive at the Timeline when viewing a Page. Apps do have larger thumbnails and appear right below the cover photo, but it could reduce engagement and conversion rates overall.
There is a whole lot of information on Timeline for Pages and you have 30 days to warm up to the new features. We’ve provided some additional resources so that you can get fully prepared for the coming transition:
- How to Use Facebook Timeline For Brand Pages: New Feature Details from TechCrunch.
- Timeline for Brands: How to Prepare for Your Company’s New Facebook Page from Mashable with Pics of major brands.
