By Tom Litchfield | TechieDIY.

com

FACEBOOK IN 2012
850 million monthly active users 483 million daily active users 425 million monthly active users whove used Facebook mobile products Available in more than 70 languages Accounts for more than 95% of social networking time on the web

THE NEW TIMELINES LAYOUT

Introduced to Pages on Feb. 29th Grace period until March 31st All pages switch to the new Timeline layout on March 31st. Many new changes such as no default landing page, bigger custom page width, large cover image plus many more

What's New with Timelines?

Cover Image Profile Picture About Section App Display Highlight Feed Timeline Navigation Activity Feed Friend Feed Pin Posts Milestones Starred Stories Private Message Admin Panel Activity Log

1. Cover Image 2. Profile Picture 3. Timeline 4. About Section 5. Apps 6. Highlights 7. Composer 8. Pinned Post 9. Friend Activity

COVER IMAGE

COVER IMAGE RESTRICTIONS

851 x 315 pixels (min. 399 pixels wide) Make it stand out; represent your brand well NO Price or purchase info NO Contact info such as website, ph. no., address NO Like or Share references NO Calls to Action i.e Click Like, Sign up Now

GREAT COVER IMAGE EXAMPLES

PROFILE PICTURE
180 x 180 pixels gets resized to 32 x 32 pixels Follows you around Facebook and the Web Should be your logo, brand, product or spokesperson If your brand is you, use a headshot Can be creatively combined with your Cover Image

COMBINING PROFILE PICTURE & COVER IMAGE

ABOUT SECTION
155 characters long Good to include URL (start with http:// to make it clickable) If URL is too long, use shortening service (bit.ly) Should describe your company and what you do Entire box is automatically linked to your Info page

APP DISPLAY
Only 4 displayed users must click the drop down / more arrow 1st one photos, cant be changed; others can make good use of this prime real estate Thumbnail is customizable 111 x 74 pixels Choose thumbnails that encourage the user to click

HIGHLIGHT FEED
Allows users ability to choose how they interact with your page Highlights what FB deems most important Posts by Page only admins posts shown Posts by Others everyone except admins posts. Allows users to see what others are saying about your brand

TIMELINE NAVIGATION
Allows users to easily navigate your page by date Since users can now dig deeper into your pages history, make sure you prune your page Go through each date in your pages past and ask,Does this represent my company the way I want it to?

TIMELINE NAVIGATION CONTD

Statistics box appears at the end of each month Shows what / who the page has liked, how many likes the page has and how many people are talking about this i.e. engaging with your page

ACTIVITY FEED
Activity Feed is the new Wall Facebooks Edgerank algorithm decides which stories are to be displayed and which are to be hidden. Admins can change / edit any post with the little pencil icon at the top right of all posts. Admins can also disable posting for specific fans in case someone starts spamming your page

PIN POSTS
Pinning posts keeps it at the top of your activity feed for 7 days Use it for important updates, contests, announcements etc Add links and additional info in the description Pin posts by clicking pencil icon at the top right of the post

FRIEND FEED
Focuses on highlighting the users friends interaction with the page. Shows interaction from your fans friends Increases social proof Feature can be turned off in admin panel

MILESTONES
Used to highlight important dates & events Admins set the date of milestones which enter the timeline at that date Milestones hold more weight in FBs algorithm so they will appear in more fans newsfeeds Use for new store opening, new product launch, when you company was founded etc

STARRED STORIES
Similar to Milestones but not as big of an event Any post can be starred so that it stands out Stretch to fill up entire page (both sides) Dates can be changed so they appear where you want them to in your pages timeline

PRIVATE MESSAGE
Fans and non-fans can send messages to pages This feature can be turned on or off Pages can only respond not initiate a conversation Pages can only send 2 messages back for every 1 received Not to be used to sell use it to build trust and relationships with your fans

ADMIN PANEL
Appears at the top of your page Can be hidden from view Allows for quick access to stats such as notifications, likes, messages and Insights Also where you edit your page info and settings

ACTIVITY LOG
Allows admins to see page activity broken down by category Provides admins with easy access to all parts of their page

WRAP UP
Timelines become mandatory as of March 31st 2012. Default landing pages / welcome tabs do NOT exist inside the new timelines layout All apps will function as normal Custom page sizes have increased to 810 pixels wide Embrace the changes or become obsolete!
For how-to videos and other downloadable materials on Facebook Timeline, please visit TechieDIY.com Facebook Timeline Quick-start Guide and Videos