Changes for Facebook Fan Pages

Facebook Pages has a new look.

Facebook has made changes again, and this time if effects your business page. Facebook rolled out Timeline. All business fan pages will be automatically upgraded to this new format on March 30th, 2012.

What is a Facebook Page?

Facebook pages or commonly known as Facebook Fan Pages are for businesses and organizations. Companies would make these fan pages their default landing page. The fan pages typically would direct the viewer to 'Like' their page.

Facebook Page is different from a personal profile. However, Facebook Pages are not separate Facebook accounts. They must be setup as a page on a personal account.

Are Facebook Fan Pages a thing of the past?

Perhaps. As of March 30th, you will no longer be able to setup a Fan Page as your default landing page. The default landing page will be the timeline view of your Page. Which means your cover image and timeline are public whether visitors 'like' your page or not.

So what about your old Fan Page? Well, views and apps will be easy to see below your page's cover image. Your old Fan Page could be one of the apps if your fan page is hosted on a https server.

So, what are the new features of Facebook Pages?

* Add a unique cover photo to the top of your Page/Timeline (brand your page)
* Star stories to make them bigger
* Pin posts to the top of your Page (highlight what matters)
* Add milestones to mark key events
* Arrange views and apps below your cover

Click here for an overview.

But wait, Facebook made restrictions to the cover image.

Cover images may not contain:

* Price or purchase information, such as "40% off" or "Download it at our website"
* Contact information, such as web address, email, mailing address or other information
intended for your Page's About section
* References to user interface elements, such as Like or Share, or any other Facebook site features
* Calls to action, such as "Get it now" or "Tell your friends"

What should I do?

1. Start by creating a cover image that helps promote your company. Such as, an image of a product or service.

2. Improve the icons for your Views and Apps

3. Select a profile picture. (The profile picture is a small image cropped from your left sidebar image. The Timeline gets rids of this sidebar image).

4. Promote your best posts. Two new ways is by Highlight or Pin. Highlight will expand the post to the full width of the page. Pin will make the posts appear at the top of your timeline. However, you can only pin one item at a time and it only lasts for 7 days.

5. If you need help with your Facebook timeline design or apps, J2 Tech Solutions can help.