Facebook has changed the look of personal and business pages with their new Timeline design. Features include: a large cover photo, the ability to pin and favorite posts, a new admin panel and private messaging abilities. What do all these changes mean for you as a Facebook business page owner?
Unique Cover Photos
Many people are talking about the new cover photo at the top of your Facebook business page. Your Facebook cover image needs to be at least 399 pixels wide. The standard image size for the new cover photo is 850×320. This image is used for branding purposes to explain what your Facebook page is all about. It should not contain discounts, calls to action, contact information or advertisements. Inserting these elements into your cover image is a violation of Facebook’s terms of service.
Pin Posts
Many Facebook business page owners have specific status updates and content that they consider the most important. Before the Timeline change, you would have to repost information to keep it at the top of your feed. Facebook now offers the ability to “pin” important status updates to the top of your page so those who visit your page will be more likely to see it. You can also “favorite” status updates by clicking on the star icon next to the update. It will increase the width of the update to full-screen size.
Admin Panel
Facebook has moved the admin panel to the top of the Facebook business page. You are able to view it when you are logged in to your Facebook account. You can now see all your metrics, notifications, new likes, messages, page tips and insights at the top of your page.
Private Messages
Fans can now message business page owner(s) in private messages. Fans with customer service complaints, personal messages and questions can now message you in private. However, you cannot send a message to a fan unless they have messaged you first.
No Default Landing Pages
The downside to the new Facebook changes is you no longer have the ability to designate a default landing page for new fans to see when they visit for the first time. Your cover photo is intended to replace the landing page. However, you can continue to use apps as landing pages when sending traffic to your Facebook page from an ad or website.
