Is Your Business Ready For Facebook’s Timeline?
Assuming your business has a Facebook page, (and if it doesn’t you better get one), you need to be aware that on March 30, 2012 its page will get automatically upgraded to the new Timeline design.
Since this is happening regardless of you being ready, here is what you need to know:
Facebook provides a really nice overview of the new design at http://ads.ak.facebook.com/ads/FacebookAds/Pages_Overview.pdf
The key new element to the design of your page is the Cover Photo. This is a 851 by 315 pixel image that will visually express your business. Be sure that you design or upload a suitable image, as that is the first element that visitors will see when landing on your Facebook page.
While Facebook will now prominently display posts in chronological order, they do allow you to pin posts so that you keep an important story at the top of your page for 7 days.
After your have made the necessary adjustments so that your business page is ready for Timeline it is important to understand the implications of this new design. Since Timeline displays your posts by day and time, it is important that your business constantly has topics to post about. Keeping your page current will show the world that you have a vibrant business and that you have a story to tell. Failure to keep actively posting will imply the opposite, so having someone at your business responsible for keeping the page current is important.
If you are looking for an excellent example of a merchant using Timeline to its full potential, check out http://www.facebook.com/MagnoliaBakery. Not only is Magnolia Bakery an excellent example of a merchant using Nexternal’s eCommerce software, their Timeline is so good, that Facebook has been using them as an example for other merchants.
Craig is the VP of Sales at Nexternal and is known in the industry as an expert in eCommerce, systems integrations, and online marketing. Craig has been with Nexternal since 2000 and his passion and experience are apparent to all who work with him.
