Facebook TimeLine Setup
March 30th was the date when Facebook switched to "Timeline". While there are a lot of good new features in Timeline, in order to take advantage of them you must make changes to incorporate them into your Facebook marketing strategy.
If you haven’t done so already, there are 7 areas that retailers should update now. I will start with the first 2 today.
Check Your Profile Picture
Your profile picture is the image that appears in the lower left area of the new Page header. This image is probably the most important one on the Page because it is the thumbnail image that appears in everyone’s news feed. Make this image something that most of your customers and prospects will quickly and clearly identify with your business. For most retail stores, a logo or a picture of your store works best.
Upload a Cover Image
This is the large image that will appear at the top of your page. It seems like this is the most daunting part of setting up the page for many people. But remember, this image will only be seen by those actually going to your page. It’s that profile image I described above that people will see the most often.
Don’t dismiss the cover image though. It is still very valuable in marketing your store.
One Very Important Caveat: Make sure you follow Facebook’s Cover Design Guidelines. This means you cannot do the following:
- Do not promote offers (20% off etc)
- Do not list product prices
- Do not give your contact information – including your WEB address
- Do not give a "call to action" such as "Tell A Friend About Us" or "Come in Today".
- Do not encourage visitors to interact with your page such as asking them to "Like Us" or "Share This"
You can either design your own cover image or you can hire someone to do it for you. There are specific size guidelines, and most photo editing software allows you to adjust your pictures at the pixel level to meet the requirements. I’ve listed some tools below that can help you create your own cover image. I could say it can be done without a lot of work, worry or expense – and it might be true. It simply depends on whether you’ve done this (or something similar) before or if you’re a "newbie".
TOOLS:
Pic Scatter – Can be used to create collage covers.
Timeline Cover Banner – Great for uploading pictures from your computer, editing and adding text.
FaceItPages – Choose from included background templates or upload your own background images.
CoverCanvas – Create photo collages, a text based illustration of your Store name, or a combination of both.
J4 Timeline Covers – This app works from inside Facebook and lets you create collage covers from your Facebook Photo Albums.
Tomorrow, I’ll cover the additional 5 areas that should be addressed first.
Talk to you soon. ~Norma