A Guide to Facebook Timeline:
What will this guide do?
This guide will help you make sense of Facebook Timeline for Brands. It will explain the new features and outline how to use them.
Who is it for?
Anyone who runs a Facebook Business Page, from marketers to SME owners - it’s vital that we all understand the power of Facebook’s new Timeline Platform and how it can help us reach our customers.
Why is it important?
The rise of visual storytelling as a means of spreading a marketing message has been immense. Image-based platforms like, pinterest, instagram and slideshare have already made a strong statement about how visual content can impact business results. Images are some of the most popular pieces of content shared by brands on Facebook and can help reach the masses spreading your brand message to a much wider audience.
3. Facebook Timeline Guide
What it will do?
This guide will help you make sense of Facebook Timeline for Brands. It will
explain the new features and outline how to use them.
Who is it for?
Anyone who runs a Facebook Business Page, from marketers to SME owners -
it’s vital that we all understand the power of Facebook’s new Timeline Platform
and how it can help us reach our customers.
Why is it important?
The rise of visual storytelling as a means of spreading a marketing message
has been immense. Image-based platforms like, pinterest, instagram and
slideshare have already made a strong statement about how visual content
can impact business results. Images are some of the most popular pieces of
content shared by brands on Facebook and can help reach the masses
spreading your brand message to a much wider audience.
Thursday 26 April 2012
4. What can I do with Timeline
Brand your Page
Add a unique cover photo and showcase your most
important news on your Page timeline.
Highlight what matters
Pin a new post to the top of your Page each week so people
notice what's important.
Manage everything in one place
See and respond to your recent activity and private
messages right from the top of your Page.
Thursday 26 April 2012
5. Key Points
Key points to note:
๏ Pinned posts keep important stories at the top of a timeline
page for up to seven days.
๏ The new administration panel makes it easy for page
administrators to track their performance and to respond to
private messages from people.
๏ Larger stories, milestones, and page timeline. The new page
design allows page owners to tell richer stories through
bigger photos and milestones that can include a date and
other content
Sources: Facebook, All Facebook and Engage Sciences.
Thursday 26 April 2012
6. 6 Things you have to
know about Timeline
Thursday 26 April 2012
7. 1 Set your Cover Photo
Cover photos offer a great
opportunity for brands to
visually tell their story via a 851
x 315px Cover Photo right at
the top of your page. You can
change your cover photo
regularly based on your current
campaigns or brand
positioning. Choose an image
Cover Photo
that represents your brand well
851 x 315 pixels
and grabs attention!
Restrictions - Cover Photos may not feature:
x Price/purchase information, e.g. “40% off” x References to features, e.g. ‘Like’ or ‘Share’
x Contact information, e.g. web address, email etc. x Calls to action, e.g.: “Get it now”
Thursday 26 April 2012
8. 2 Set your Profile Picture
The page avatar (180x180 px) should still feature your
brand logo (scales to 30 x 30 px)
Page Avatar
180 x 180 pixels
Thursday 26 April 2012
9. Tabs The Location of App Tabs: Apps are now featured below
3 the Cover Photo to the right hand side. This is how your former
‘tabs’ on the left hand side of your page are now being displayed.
Location of
apps/tabs
111×74 pixels
๏ Brands have three much larger opportunities to promote featured custom apps.
๏ App images are now 111×74 pixels instead of the 16×16 pixel icons used previously used. It
is important to run FEATURE apps. NEW users will be able to better find apps via the app
menu, while current fans will still find custom apps through the newsfeed, friend invites,
and other custom links such as via email.
๏ This is where your old fan gate or landing page application will now live, making it
obsolete as a way of converting new visitors into fans because it won’t be the first thing
that’s seen when you land on a timeline. There’s no longer an option in the admin settings
to select a landing page, your timeline is your permanent landing page. The cover photo
will have to serve as a fan gate somewhat, to the extent that the site’s rules allow. You can
still put a real fan gate on your other applications and content. Encourage users to like
your timeline before they can access the sought apps or content. We highly
recommend this.
Thursday 26 April 2012
10. 4 810px Wide Apps
App landing pages are now 810px
wide, giving you more freedom
with design for your custom apps.
๏ Facebook has also embedded a link
back to a page’s Timeline in the top
left corner of the app.
๏ Like Gates remain an extremely
important feature on custom apps
to drive new likes and acquire new
fans.
๏ The 810px wide app page replaces
the former steps of using the 520px
tab view of campaigns, and the
960px wide canvas view of
App Width
810 pixels wide
campaigns.
Thursday 26 April 2012
11. 5 Control over what a fan sees on
your timeline
Highlighted and Pinned posts gives brands even more flexibility to promote custom
apps. The below shows how Tiffany have ‘Pinned’ a post to the top left of their
timeline promoting a story, the same can be done to promote a new custom app.
๏ Timeline effectively replaces the ‘Wall’ but gives fans much more control over how posts
are visually presented, and also which posts you want to promote to fans.
๏ Feature only the best updates/apps on your timeline. You can ‘hide’ minor posts or
negative fan comments, delete posts, ‘Pin’ important posts to the top of your Timeline.
๏ Pinned posts: Pin favourite or feature posts to the top left of Timeline for 7 days at a time.
Perfect for promoting your custom apps.
๏ Highlight posts: Highlight posts in a double width feature on Timeline. This is another great
opportunity to promote custom apps or positive fan posts and endorsements.
Thursday 26 April 2012
12. 6 Messaging for Timeline a lot more
visually focussed:
There is now less emphasis on a text based wall, with brands instead
choosing much larger visual based posts to highlight on Timeline.
Posts images can be full or half
width. This allows you to promote
your feature apps in a much more
effective fashion on Timeline.
Brands can create full width
843 x 403 pixels ‘Highlighted Posts’.
Thursday 26 April 2012
13. Tell a story...
Timeline allows brands to graphically tell the
story of their brand, from inception, through all
the important milestones. This creates a more
human side to a corporate entity and can
engage and endear the user.
Thursday 26 April 2012
14. Tell the story a story...
Tell of your company
Thursday 26 April 2012
15. Tell the story a story...
Tell of your company
Thursday 26 April 2012
17. Summary
๏ Choose a beautiful cover photo
๏ Feature your most important apps
๏ Adapt your designs to the wider 810px App landing
page
๏ Pin or Highlight the post you want to drive the most
traffic to (your custom apps)
๏ Start composing your brand story on Timeline with
Milestone stories
๏ Get ready to manage incoming one to one messages
from your fans
Sources: Facebook, All Facebook and Engage Sciences.
Thursday 26 April 2012
18. thank you!
Zara Sheerin | Managing Director | Mint Digital
m.. +353 86 84 77 512 | e.. zara@mintdigital.ie | l. www.linkedin.com/in/zarasheerin
Thursday 26 April 2012