Are you trying to figure out what to do with that new “timeline” layout that’s taken over your Facebook page?

Never fear! Here are 5 easy actions you can take to leverage the new features we’ve been given by the Facebook overlords.

1. Use a Great Cover Photo

Make your cover photo attention grabbing and interesting. Consider changing it occassionally to keep it fresh.

Just touch the image with your mouse and a “Change Cover” option will show up in the bottom right corner.  Click that and choose your new image.  Dimensions are 851px by 315px.

What can you do with it?

Share photos of yourself/your business:

• products or portfolio shots

• speaking on stage

• working in your office

• with a client or group of clients

• with a coach or your mastermind group

• out networking or attending live events

Use a custom image collage or custom image:

• you can create one yourself with a tool like http://pixlr.com

• use a collage of your fans created with http://myfbcover.com/apps/texteffects/ (scroll down on the page to see it)

• find a talented graphics designer or virtual assistant to create one for you

2. Fill in Your “About” Box

If your page isn’t connected to a place, you’ve got about 165 characters here and if you put in a URL with http:// or www. at the beginning it will show as a live clickable link.

Tips:

• Keep it short and simple

• Don’t use a bunch of buzz words or industry jargon

• You CAN use a call to action in this box (such as “like my page to…”)

If your page is connected to a place, you won’t get to customize this space. It will automatically show your address and contact info. Just make sure it’s accurate and up to date.

3. Take Advantage of the Featured Boxes/Tabs

Instead of “tabs” we’ve now got boxes. Only four will be featured on your page but you can see all the boxes on any page by clicking the small arrow on the right:

Change the box positions to feature the ones you want noticed.  If you have a great custom tab promoting a free opt-in gift, upcoming event, or sale you may want to feature it.  You may also want to make some boxes not show up when someone first lands on your page (for example, if you’ve only got a few fans, you can hide the “like” box while you grow your numbers).

Just mouseover the box you want to move and an editing pencil icon will appear.  Click that then click to swap it with the box of your choice.

4. Star & Feature Your Best Credibility Builders

With the two column layout of our pages, we can now “feature” some posts to make them show up as one column, stretching across the page.

Just touch your mouse over the status update, and you’ll see a star and editing pencil icon appear in the top right corner.  Click the star icon to feature it.

5. “Pin” a Welcome or Offer on Top of Your Page

You can “pin” the status update of your choice to the top of your page for up to 7 days.  You could use this to share a short welcome message or feature an upcoming event.

And there you go!  5 ways to get more out of your new Facebook timeline.

Got more time?  Check out the “Milestone” feature and add important events in your company history — awards, honors, etc.

What do you think of the new timeline?  Love it?  Hate it?  Still deciding?

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 13th, 2012 at 10:30 am and is filed under Internet Marketing, Marketing Essentials. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.