There were many rumors floating around over the last two weeks about changes to Facebook Business pages. Last Wednesday, Facebook unveiled the newest changes that will take effect on March 30, 2012.
Cover Photo & Profile Picture
One of the most obvious changes relates to the Cover Photo. Instead of a profile picture on the left and the photo strip across the top, you now have one large cover image across the top of your page.
Red Bull added a very visually interesting image to their page. The maximum dimensions of this photo are 850 pixels by 315 pixels. There are some additional restrictions associated with this photo – primarily that you are not allowed to have any calls to action in your cover photo. The specific cover photo details are:
Cover images must be at least 399 pixels wide and may not contain:
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Price or purchase information, such as “40% off” or “Download it at our website”
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Contact information, such as web address, email, mailing address or other information intended for your Page’s About section
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References to user interface elements, such as Like or Share, or any other Facebook site features
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Calls to action, such as “Get it now” or “Tell your friends”
Due to these new restrictions, brands are going to have to alter their Facebook marketing strategy.
The profile picture size has also changed. The profile picture size is now 180 pixels by 180 pixels, removing the ability to create a large banner for your profile photo. This profile picture is the same picture that will appear next to your posts at the size of 30 pixels by 30 pixels and Facebook recommends placing your logo here.
Pinned and Starred Posts
Facebook is becoming more visual, as evidenced in the size of videos and pictures in the posts. Pictures and videos are now larger and more visible. In addition, you can highlight a story by clicking the star icon. This makes the story span the entire width of your wall, making it very easy to find.
You can also pin a story to the top of your Timeline. This keeps the story in the upper left corner of your timeline for a week. A pinned story would be a great place to highlight an event or promotion at your business. You pin a story by clicking on the pencil icon on the top right of the post.
Default Landing Tab and Applications
The largest change is the removal of the default landing tab. Many businesses use a custom application to create a default landing tab that first time visitors see. As of March 30th, the application will still work, but you can not make a certain application the default landing page. Personally, this is very disappointing, as I have used a custom Welcome page for the last few years.
The custom welcome tab will not disappear, it will just be shown in the list of applications on your page. Your page can showcase 12 applications; however only four applications will show in the top row of your timeline. If your page has a large number of applications, you may want to move them around to change their order and thus which applications are showcased. Please note: Your Photos will always appear in the first position, so you really only have three more spaces to assign apps to.
The new app buttons do provide for some creative customization of your page. Although the default landing tab will be disappearing, you can customize your apps with custom photos and get creative on what apps you will use to engage with your visitors. Personally, I will be finding a way to include a “Welcome” app in one of those first four slots. Brands could also potentially use these apps to engage customers with a coupon or other call to action.
Company Milestones
You can add events to your Timeline to make it more interesting. One particular event you will want to add is Milestones. This allows you to add big events that have occurred in your company, such as when you opened your doors, the launch of a new product, or achieving a specific award.
To add a Milestone, simply click on the line that runs through the middle of your Timeline and select “Milestone”. Fill out the information and you are done! Be sure to add photos to visually engage your visitors.
Facebook Offers
Facebook will soon be rolling out their “Facebook Offers”. This replaces Facebook Deals and is supposed to be a much more robust system.
Posts from Facebook Offers will be sent through the news feed of your fans, making your offer more visible. Fans can share the offer with others as well. Once a fan clicks on the offer, Facebook emails the offer to the fan directly.
Admin Changes
There is now a new Admin Interface, where you have access to your Insights, as well as the new messaging system. Fans can send direct, private messages to the Admins of a page. This message feature can be turned on or off in the “Manage Permissions” area of the Admin Dashboard. If you do leave the capability on, be sure you have someone available to manage these messages on a daily basis.
So what do you think? There are a lot of changes included here, as well as some additional ones that will appear in another post. Leave a comment below regarding what you think about the changes. Questions? Leave those in the comment box as well.