Facebook Fan Pages are already updated to
the new Timeline profile.
Since March 30, 2012
all Facebook Pages are
published with the new Timeline format.
To know more about
the new Facebook Timeline format and how
to use it for user profiles, see here the Facebook Timeline Complete Guide
Brand Pages will function in a similar way, as Facebook wants a more unified look and feel for
the site. Ah, and of course more add spacethey can sell :)
So, what are the
main changes for these pages that you need to look out for:
(This is my newly published Sociable and Nice Facebook Page)
1. Cover Photo
The main trademark
of the new Timeline is that big Cover Image sitting on top of your profile, and
now on top of your Facebook fan page.
This can be an opportunity to create a stronger
visual impact for your visitors.
There are some
restrictions though, as Facebook doesn’t want your cover to resemble an add,
your Brand Page Cover photo can not
contain:
- Any price or purchase information like “Free booze“
- Any contact information (e-mail, phone, website, social media links)
- Calls to action like “Buy this now“, “Get it for free“, “Go shoot yourself“
- Any references to Facebook features like “Like our Page” or any arrows or signs pointing to any similar feature, like your old custom frame (if you had one)
- Copyrighted material (of other people of course)
The same as for
profiles, the pages cover photo will have
a 851 x 315 pixels size. More details,
samples and a template to download can be found here: Facebook Timeline Cover Photo Guide
2. Profile Picture
As before you can
now add a Profile Picture for your Facebook Page. The new size is 180 x 180 pixels but also take into
consideration that the thumbnail size will be 32
x 32 pixels.
3. Photos, Likes and Applications
Right under the cover image you can now find a series of boxes with the photos,
likes to your page and the installed Facebook applications. One of the main features
of the old page layout was the custom landing
tab. That used to be the first thing a visitor would have seen on your
page.
Sadly now this
feature has been removed. The old tab can
be found in the application boxes but the only way to direct visitors to it is
trough a post on your page timeline.
A higher importance
is now given to the thumbnail image of the installed applications as you may see on the bottom of the screen shot.
The good thing here
is that you may change these thumbnails with a picture
of your choice. To do that, go to the
administration section of the page, choose “Apps”
-> “Edit Settings” -> next to “Custom Tab Image” click on “Change“. The dimensions of these images are 111 x 74 pixels.
As you may see here,
my old “Sociable and Nice” custom
tab is under the top right logo.
You can also order
the applications as you see fit,
displaying your most important ones
first.
4. Messages
This is a complete new feature and one that was requested by a lot of people. Exactly on top of
the applications box there is a “Message”
button. Now the visitors may contact the
page admins by sending them a private message.
But if you don’t
want to be contacted by your fans, you can choose to disable this feature, go
to the Administration Panel, select “Manage” -> “Edit
Page” -> “Manage Permissions”
and than uncheck the field “Messages“.
5.
Pin you favourite post
Another new feature
that will allow you to pin (anchor) a
selected story to the top of your page timeline for as long as 7 days. This will allow you to highlight specific content for a higher
visibility.
A suggestion would
be to use this functionality to link to one of those custom tabs you might have.
6. Admin panel
A new administration panel appears now at the top of
the Facebook Pages that you manage. This
is a big improvement on the old admin features and it helps you handle thing
faster and more efficiently.
Also here you can
find several Help Center items including
another long desired and requested
feature, “Change Your Fan Page
Name“. All you have to do is go to this link.
7. Activity Log
In kinda the same
way you do with profiles, you can also
use the Activity Log to
better manage your posts. You can reach it by going to the administration
section, then click on “Manage” -> “Use Activity Log“.
Make sure you edit
your Timeline right and allow only the
posts that you want your visitors to see.
8. Activating Facebook Timeline for Brand Pages
Go to any of the pages you admin
and you will see a warning and a preview button:
Or you can go to the
official Facebook Pages section and click on the “Preview Your Pages” button.
An official pdf guide can be found here: Facebook Pages Product Guide
Some of the big brands have already started to publish
their new timeline pages:
Coca Cola:
Starbucks:
Coldplay:
Source: http://www.vectorash.ro/facebook-timeline-brand-pages/
Here is a short Youtube Video outlining the features of a Timeline Fan Page
Posted in: 
