Five Things I Like about Timeline for Business Pages

At first, when Facebook upgraded all of our business pages to the Timeline style, it made my head hurt. I thought I preferred the linear, chronological layout of the pre-Timeline style.

I must admit though: Timeline style has grown on me. If you include a variety of media on your page – status updates, questions, images, shares, blog posts, video, etc – your page can look really dynamic and inviting to visitors.

Once I updated my own page to the new style I was happy to discover (at least) Five Things I Like about Timeline for Business Pages:

• Cover Photo. You no longer need to create a vertical style banner to match your Facebook business page with your website. You can use a resized version of your website’s banner as your page’s cover photo, or another great picture related to your business’ brand.
  • For health coaches, your page will look great with a beautiful shot of fresh, healthy food, or a custom collage of images related to your brand.
  • In addition to your cover photo, you can still have a profile picture. Use a picture of yourself. Using your smiling face in your marketing is essential for a successful health coaching business.
  • There are some rules to be aware of regarding cover photos for Facebook business pages. For example, you may not include a website address. You wouldn’t want to have your account suspended for a simple mistake. Read the rules here.
• Pinned Posts. You can choose to pin any of your posts to the top-left of your page. It will have an orange bookmark icon and will remain there for 7 days. After 7 days, the post will return to its related date in the timeline.
  • You may want to pin a post about a special offer you shared, or an upcoming event you’re presenting. This will keep it at the top of the page, above other posts.
  • To pin a post: hover over any of your published posts, click the pencil icon to edit and choose Pin to Top.
• Highlighted Posts. If you’ve got a post you’d really like your readers to see, highlight it.
  • A highlighted post will expand to widescreen, helping it stand out. Having some widescreen posts will also help break up the page, and keep things visually interesting.
  • Unlike a pinned post, a highlighted post will remain so unless you un-highlight it later.
  • You may want to highlight a post with a link to a particularly popular and relevant blog post that links to your website. If you get a media mention or other exciting news, highlight it.
  • To highlight a post: hover over any of your published posts and click the star to highlight.
• Milestones. Similar to highlighted posts, when you enter a Milestone, the post will expand to widescreen. Use this to mark key moments in your business, like the launch of your new website, release of your book or new info-product.
  • When considering whether an event is a milestone, keep your tribe in mind. Would this milestone be meaningful to them? I wouldn’t consider reaching a certain number of “likes” a meaningful milestone. A new book launch – that you wrote foryour ideal clients and that you’re excited to celebrate – is definitely a milestone.
  • To mark a milestone: use the share tool at the top of your page (where you would share a regular post update) and click Milestone. Adding your update this way will mark it as a milestone and it will appear widescreen.
  • Facebook wants you to know that “At this time, January 1, 1800 is the earliest date a milestone can have.” (I think we’ll be OK!)
  • When you click the Milestone option in the update box, you’ll also see options to add an Event or ask a Question. Two more features to try out.
• Favorites/Apps. These are the square boxes that appear under your cover photo, to the right of your About. Here you can link to your Photos, your Blog, your YouTube videos, Pinterest, your newsletter opt-in tab. These are much easier to find now than on the original pages.
  • To customize your apps: many of them allow some customization. Hover over the apps area and click the down arrow that appears to the right. Click the edit pencil icon as you hover over any app, and you’ll find options to swap places, remove from favorites and more. Photos will always be first the first app box; this can’t be changed.
  • You can use custom graphics for some of your app boxes. Click the pencil for an app, and then “edit settings” (if this link isn’t in the list, you can’t edit that particular app). From here, click “change” next to Custom Tab Image.
  • If an app you’re using doesn’t appear automatically, like Networked Blogs for instance (my pick for syncing your blog to your FB page), go to the Networked Blogs fan page and click “Add to My Page’s Favorites” from the settings wheel icon at the top right and the app box will be on your page.

How does your Facebook business page help you build your brand on Facebook?