The snazzy Timeline layout has been available for personal FaceBook pages for a while. Today, FaceBook announced the roll out of Timeline for your business page. These won't go live until March 30th so you have some time to get prepared. You also have an option to publish Timeline now if you choose.
This is a great opportunity to have a stunning banner on your business page. Get creative, have some fun, and put something together that defines your brand.
Here is an article regarding the rollout details from PCMag.com.
First order of business is to brainstorm some Cover Photos to use on your business page. This is prime real estate to grab attention and really communicate what you and your brand are about.
AG Beat had a great article that was inspirational and a true testament to how creative you can get.
Here are a couple free tools on the web that offer templates to make your Timeline Cover Page creation a breeze...
Timeline Cover Banner This resource has several clean, simple backgrounds to choose from. You can also use a blank template to build your own with your pictures. Very quick and easy.
Cover Photo Magic This one seems to have the most design flexibility. You can really get creative with their templates.
Cover Canvas This couldn't be easier. It just pulls from photos that you already have loaded onto your page. You can hit remix until you love it.
Cover Junction - Several standard templates to choose from and you can search by category. Not very original but good for some high quality images.
J4 - FaceBook Ap for Timeline Covers - This one has a lot of annoying pop up ads on it. The benefit I can see to this ap is the ability to customize text. There are several templates to choose from.
If you want to do something more custom in Publisher or Photo Shop that's great too. The optimum size for the cover photo is 851 pixels wide by 315 pixels high. At 300 dpi, this converts to 2.84" wide by 1.05" high.
When you're designing, keep in mind a couple guidelines that FaceBook does NOT want on your business page cover photo...
- Price or purchase information (such as 40% off or download it on our site.)
- Contact info such as web address, email, mailing address or info for the About section.
- References to user interface elements, such as Like and Share.
- Calls to action, such as “Get it Now” or “Tell Your Friends”
A few tips for a successful cover photo...
- Create several and freshen them up on a regular basis.
- Make sure the images you select align with your brand.
- Cruise through other Timeline covers for ideas and create something that is unique.
- This is prime real estate on your FaceBook page make it look good. (No, make it look great.)
There will be some other changes that go along with this aside from the cover photo. Carve out some time to get familiar with the new layout and functionality.
Overall, just look at it as additional branding / ad space and a way to connect with your followers.
AmeriTitle Creativity Junkie - sharing tips and ideas to help you grow your business.
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