The Facebook Timeline
At the end of March, Facebook officially rolled out Timeline for Brand Pages which allows brands to take full advantage of the new opportunities that Facebook has to offer. Many Northern Colorado companies still may not know how to use all the new features that timeline has to offer. If you follow these five steps, you will be sure to see a boost in consumer engagement and better sales.
1. Embrace Images
Timeline is much more image-focused than the old Facebook layout, so start taking pictures. No need for a fancy camera, it’s probably easier just to use their smartphones. Take this opportunity to show your fans what goes on behind the scenes, teasers of new products, or mouth-watering images of the food your business might serve. This will give a more human side to your Facebook business page.
2. Make the Most of your Cover Photo
This is prime real estate in the Facebook timeline world. It can capture the culture and mission of a brand while also featuring their products. It is the first thing people will see when they visit your brand’s Facebook page. This is your chance to make a strong first impression. Note: Make sure NOT to advertise anything in your cover photo. This is against Facebook’s rules!
3. Pay Attention to Insights
Facebook does all the work for you to see who your new fans are, and it breaks them down by gender and location to see who is looking at your brand’s page. In the insights dashboard, you will see People Talking About This, which is the total number of people that engaged on our page whether they “liked” something, commented, shared etc. You will also see Friends of Fans, which is the total number of friends all your fans have, and who it is reaching. You will also see Reach and Virality which is the total number of people who have seen content from your page and the percentage of those who liked, commented or shared.
4. Highlight or Pin your Best Posts
Facebook is no longer simply chronological. You can draw more attention to a single post by “highlighting” it. By doing so, this displays your update across the width of the page which gives more weight to important news pertaining to your local business. You can also choose the “Pin to Top” option, which will become the first item in your timeline for a week. This helps cut through the clutter and ensure that your fans see all your best posts.
5. Get Your Apps in a Row
Apps get more visibility than everything below them. The “apps” feature gives you 3,000 options that include photos, videos, events, links to Twitter, Pinterest and campaigns or promotions in your business.
If you follow these five steps, you can be assured that your business will be best utilizing the new Facebook Timeline and giving more visibility to your company!
