phone

The new face of Facebook

March 07, 2012

New features and how to use them for your business

On March 30th, the world’s most important social media website, Facebook, will undergo a major makeover and profile pages will be known as “Timelines”. But what exactly will that do, and more importantly, if you are a business owner, how will you be able to use the new Facebook features to your advantage?

Here are a few of the permanent changes that will take hold of Facebook at the end of the month and how you will be able to use them.

The cover photo:
Probably to most striking feature of the new page, the cover photo will replace the little strip that used to be at the top of your page. The maximum image size is a surprising 850x315 pixels, which is a rather large canvas on which you can be as creative as you want. However, some restrictions apply for the cover photo. For example, you can’t include any calls to action in the image, meaning no sentences like “buy it now” or “click here” can be used. Also, you cannot list any contact information on the cover.

New posting features:
Pictures and videos can now be displayed in bigger resolutions right on your timeline page, but you need to know how to take advantage of this feature. The picture will be small or even partially cut in your original timeline post. If you want the resolution to be bigger, you will have to go on your timeline and click on the star icon that is located in the top right corner of your post. By highlighting this post, you will spread it across your page and the resolution of your pictures and videos will be much bigger than they used to be in the past. Posts can be organized in almost any way that you want. Your favorite or more important posts can be pinned to the very top of your timeline during a week. A whole list of posting features will be available on Facebook, it will be important that you take the time to explore them.

Using the timeline to tell your story:
The old Facebook “wall” wasn’t renamed the “timeline” for nothing. You can use the timeline to tell the story of your business in way you couldn’t do in the old Facebook. By clicking on the line that splits your timeline in half, you can activate the milestone feature that will allow you to write about an important event like the foundation of your business or when you sold your very first item online. The posts made by your fans will now be located in an area apart from your timeline; therefore, it’s important to use the timeline as creatively as possible.

This is just a small percentage of how you will be able to use the new Facebook to your advantage when it goes live around the world on March 30th. If you are still not convinced as to the why you should own a Facebook business page, you might want to consider the following arguments:

  • It’s free; you don’t need to pay to maintain it online like you would have to for a traditional website.
  • You can have a limitless number of fans to interact with.
  • You can engage and talk directly to your audience, sell them products or give them offers in the new “classifieds” feature.
  • Facebook boosts SEO, it’s the second most popular site, right after Google and some Facebook posts appear in the Google search results.
  • You can use the apps to customize your fans experiences on your page
  • You can post photos and videos.

If you are still confused by all the features that will be made available to you, you can always seek help from a company who specialises in social media. Adeo Internet Marketing is a Montreal Web Design Company with a social media team that will help you design your timeline page and teach you how to use it to your business’s advantage. For a free consultation, contact Adeo today.

http://www.livestream.com/fbmarketingtalks/video?clipId=pla_0f36e229-5d94-4c5f-b72b-f00a4eef7b4b


Follow us on Facebook!