Take Advantage of Facebook Timeline

It’s been over a year and a half since Facebook launched Timeline, changing the way we experience the number one social network in the world. But are you using its features to their full potential?

Photos

Marketing studies have shown that photos get the most engagement on Facebook. And the biggest photo on your Timeline is your cover photo, with dimensions of 851×315 pixels and no larger than 1KB. Use the opportunity to make an impression. Have fun with it and make it unique. Be creative! You might want to change it seasonally or include your tagline. However, make sure your final choice abides by Facebook’s guidelines.

Don’t forget to include photos in your content strategy. Posted photos get more likes than any other type of post and can be much more compelling than blocks of text. Even better, Timeline has a highlight feature that’s completely free. This feature expands the selected story to widescreen, making it larger and more prominent on your Timeline. You can highlight any kind of story on your Timeline (status, link), but it’s most effective with photos.

Apps

Apps allow you to customize your Facebook page and enhance the user’s experience beyond the Timeline. Below the cover photo are navigation buttons that link to Facebook application tabs. These tab buttons can be customized with graphics (111×74 pixels) and link through to custom pages on your Facebook Brand page. For example, below you can see how Rock Sake uses its app boxes and implements custom graphics. They include photos, a welcome tab, a cocktails tab and a link to their Twitter. If you click on the arrow next to the number 2, you can expand the view to see even more apps.

The app boxes are also a great way to draw attention to a contest or promotion as they’re ideally located next to the About section and beneath the Like button. Think of this area as “above the fold,” like on a newspaper. What are the first things you want people to see when they land on your page? Use your answer as a guideline in improving your page.

General Upkeep

Optimize your page so it’s as exciting, informative and helpful as possible. If your About section is incomplete, add important information such as hours of operation, address, contact information and website. Also, make sure you keep it current if anything changes. Another way of optimizing your page is setting up a vanity URL like so: http://www.facebook.com/YourBusinessNameHere. This makes your Facebook page much more memorable and easier to share. Rock Sake keeps it really simple: https://www.facebook.com/RockSake. To change your page’s username (text that appears after the backslash), go to https://www.facebook.com/username.

Keep in mind that Timeline is meant to help you tell your story. Add milestones like the founding of your company, events, launches—anything! You can even “pin” important stories so they stay at the top of your Timeline (see photo below).

Lastly, keep up with your comments. If one of your social media goals is engagement, remember that it is a two-way street. Address any questions or complaints, thank people for their comments and remember you’re having a conversation.

Timeline gives you great tools to have a strong presence on Facebook. But more importantly, you have to know how to use them. Use these guidelines, and you’ll find success on the world’s largest and most active social network in the world.

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