On June 6, Facebook business pages will have gotten a makeover.
Again.
Why are they changing things just when you got used to them? That’s what you’ll learn in this week’s post: the good, the bad, and the ugly that Facebook won’t tell you.
Why is Facebook Changing the Timeline for Business Pages?
There are two major reasons why Facebook has chosen to make these particular changes:
- We are a multi-device society, going from mobile phone to tablet to laptop to desktop. After extensive user testing, Facebook realized its users would login on one device, but continue their session on another. They want to provide a consistent user experience across devices.
- Engagement on mobile devices is significantly higher than any other device, so Facebook decided to make the user experience across all devices as similar to mobile as possible: a one-column NewsFeed and Timeline.
Both reasons are great for business: a consistent user experience across devices, as well as from your personal profile to your business page, and more engagement.
All good news, right?
Almost.
Facebook announced only the changes they wanted you to know about. Here at Socialmediaonlineclasses.com we’ve transitioned to the new layout, and we’ll tell you everything:
New business page Timeline layout for Facebook 2014
1. Page Name & Category in White Text on Timeline Cover
Good: Nice free marketing for your business & what it does.
Bad: The text is white, so if you have a white Timeline cover, you’ll need to either change it to a dark background or put a dark strip along the bottom so the text shows up.
2. Custom Tabs Renamed Apps; Moved to More Menu & Sidebar
Good: Gives pages a streamlined look, consistent with personal profiles & mobile. You do get one custom tab in your Timeline menu.
Bad: Custom tabs were at the heart of many a brand’s marketing strategy. Facebook renamed them apps and moved them to a far less visible location.
Visitors won’t know you have custom tabs unless they click on More. From my experience in click-tracking and heat mapping, few people visiting your Timeline will click on More.
Solution? Make that single custom tab (now called an App) count. Offer a freebie in exchange for visitor’s email addresses. Also make an offer directly on your Timeline cover that does the same. You can see in our Timeline cover we offer a free class (and also on that first custom tab). We make it almost impossible to miss.
3. One Column Timeline Feed
Good: It’s all good! The double column timeline feed for posts was confusing and clunky. This is similar to Facebook’s mobile news feed, which has the HIGHEST engagement of any device. That’s good news for brands.
Bad: No more highlighting a post so it takes up a double column. Not a big deal in my opinion. Few brands took advantage of this due to complex image sizes.
4. Fan Count is Front & Center
Good: Your fan count is now one of the first thing visitors see to your Timeline. IT MATTERS. The more fans you have, the more credible you appear to visitors. Work on getting a targeted fan base using FB101 Lesson 13.
Bad: This replaces the About section, which Facebook moved to the bottom left of your Timeline. This was an easy, above-the-fold place to put a hyperlink to your website. It’s now gone.
Solution? Every two weeks, do a post that is a description of your brand and a hyperlink to your website. Post it to the top of your Timeline.
5. About Section Moved to Sidebar
Good: All brand info will be on the left column of your Timeline, making it easy for visitors to learn about your business at a glance.
Bad: The new location is one of the least visible places on a webpage. Do something to make it stand out, like using special characters (available under your browser’s Edit>>Special Characters menu.
6. Say Goodbye to the Admin Panel
Good: Makes the business page layout consistent with personal profiles and mobile devices. Admin panels don’t exist on those.
Bad: The Admin panel was a great one-glance dashboard of how your page was doing. You can still get to that information, but it’s now spread apart under the Admin menu:
Admin panel replaced by new Admin menu
It’s actually a great menu – easier to use than the Admin panel – but will take some time to get used to.
- Page takes you directly to your business page Timeline. Previously there was no simple way to do this.
- Activity displays the latest fan engagement on your page.
- Insights provide essential analytics for your page.
- Settings allows you to manage the Admin roles, what’s displayed on your page, permissions, and anything else you can think of. If you can’t do it anywhere else, look here.
Socialmediaonlineclasses.com Facebook Changes Checklist
We’re keeping you informed about ALL of Facebook’s changes to business pages, and how to execute the best solutions. We offer how-to lessons on how to make these changes to your Facebook business page Timeline.
Members also get a one-page checklist to make it easy to keep track of the changes and solutions you need to implement.
What do you think of the new business page layout? Do you think it will increase engagement for your brand?
Leave a comment and let us know what you think!
