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Beth Kanter is a consultant, author, influencer. virtual trainer & nonprofit innovator in digital transformation & workplace wellbeing.

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Facebook Brand Pages: How To Be Ready

February 27, 2012 Filed Under: Digital Strategy

Source: Mari Smith

Two weeks ago, social media blogs were buzzing with the news that Facebook would unveil the long anticipated new format for Facebook brand pages that would include the timeline and cover image.    Mari Smith, in this informative post,  gave us a sneak peek at what it might look like for a big brand like Coke.    According to Mari, there have been rumors that the new format will be shared at the Facebook Marketing Conference on February 29th in NYC.   Tomorrow’s  event is invite only, but it will be live streamed  here.
The best thing to do is not to freak out,  I would add that you shouldn’t worry about being the first because according to Mari’s post, they plan to roll it out with a small group of brands and then a fuller roll out.   And also, it is still a rumor at this stage.   And as Mari mentions on a comment on a thread on her page:

“We truly never know with Facebook… it could be a slow rollout like personal Timelines (though speculation is that was primarily due to the timelines.com lawsuit)… or it could be a sudden BAM, everyone is upgraded, have at it!!! “

If Facebook does decide to flip a switch faster than expected and your nonprofit isn’t the first to add a cover image,  will that spell disaster instead of success?    Fast implementation is less important than being effective and strategic – so stay calm.   But, don’t go into denial either, these resources, that I found through Mari Smith’s Facebook Page will help you and your team come up with a plan.
Here they are:

1.   Understand how the format changes how people see your page. This eye tracking study points out what visual elements will be the best important and why.   If you work with a graphic designer, this is good information to share.  The timeline cover photo is what people notice first, so make sure it makes the impression you want – and the advice is less is more.   Mashable did a post speculating what a good cover image might look like and more here by simply zesty.    If you need a cheat sheet that gives you the dimensions, check out this one – with a word of warning.   The dimensions are for the images on the personal profiles and the old brand pages, who knows if the dimensions be the same in the new format.
2.   Understand how the format changes impacts your strategy. This post gives you some great readiness tips – for example how the changes might impact your editorial calendar and how to communicate with fans about the changes.    This is a terrific post to bring to a strategy meeting on the changes with others on your team.
3.   Understand how the format might impact your measurement strategy: If you aren’t measuring how your content is engaging and resonating with your fans as part of your content strategy decision-making, hop to it.   Here’s some tips and ideas to get you started.   For those of you who already have a measurement habit, you might notice that FB Insights data has been slow lately.    That is being fixed.  But the big news according to TechCrunch is that Insights is planning to offer “real time data” analysis.    But remember, to get the best results you need both real-time and trend data.
Are you ready for possible new changes to Facebook Brand pages?
 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Geoff Livingston says

    February 27, 2012 at 12:02 pm

    I think I’ll get freaked out when Facebook doesn’t change everything for a whole year. Now that would be scary!!!

  2. Beth says

    February 27, 2012 at 12:11 pm

    And we’d so lulled into complacency that when they did make a change or something else came along, we’d be doubled stressed ..

  3. Cindy Leonard says

    February 28, 2012 at 7:05 am

    The thing I find most worrisome about the new layout is that it requires the eye to track in such an unnatural way.
    Jakob Nielsen’s eye scan studies from years ago proved that people scan a web page in an “F” pattern. http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html
    The old Facebook Pages layout didn’t fit this model perfectly, but it is a lot closer to an “F” than this new layout, which will require the user to jump around so much. Important things are likely to get missed, so I think custom tabs and things along the top row will be more important than ever in the new layout.

  4. Luca says

    February 28, 2012 at 2:52 pm

    Soon, Facebook will be like Friendster’s CSS profile.

  5. Jay Geneske says

    February 29, 2012 at 3:50 am

    This is really interest, especially the visual tracking study. Looks like the profile photo is especially important on the (potential) new layout. I was planning on doing some custom code for a FB tab, but not I think I might hold off.

  6. Nickey Robare says

    February 29, 2012 at 8:14 am

    Overall, I like it. At the very least it makes a lot more sense for all pages to be visually in line with one another.
    Is there any word on what this will do to those horrid community pages drawing content from Wikipedia?

Trackbacks

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  2. Facebook Brand Pages: How To Be Ready | Social Media for Chambers | Scoop.it says:
    February 28, 2012 at 10:26 am

    […] background-position: 50% 0px; background-color:#222222; background-repeat : no-repeat; } http://www.bethkanter.org – Today, 10:26 […]

  3. Shedding Light on Social Media (Feb. 24 - Mar. 1) | JonLoomer.com says:
    March 2, 2012 at 5:10 am

    […] Facebook Brand Pages: How To Be Ready – Beth Kanter Description: No surprise that Beth is on top of these changes before they even happen, complete with helpful links to prepare you for… well, how to prepare. […]

  4. Favorite Finds Friday: Facebook Edition | Elaina Buzzell says:
    March 2, 2012 at 9:47 am

    […] Facebook Brand Pages: How To Be Ready by Beth Kanter. Beth rolls out lots of advice and tips surrounding the rollout of pages, and how managers can start to work ahead. […]

  5. 7 Tips and Cheat Sheets to Help You Implement the New Timeline | eJewish Philanthropy: Your Jewish Philanthropy Resource says:
    March 31, 2012 at 9:38 pm

    […] how the changes impact your editorial strategy and how you will administrator the page. I shared a couple of resources and tips that you can use to have a brief strategy discussion with your team. After you have identified how […]

  6. 7 tips & cheat sheets to help you implement the new Timeline says:
    April 2, 2012 at 5:21 am

    […] how the changes impact your editorial strategy and how you will administrator the page. I shared a couple of resources and tips that you can use to have a brief strategy discussion with your team. After you have identified how […]

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