Blogging 101: NEW Facebook Fan Pages – Cover Photos, Admin Panel, Etc.!

Throughout the week, Facebook is beginning to rollout the new Facebook Page layout. Simply load your Page and click on the top announcement to "preview your page".  

Facebook groups took on some of these changes nearly a week ago. Group administrators can now add a Cover photo, which everyone should now be familiar with on their profile pages. This segment is called Blogging 101, but this information is significant for anyone administering a Facebook fan page. If you are a blogger – you should have a Facebook fan page.

There are a few other new features that we will discuss, so let’s get started! Facebook will be rolling out the brand new fan pages on March 30, 2012. Although this may seem like a lifetime away, it is literally just one month away from us! Facebook announced their new Facebook Pages in late February, which administrators can "turn on" by clicking the GREEN button to "preview" their page. All Facebook Pages will be automatically upgrades on March 30, 2012. 

COVER PHOTO

This is the most significant change to the Facebook Page. Since this is the largest and likely the first thing to catch your visitors attention, you should select an image that is unique and representative of your blog, website, or company. Companies may select their most popular sale item; Musicians may elect to use their recent album artwork; Artists may decide to use their favorite piece of artwork. Experiment with your images and see which one suits the mission of YOUR Facebook Page the best!

Your Cover images must be at least 399 pixels wide. The best size dimensions in my own experience have been 851×315, which is the suggested Cover photo size from Facebook. Images will be stretched if they are smaller than these dimensions, which will result in a pixelated and messy image. It is better to upload a larger image than smaller. Going bigger doesn’t work well, but downsizing does not deform images as works perfectly to keep your image as you intended them to appear. 

Facebook Cover photo’s should NOT contain the following:

• Price or purchase information, such as "40% off" or "Download it at our website"
• Contact information, such as web address, email, mailing address or other information intended for your Page’s About section
• References to user interface elements, such as Like or Share, or any other Facebook site features
• Calls to action, such as "Get it now" or "Tell your friends"

Keep in mind that these Cover image policies are Facebook enforced. Ensure your image does not break any of these rules and start uploading! However, it is important to remember that your Cover image IS public. Everyone visiting your Page will be able to see the image you have selected. Do not lie, mislead, infringe on third parties’ intellectual property, or use deceptive images. Use an image that your current fans will love, but don’t steer away any future visitors. 

Do NOT incentivize people to use your image on their own personal timeline! This is against Facebook policy. Use an image that will ONLY be used and applicable on your Facebook Page. Do not encourage your Facebook fans to use the cover photo on their timeline, or save it onto THEIR Cover photo. This is YOUR Facebook Page; Keep it unique and one of a kind!

START THE TOUR

Once you decide to apply the Facebook Page upgrade, you can take a tour of the changes by clicking on the green "Start Tour" button. This is a good idea and I would recommend taking a few minutes to see what Facebook has in store for your page. Familiarizing yourself with the new features and upgrades will help you in the future!

During the tour, I was reminded by Facebook to consider the size of my Page profile picture. The profile picture is still very significant since it will remain as the image seen by your friends and fans in things like the news feed, messages, and comments that you leave. Profile pictures should be square images and at least 180 pixels wide.

The next stop on the tour is your Highlights, which will appear directly below the Cover page and profile picture. Choose to highlight things that are important. Photos will always appear in the first spot, but you decide what follows. Pick out things that matter most to your fans. Things like apps, likes, and notes can now appear along the top of your Page. These are all of those links that used to run down the lefthand side below your profile picture. 

You can only highlight 12 different apps, so be sure to put the most important ones first! You can rearrange the order, but choose the BEST apps to go in the front of the line!

The next step is to REVIEW your timeline and changes. Does everything look good? Are you happy with the appearance? You can hover over each of your timeline stories and updates to make changes. Click on the STAR to make the story wider, or use the PENCIL icon to pin it to the top of your page! You can also hide or delete the status/story entirely! 

What should you make wider? Choose a story that is BREAKING NEWS, or anything you want to stand out above the rest. There are two columns in the new Facebook Timeline appearance, so making a story "wider" will have it appear to stretch through both of the columns as opposed to just one of the Timeline columns.

*NEW* MESSAGES!

This is byfar one of my favorite new features to Facebook Pages. Administrators can now receive MESSAGES from Fans! This is a feature that I have wondered about for sometime now, which boggled my mind as to why it was not available. Many Facebook Page admins create Pages, but do not want their personal profile to face interference, or involvement. 

Fans can now contact Facebook Page administrators privately through messages! You will receive notifications about new messages on the righthand corner of the top of your Page dashboard – in the NEW Admin Panel!

ADMIN PANEL

The Admin Panel is where you will be able to control, manage, and administrate your fans! Your notifications, new "Likes", and Page insights can all be found in one place. 

{My Fan names and profile pictures have been removed to protect their privacy, but you will see the names alongside the lefthand side as your Fans like your posts or write on your Wall!}

Use the "Manage" drop down tab to make changes to your Facebook Page, check the Activity Log, ban users, or "view" Facebook as your "Page" instead of your personal profile. 

You will want to utilize the functions in the "Build Audience" tab as often as possible. This tab is going to help you invite friends, share your page, or create an advertisement!

Although these changes will not be automatically upgraded onto your Facebook page until March 30th, I would recommend taking the plunge NOW. Spend just a few minutes creating or selecting the best image for your Page and upload a Cover photo today. Putting it off may result in forgetfulness, which could lead to a BLANK space once the automatic upgrade happens next month. 

Still have questions? Read the official introduction to the NEW Facebook Fan Pages, or browse through the Facebook Pages HELP documents.

Blogging 101 tips and tricks here at MamaNYC expand far beyond Facebook Fan Pages. Check out all of the blogging tips, which include tips on how to blog faster and finding blog post inspiration!