Facebook Timeline for Brands is one of Facebook’s newest changes this spring. Its new features give brands an opportunity to tell a more engaging and authentic story. We wanted to help you get a grasp on it so we provided a checklist below to help you make sure you are using the new timeline as effectively as possible. Give the new timeline a try and let us know what you think of the changes.

1. Cover Photos

The cover photo you use on your Facebook timeline is very important. You can think of it as your customer’s first impression of your business. It is the first thing visitors to your page will see.  Studies have shown that cover photos with people in them get the most attention. So give your photo some thought before uploading. Make sure you create it with your target audience in mind.

A few rules to note: Your cover photo cannot contain:

  • 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”

2. Likes, Talking About, Events, and Apps

Whereas on the old brand pages, these features were to the right, they are now located top and center of your page. This makes it easier for visitors to find information about your business. They can immediately see how many people liked your page and are talking about it. If you have a Pinterest for your business, you can put an app for that in the top center for people to click on. Upcoming events are also able to be accessed easier.

3. Wall Post Distinction

Now, instead of all your wall posts having the same importance, Facebook has provided a way to distinguish some posts from others. One of the ways you can do this is by pinning your most important or relevant post to the top of your wall. What this means is that this particular post will stay at the top of your wall despite any other posts you might make. Another way to distinguish a post from others is by highlighting a post (or starring it). What this feature does is it expands the wall post to take up two columns instead of one. This draws the eye to it and away from the smaller wall posts.

4. Editing

You can now edit your content without navigating away from your Facebook page. This is part of Facebook’s effort to make their pages easier to use.

If nothing else, marketers should use the Facebook Timeline for Brands to  embrace more visual content, whether it be more photos or video (one of the hottest trends for 2012). If you need some help getting started, check out these sites for some inspiration. And of course let us know what worked or didn’t work for you!