Facebook has begun to role out Timeline for Pages.

Page administrators have been met with the following message when they log into their page:

Coming Soon: New Facebook PagesOn March 30, 2012, all Facebook Pages will get a new design. Preview your page now to see what it looks like and try out the new features.

This means a drastic change in the design factor of your current brand page.  A change that many business owners are not happy with.  RyCOM, however, is ready and willing to embrace this change.  Facebook has made a lot of changes since it began, not many of them accepted openly, but all of them proven to be beneficial to its users.

The biggest change your potential customers and existing fans will notice is the profile pic and new “cover”.  Instead of featuring an image up to 200 x 600 pixels (the current profile pic size), you will now have a “cover image” plus a square profile pic.  If you are one of the businesses that utilized the full real estate for your profile pic, your pic is not going to work after March 30th.  You will have to redesign your profile pic, or deal with one that just doesn’t look right.  Plus, Facebook has some limitations as to what can be put into this new “cover”:

You CAN NOT put any of this into your cover image:

• 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”

These things are what many other designers will throw into their designs, which can sometimes congest the image with too much content, making the image ineffective in its purpose.  What is needed now, and enforced by Facebook Policy, is a more creative approach to communicating your branding & marketing message.

Now, more than ever, its imperative that you work with a designer than can help achieve the desired result without compromising the quality or legality of your Facebook Page.  You cannot feature a special price, or ask people to “like” the page…these are some staples for almost every welcome tab and profile pic out there…and now you can’t have them on the most prominent feature of the new Facebook Page.  Your cover must communicate a specific message, without using these kinds of visuals, and RyCOM knows how to get that done for you.

Additionally, the new layout will come with changes to the tabs system, its dimensions, and how they are found by potential fans & customers.  Gone are the days where you can have a list of custom tabs on the left of your page, just waiting to be clicked.  Your page will now only feature 4 total tabs, requiring an additional conspicuous click to reveal the rest (up to 12).  Which apps (tabs) will you feature?  Which should you feature?  Which should you get rid of?  These, and other questions, are what RyCOM will help you answer.

SPECIAL OFFER FROM RYCOM

RyCOM is offering a special for March, to help local businesses embrace the change to Timeline for Pages.

Your facebook page is a big part of your marketing, and RyCOM can help make this transition easier. For only $50, RyCOM will create a custom cover and profile pic, designed to work perfectly on the new timeline layout. This special is for March only, so act now. Your business could be one of the first to have a great looking new Brand Page. Separate from the crowd and Call RyCOM today.