New Facebook Page Design

Why you should not apply the new Facebook Page design

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Facebook is rolling out new changes (not that this is news to anyone)!  As you may experience with any social media site, there is never a dull moment and we have to learn to adjust fast or we will be left behind.

On March 10th, 2014, Facebook announced their new page design changes and as with any change, there are both positive and negative aspects.

At this time, the early adaptors to the new Facebook changes discovered a bug.
As in the past, for a period of time, you will have the option to accept the new design or not.  Although Facebook will slowly adjust the design, whether you agree with it or not, my advice to you is to pro-long adapting to the new design for as long as you can.  I can only honestly hope that Facebook will stay on top of this problem and fix it in a timely matter.

Our friends at Agora Pulse did a great job highlighting the good, the bad and the ugly about the new change. Please take a moment and read the full article so that when the new design rolls out you will be somewhat familiar with the design.

Below are some of my personal takes on the new Facebook page design:

  1. I actually like the one column look and that the “highlights” will be gone. If you didn’t pin a post to the top, you really had no control whether your post will show up on the current “highlights” section or not.  Because of this, some posts weren’t visible if Facebook chose that it was not a “highlighted” post.
  2. While I liked the Apps location on the current design, I’m glad they kept the Apps as those are excellent lead generation tools many pages use. They are moved almost to where they used to be in their previous design, but more visible this time.
  3. I extremely dislike that the page suggestions are displayed within the apps!  Really?! This is so counterproductive! My guess is that many app developers will drop the Fan Gate option (loosing the potential of new “Likes”) and will focus on the lead collection only.  I would rather lose a new “Like” and collect the lead than let app suggestions distract my visitors, pushing the app content further down the screen and inviting the participants to move immediately to another page displayed in that widget.
  4. I also DISLIKE the fact that once you click the “Like” button to access the app content on your Fan Gate page, the app does not automatically load to the next page, which will lose most of your participants who won’t understand what to do once the page fails to reload itself.

I wanted to share these concerns with you about the upcoming changes so that you will be prepared as to what’s coming later on down the line.  If you don’t have any apps on your page, then this might not affect you as much.  However, if you do have apps on your page that you use to collect leads (such as giveaways, email subscriptions, free downloadable books, shop etc,), then please hold on to your current page design for as long as you can or until Facebook will fix the problems.

As you already know, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns once the new design rolls around and I will he happy to help you out.  You can also follow us on Facebook as we try to stay on top of the changes and let you know as soon as something becomes available.

Facebook Hashtag - Hashtag

Facebook Introduces Searchable Hashtags

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Today, on a blog post, Facebook announced that they are rolling out searchable hashtags as well more features in an effort to play a greater role in real-time public conversations.

Not that you couldn’t include hashtags on Facebook before, they just weren’t linkable as it is on Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, or Pinteres.

From now users will be able to click a hashtag to see a feed of discussions about a particular topic. For example, typing a number sign in front of “beaches” or “dinner” will turn the words into a link that users can click on to find posts about beaches or dinners.

Starting today you can:

  • Search for a specific hashtag from your search bar. For example, #FloridaBeaches
  • Click on hashtags that originate on other services, such as Instagram.
  • Compose posts directly from the hashtag feed and search results.

Read more

Facebook New Timeline

Facebook’s NEW Newsfeed – What this means for businesses?

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Do you remember the time when Facebook first introduced the Newsfeed concept? I do, and with all that, I remember all those complains and frustrations. People in general, don’t like change. And when it comes to social media, change happens all the time.

As a business owner, you have to learn to adapt fast to today’s technology changes. To be honest, I am not a fan either of some changes. However, this change looks promising with its countless opportunities for business pages.

We all heard the announcement about the new Facebook’s newsfeed changes and I know many of you wonder what to look for and when these changes will actually unveil?

Facebook is introducing the new look slowly, so you will have time to get used to it, and the development team at Facebook will be able to integrate user feedback.

What the new look will mean for your business?

  • The new look will have a more personalized newsfeed where photos and visual content reigns. 

The new Facebook Newsfeed look was designed with mobile users in mind. Images will be larger and when someone “likes” you or some of your posts, your image will show up on the Newsfeed.  I recall when a business owner on my last speaking event asked: what is the value of a “LIKE”? Now, more than ever before, each “like” will have a significant value.

  • Sidebars will be different

The new sidebars on the left will look modern and clean and it will be the space for chat as well.

  • Content will be organized by genre

To be honest, I really think this will eliminate the clutter feel.

  1. On the top right side, you will be able to view content by simply selecting topic feeds, such as music, photos, or users who all following certain pages. As well you will have the option to see the most recent posts or you can choose “All friends” options. Many were complaining about Facebook not having this option and if you haven’t been interacting with someone their post didn’t show up in your feed. Now with a click you can choose what you want to see.
  2. You will be able to select specific categories
  3. You will have the option when you reach the bottom of your newsfeed to change your views. This will open up new ways of scanning the newsfeed and will more likely keep users on Facebook longer.

Facebook New Timeline and guides

  • The New Facebook Newsfeed is device friendly

The new design is meant to be device friendly – from cell phones, to iPads to desktops, the new newsfeed will offer the same user experience.  Facebook wants you to sped more time searching.

Facebook can be very addictive, and the new clean, modern, and user-friendly look will encourage users to spend more time on Facebook. With keeping people perusing longer, Facebook is providing more opportunities for advertisers.

So what does this mean for business owners?

  • Just think about it.  Every minute people are spending on Facebook creates more advertising opportunity. As a business owner, you should be excited about this. More people sending more time on Facebook means more opportunity for you.
  • When a Facebook user “likes” your page – your business page cover photo with your profile photo will show up in the Newsfeed – this is great free advertising for you. However, if you don’t have a professional cover photo, your business will look unprofessional and outdated.  If you don’t have a custom cover photo then this is the time to order one right now!

Facebook New TImeline

  • The new Newsfeed will highlight your Business page’s most popular posts! This is incredibly amazing and can help you increase the interaction on your page as well increase your followers.
  • The New Following Feed will show users what is new in the pages and people they follow. This will provide more exposure for Pages as users will be able to easily view your business updates alongside friend’s updates, rather than instead of them.
  • As the users will have the same experience on all devices, your potential customers will be more likely to keep up with your page updates regardless whether they are on the go and use their mobile devices or at home using their home computer.

 

Are you ready and excited about these changes and the possibility that comes with it? You can actually click this link https://www.facebook.com/about/newsfeed and experience the new look, or if you wish you can sign up for to be on the waiting list and experience the new Facebook Newsfeed as it becomes available.

If you need a Facebook custom cover photo for your Business’ Facebook Page, take a look at some of our cover images we created and contact us or give us a call at 905.616.2971 to order yours and be ready when the new newsfeed rolls out.

facebook new cover photo guidelines

Facebook’s New Timeline Cover Photo Rules

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Facebook has relaxed their new policy governing what you can and can’t put on your timeline cover photo. There are lots of new and exciting things you are now allowed to do with your cover photo, which is a big boost for business pages. Let’s find out more.

facebook new cover photo guidelines

As a Facebook Page user it is your responsibility to comply with Facebook’s terms of use and guidelines.

 

I heard about these changes a while ago, but I had a hard time sharing the information with you, because both the old and the new versions said: “ Date of Last Revision: December 17, 2012”.

You can read the new revised guidelines here https://www.facebook.com/page_guidelines.php and the date now clearly has been updated to March 06, 2013.

More likely you will need to clear your cache to see the revised guidelines or just copy and paste this link into a new browser where you’re not logged into Facebook.

 

Facebook’s New Timeline Cover Guidelines are:

Noticeably present in the new rules is the Cover photo 20% rule. This rule forces users to keep the header real estate to feature 20% or less space allocated to text in the cover image. Text in the logo does count to that 20% mark.

The current cover guide now simply states:

All covers are public. This means that anyone who visits your Page will be able to see your cover. Covers can’t be deceptive, misleading, or infringe on anyone else’s copyright. You may not encourage people to upload your cover to their personal timelines. Covers may not include images with more than 20% text.

Old Guidelines for Facebook Cover Photos:

Covers may not include:

  • price or purchase information, such as “40% off” or “Download it on socialmusic.com”;
  • contact information such as a website address, email, mailing address, or information that should go in your Page’s “About” section;
  • references to Facebook features or actions, such as “Like” or “Share” or an arrow pointing from the cover photo to any of these features; or
  • calls to action, such as “Get it now” or “Tell your friends.”

Really Facebook just simplified the rules — and boiled it down to a very basic 20% text rule:

Put whatever text you want on your cover, but keep it under 20%.

facebooks-cover-photo-new-guidelines

I’m happy to see that the tight rules have been removed because Facebook had a tough time enforcing them, and I had a hard time to explain my clients why they can not have some call to action while “other Facebook pages” had those call to actions on their cover images.

I’m thankful for the new simplicity. Will you update your Facebook Page cover photo according to the new rules? Check out our Facebook Cover photos we created and give us a call to either update your old cover photo or create a new one for you according to the new regulations.

Keep in mind that with the new News Feed Facebook launching, when people like your page, a cropped version of your cover photo will show in the news feed of the new fan’s friends — so you should definitely have a cover photo that represents your business well.

facebook cover photo new rules

What do YOU think of the new Facebook Cover photo rules? Above you can see the new cover photo we created for our facebook page with the allowed 20% content ratio, yet we incorporated the call to action.

Facebook is Down for Some Users

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November 08, 2012 – We don’t know why Facebook is down, but many users are currently experiencing difficulties connecting to Facebook.

This is uncommon from Facebook and more likely is a service disruption, but I wonder how many businesses build their entire marketing on Facebook or any other social media platform.

In October there was another mayor internet outage for Facebook and I sincerely believe it is only a matter of time until a major social network will go down. The question is not whether or not will happen, but when it will happen.

Social media should be used to direct traffic to your website and blog not vice versa.  As a business owner you have to remember that your  “prime online real-estate” so to speak is your own domain aka your website.  Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and the list can go on are offering individuals and business owners a space to lease, but that is NOT your platform, you are only renting a space. Social networks used wisely can increase your brand awareness, visitors and targeted potential clients. But you should NEVER use Facebook or any other social media platforms to replace your website.

If a social network like Facebook would go down for a week how would you communicate with your fans? Do you have a backup plan?  Do you communicate with your fans, followers only through social media or do have other ways to stay in touch as well?

Custom Timeline Cover Photo for Facebook Pages

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With the new Timeline, Facebook is trying to increase user engagement on the website by providing brands to become a better story tellers.
Every brand has a story. Do you communicate your story well?

Are you ready to make your company, your brand, your agency a better storyteller by standing out from the crowd?

The timeline cover photo is the big image that appears at the top of the page when visitors land on your Facebook Page. This image should instantly communicate your brand message and promise. Don’t choose a generic image. Invest in a great image that helps your brand stand out from the crowd and intrigues visitors enough to get them to stick around for more than a few seconds.

At Intact Marketing we create a more creative and customized timeline cover photos to impress all of your fans and friends.

Take a look at our latest custom cover timeline cover images we created and Contact us  and we will create a Facebook Timeline Cover Photo that will help you stand out and communicate your story well.