What you need to know about Facebook pages new Timeline

At the beginning of March Facebook introduced the New Timeline for pages earlier than was expected giving a big shock in the business world as now to get business through Facebook requires technical and marketing skills more than before. The major change in the New Timeline for pages is the so called Fan Gate which was used extensively from almost everyone to capture leads. The Fan Gates do not exist anymore as “Welcome” pages even they still remain in the page at the apps section. The visitor lands directly in the new timeline and has no particular reason to “Like” the page in order to get through. I personally believe that this is the end of fan gates and it remains to see how businesses are going to collect emails from potential clients.

It looks to me that Facebook make things more challenging for the small and medium size businesses that were using this platform to generate clients. There is also the positive site of the New Timeline that has to do with the layout of the page which is more capturing with bigger images, the main big cover photo and the ability to communicate with your fans directly via email.

What has changed in the New Timeline

New Administrator Panel: Gives you the possibility to respond when people write on your page timeline, and view your latest insights.

Message Your Fans Directly: Now people can contact you privately using messages. Notifications about new messages will appear right in your admin panel.

Cover Photo: According to Facebook terms about the Cover Photo you must consider that the cover photo can be up to 850 pixels by 315 pixels but may not contain any of the following:

·        Price or purchase information, such as “40 percent 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.” If you have a page that generates leads through a fan gate do you believe that this changes will affect your business? Leave your comments below...

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