Are You Timeline Ready?
Facebook announced in late February that they are moving all Facebook pages over to the new Timeline format. Timeline has been released for personal profiles since late last year, so it was always on the cards that pages would move over.
That time has come. As of March 31st 2012 ALL Facebook pages are being transferred over to the timeline format (whether you are ready or not).
So what do you need to do in order to be Timeline ready?
Here are some of the newest design features for your page. Some of these changes you will love and others may take a while to get used to.
What are the new changes?
Cover Image and Profile Image
The new layout is extremely visual. Facebook page phased out the old side profile image and replaced it with what is known as your Cover image (spanning the width of your page). The profile image is now a small square which features in people’s news feeds.
Facebook have strict regulations for cover images so ensure you stick to their rules.
*Cover photos cannot include:
- Price or purchase information, such as “40% off” or “Download it at our website”.
- 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.
- Calls to action, such as “Get it now” or “Tell your friends”.
- Covers must not be false, deceptive or misleading, and must not infringe on third parties’ intellectual property.
Custom Images for Applications/Tabs
Previously tabs were listed on the left hand side, however that has changed. The Applications are now highlighted underneath the cover image.
You are able to choose up to 4 applications or tabs to show at the top of the page. Our favourite part of this, is the ability to create a custom image for that application or tab.
Highlight Posts
You can highlight (or pin) a post to the top of your page. This is perfect if you have latest news or a project you wish to highlight.
Pinned posts are Page posts that admins have chosen to display prominently at the top of their Page. A pinned post always appears in the top left of a Page’s timeline and has a flag in its top-right corner. The post will remain there for 7 days. After that, it’ll return to the date it was posted on the Page’s timeline.
More Real Estate for Applications
We are really excited about this change. Previously all tabs couldn’t be any larger than 520px wide, however with the new timeline layout this has been increased to be 810px wide.
This gives you much more room to create custom pages and applications.
Add Company Milestones
You can highlight important company milestones. Pages can add “milestones” with images, to any point on their timeline. Brands can use this to highlight important events and company history.
Ability to Message Your Fans
Your fans are able to private message your page directly. This is really exciting so that you can improve your customer service by using the private messages.
Resources
Here is a compilation of some resources to learn how to use the new timeline.
Need Help?
We have a range of Facebook Timeline packages to suit everyone. Please contact us for more information.
* Source: Facebook www.facebook.com
Oursourcing Your Way to Success in 2012
So you have made the decision that 2012 is going to be your year. You want to grow your business and you have decided that outsourcing your administration to a Virtual Assistant is the way to help do this.
Great decision! But this can be a very scary time outsourcing parts of your business but never fear Little Miss Useful has some great tips to make the outsourcing process a little smoother.
1. Start out small
I have outsourced myself and know first hand what it is like to feel like you are losing a little bit of control in your business (particularly hard if you are a control freak like me!) so the best way to do this is to start out small.
Once you have found a provider start by sending adhoc jobs and as you receive the work back and feel ready to hand over more, then do so. Starting out slowly helps to build the trust between your and your Virtual Assistant.
2. Be specific
Being specific about what you want and also what your deadline is will definitely make outsourcing easier. Your Virtual Assistant will more than likely have a few clients at a time so the more specific you are about a deadline the better your outcome will be. It also makes your virtual assistant’s life a little easier when it comes to prioritising tasks.
The other thing to do is tell your virtual assistant which are your priorities, particularly important if you hand over a long list of things to do. Tell your VA which is the most important to you to be completed first and then work from there.
Quick Tip: Also be very specific with how much time you want spent on a task, which will avoid any high bills. My clients can quite often say keep going until you have done 2 hours work and then let me know where we are at. It is a great way to stay in touch about a project and also keep your costs under control.
3. Don’t choose a Virtual Assistant based solely on price
I know price (especially in small business) is a consideration, but please don’t let it be your only consideration. You are paying your Virtual Assistant not only for their time but also for their expertise and knowledge. My client’s quite often don’t only use me to do the work but also to consult for my ideas on how a process can work better. What you need to look at is the value you are getting from your Virtual Assistant instead of worrying about the price so much.
JUST FOR FUN! I saw this on Facebook the other day (can’t remember who shared it, so sorry to whoever it was!) and thought it was very clever and oh so relevant.
4. Do your research
Finding the right Virtual Assistant can take time, so make sure you do your research. Ask colleagues if they have ever used a VA and if they have any recommendations, I don’t think you can beat recommendations when working with a Virtual Assistant. There are also dedicated websites and networks that help you find the right VA’s companies like www.virtuallyyours.com.au can help you with your search. Companies like that usually have reference checks and certain service level standard they operate to.
5. Always sign a contract
There I said it and yes a lot of people don’t like to work using a contract but it is so important that you do. The contract protects you and tells you how your information is used. More often then not when working with a Virtual Assistant you need to give them access to a lot of sensitive information, whether that be passwords or actual information on your products. So a privacy policy and contract is a must!
How to create a MailChimp Autoresponder
Welcome to the first Useful Tip of the Month.
This month I will show you how to set up an autoresponder in MailChimp.
To view the video click on the image below.
Facebook FAQ’s for Business
Interacting on Facebook Business pages is a common question here at Little Miss Useful, so I wanted to share with you my top 5 questions clients ask me.
1. Can a page see my personal information if i LIKE them?
Pages cannot see the profiles of people who like the page. The only information they can see is your profile photo and name.
The administrators of a page will however, be able to see anything you’ve made available to public (should they visit your profile). So be sure that you have your privacy settings set up correctly.
Pages are able to communicate with you (once you like the page) by sending messages.
2. What is the difference between my personal profile and a business page?
Profiles represent individuals and must be held under an individual name, while Pages allow an organisation, business, celebrity, or band to maintain a professional presence on Facebook.
In addition, Pages are managed by admins who have personal Facebook profiles. Pages are not separate Facebook accounts and do not have separate login information from your profile. They are simply different entities on your site, similar to how Groups and Events function.
Once you have set up a Page within your profile, you may add other admins to help you manage this Page. People who choose to connect to your Page won’t be able to see that you are the Page admin or have any access to your personal account.
3. I want a Facebook username for my business page. How can I do this?
You are able to claim your custom URL (or username) once you have 25 fans. For example the Little Miss Useful URL is www.facebook.com/littlemissuseful. To claim your URL you go to http://www.facebook.com/username
You simply choose the username you would like for your page and Facebook will let you know if available. Make sure you choose wisely as once you set your username you are unable to change this.
4. How often should I post on my page.
This is a tricky one and no amount of posting will work the same for every business. As a guide I usually recommend at least once a day and maybe twice per day if you have really great content. Our view is that any more than twice per day is overkill and you may end up having a higher ‘unlike’ rate.
5. I would like to schedule my Facebook posts, do you recommend any tools to do this?
There are a few different tools out there that allow you to schedule your posts on Facebook. My favourite would be HootSuite which allows you to schedule your Facebook posts and also allows you to post to multiple social networks (like Twitter and Linked In). HootSuite is free for the basic account and is so easy to use.
If you do use HootSuite to schedule your posts, make sure you get onto Facebook and post in real time – nothing beats the real you.
Need Help?
If you need any help regarding Facebook, Little Miss Useful can help. We have several options available to help support your use of Facebook.
Simply email nicole@littlemissuseful.com and we can talk about your requirements and how we can help.
Connect with Nicole
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