The first thing you need to do in order to create a successful Facebook Timeline page for your business is to have a personal Facebook account. If you do not have a personal Facebook account, it is easy to set one up by going to Facebook.com and following the easily understood directions. Once your personal page is set up, you can to go http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php. From this point, you will be able to choose what you sort of page you are setting up and begin to add the preliminary information. You will also be able to add additional page admins to help manage the page if you have employees that will be assisting with the Facebook campaigns.

Make sure you choose a Facebook Business Page name that is going to be beneficial to your businesses overall search engine optimization strategy. While some businesses will just use their business name, you can do that, or also include a descriptive word that you know is an important keyword for your search engine optimization strategies. Many times Facebook pages will show up before your business website URL will show up, so this will allow one more way for people searching for your products and services on sites like Google, Bing or Yahoo Search to be able to find you.

You will need to have 25 “Likes” before you are able to set the name you chose for your business Facebook Timeline page to the permanent URL. Getting those 25 “Likes” as soon as possible will assure that you get the name you want. Make sure all staff members and other supporters of your business “Like” the page as soon as possible after you have it set up.

Choose a Great Cover Photo

The cover photo on the Facebook Timeline page for your business is the first thing people will see when they come to your page. This makes it crucial to create a stunning image. There are guidelines you have to abide by and the photo needs to be 851 x 180 pixels. If you or no one else in your business is confident to create an excellent high resolution image for this cover photo, you can find low cost services that will create one for you.

The 851 x 180 pixel cover photo can be of anything you like. Some businesses use a map to pinpoint where their business is. Others will add an image of their building, employees, or a collection of photos in a collage. This collage can be a mix of products, services, or other elements of your business. Restaurants do well to place an image of their favorite menu item and spas do great with photos showing how indulging their services are. Whatever you use, make sure it is the first impression you want to portray for your business. You can also change the cover photo at anytime, but coming up with the first one is always the most challenging.

The restrictions Facebook has placed on the Cover Photo do not allow for any pricing or purchase information. You can also not include any contact information including email, address, website address or phone number. No calls to action are allowed either and that includes asking people to “Like” your Facebook Page, sign up for a contest or any other call to action. To stay safe, just have a really great photo that doesn’t have text included that will be frowned on by Facebook.

Use a Profile Picture People Will Relate To

The profile picture on your business Facebook Timeline page will show up in the lower left hand of the cover photo. It will also show up on every post and response you create, message you send, and when you post to other Facebook pages. With this in mind, you want to use a great image. It can be any size and then you will be able to crop it once you have uploaded it. Many businesses will use their logo for this profile picture in order to help gain additional branding purposes and to better familiarize Facebook users to their brand.

Views and Apps Bar

Directly underneath the cover photo is the Views and Apps Bar. To the far left of the bar will be an “About” link which will allow users to click through to a page to learn more about your business. Adding a compelling description of your products or services with a call to action is permissible for your business’s “About” description. Use keyword rich content in your “About Us” page to further enhance your business’s search engine optimization strategies.

To the right of the “About” link on the Views and Apps bar, there is room to highlight three apps. Choose these apps carefully. They could direct users to a photo album, a video collection, map, product pages or a host of other pages that can be added to your business Facebook page.

Once you have these set up, you are ready to start adding posts and arranging them into a Timeline of history and milestones for your business. You can go back to the 1800s. The more image rich and compelling you make these posts, the more exciting it will be for potential new customers to learn more about your business.

While you are working on adding content, you will also want to integrate your business Facebook Timeline page with your own business website. Adding buttons beside your products and services, on your homepage, and every other page of your website will encourage people to “Like” that page, product or service. When the “Like” it, it shows up on their wall for all their friends and family to see what they like. You would be amazed at how much traffic you can attract from just a handful of Facebook users “Liking” a page on your own business website.

Cheers!

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