Did you wait until the last minute?

Facebook Timeline becomes mandatory in a few days—March 30th. If you still haven’t updated your page, not to worry, here’s your “Last Minute Timeline Conversion Kit.”

Step-by-step video instructions on how to update your Nonprofit Page Timeline

Here is a concise video by the Nonprofit Facebook Guy on how to quickly update your new Timeline format: http://www.johnhaydon.com/2012/03/how-convert-your-facebook-over-timeline-layout-video-tutorial/

Your default landing page option is gone for now…everyone will land on your Wall or Timeline pages

Applications are the new tabs! You can still offer custom applications, such as contests, Likes, quizzes and matching campaigns, you just can’t make them your default page.  Although you can’t set one as a default landing tab for new visitors to your Facebook page, there are still many ways you can leverage apps.

  • 4 apps are always on display underneath your Facebook cover image
  • You can utilize a max of 14 custom apps on your timeline
  • Create a custom thumbnail for your app
  • Apps have a unique url that can be used to drive traffic to a specific app

Examples of nonprofit timeline cover photos

Tell Your Organizational Donor’s Story

Timeline allows you to express yourself and tell your story more visually. The new format utilized a “timeline” format that has been effectively used for years by nonprofits to share key milestones and achievements made possible by the continuing support of your donors. Make the most of this space! Don’t just list key “organizational” milestones. Show your and donors THEIR ROLE in achieving these milestones. To create a milestone, remember that milestone images are 843 x 403 pixels.

  1. Click Milesone in the sharing bar at the top of your page
  2. Add a headline, date, location and details
  3. Choose to add a photo
  4. Click Save

Interest Lists

Facebook rolled out Interest Lists to all users with less fanfare than Timeline. However, this important feature is going to change the way Facebook “power users” see content, so it’s worth paying attention. The idea behind Interest Lists is to allow people to configure their Facebook Newsfeed like a newspaper…in sections of interest. Encourage your fans and visitors to add you to an Interest List to ensure you’re making it on their newsfeed; let them know which topic is best, e.g. my Page would be best added to a list called Facebook Tips, or Facebook Marketing, Nonprofits on Facebook, or Social Media Marketing. Could yours be “Women’s Health, Cancer, Diabetes, or Animal Welfare?”

Know the required image sizes

Note the required image sizes and jot them down on a sticky. Stick it to your computer monitor and you won’t have to look them up or worry about forgetting them.

  • Cover photo: 851 x 315
  • Profile picture: 180 x 180
  • Thumbnail image for apps: 111 x 74
  • Highlighted & milestone images: 843 x 403
  • Images within wall posts display as 404 x 404.

Reach Generator

For those of you advertising on Facebook, they recently introduced “Reach Generator” to their large advertisers. The full implications aren’t yet known, especially for small nonprofit advertisers, but the idea is to allow advertisers to pay Facebook on an ongoing basis, as opposed to a CPC or CPM basis, to sponsor one page post every day, and guarantee a 75 percent reach of the page’s fanbase over a month-long period. The company said that test partners, including Ben & Jerry’s, were able to reach 98 percent of their page’s fans using Reach Generator, a massive increase over the 16 percent of fans that Pages, on average, reach without ads or Sponsored Stories. This may stay a premium service for large clients only. It may be that Facebook is heading in the direction of Google by phasing out small advertisers—which means smaller nonprofit advertisers will need to combine forces for larger buys.

Additional Resources

 

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