The move to a Facebook page timeline gives businesses a way to better communicate a story with its Facebook audience, as well as, create much more visually appealing pages.  However, it is going to take a bit of work to get your page ready.

To help you in the process, here are a few tips to get you started customizing your page for the timelines.

Cover Image

The small images that displayed across the top of your page will be gone.  Instead a large cover image will be present at the top of your page.  This large image (851px by 351px image) is important real estate for creating a branded, visually appealing page. Consider using your cover image could be used for branding purposes, to peak curiosity, or highlight your target customer.  Per Facebook terms, you cannot have a call to action, contact information, or coupons.

Profile Image

Your profile image will display next to each status update you post on your Facebook page.  The image needs to be 180px by 180px but will display at 125px by 125px.

Custom Apps

Your tab/apps will now display across the top of your page instead of the left side.  There will be four apps displaying with the possibility of adding up to twelve applications.  I encourage you to think strategically about the four apps that will display.  By default the photo tab cannot be moved.  You can also add customized images to your apps.

If you would like to change the order of your apps, first click the down arrow next to your top row of apps. Next, click the pencil icon in the upper right corner of the app.  From the displayed list, click on the app you wish to change positions with.

If you would like to add a custom image and tab name to your apps, click the down arrow next to your top row of apps.  Hover over the top right corner of the app you want to customize.  Click on the pencil image.  Choose the edit setting selection.  Add a custom tab name and upload the 117px by 74px custom tab image.

Highlighting Posts

On your Facebook page you now have the ability to highlight a post.  If you highlight a post, the post will spread across the entire width of your Facebook page.  To highlight a post, click on the star icon in the upper right corner of the post.

Pinning Posts

Another new option the “pinning of a post” on your Facebook page.  Pinning a post keeps the post at the top of your Timeline for seven days.  You can pin a post by hovering over your post, clicking on the pencil image in the top right corner, choose pin to top.

Use of the Timeline

Your timeline can be strategically used to show important events in the life your company.  When you add a milestone to the timeline consider adding an appropriate image. This timeline is a great opportunity to share the ‘story’ of your company. To add a milestone to your timeline, click on the line that runs down the middle of your timeline and select milestone.

If you are looking for more tips in setting up and using the Facebook page timeline, join us at our upcoming Facebook workshop.

Well, welcome to one of our latest clients, world renowned Cincinnati balloon artist, Vicky Kimble.

When I saw the first correspondence from Vicky, it was signed, “Have a Wonderful, Colorful, Totally Twisted Day.”   JACKPOT!!!

We knew from the very beginning, Vicky Kimble was someone special and this was going to be a fun ride.

Vicky takes balloon twisting to a level I’ve never seen.  She creates balloon sculptures which absolutely WOW her clients.  Her balloon decor, especially her balloosion creations are amazingly lifelike.

Additionally, she is a tremendous entertainer whether she is capturing the attention of school children with her creative science program or wowing the crowd at a corporate function.

When you see her work, it is easy to see why she is a decorated world champion.

Vicky’s unique business and talents have made it easy to build her brand.  We started with a new COLORFUL, SOMEWHAT TWISTED website called IncrediBalloons.com and drove people to it from an eye-catching,  professional looking Facebook business page.

We’ve topped it off with a great followup /referral building strategy using time released, personalized greeting cards and the sales momentum is building.

Keep an eye on this crazy entrepreneur.  Vicky is already one of Cincinnati’s most sought after balloon artist but now the world is beginning to call.

As was predicted, Indiana was a great place to launch this cost-effective small business marketing package. Many business owners are excited to have access to such a simple, yet effective way to create an online presence.

Our initial launch city was Fort Wayne, Indiana where only one business in each of 40 different types of business is given a prominent spot on the newly created Fort Wayne Neighborhood Team website. 

Each featured business receives a special button on the Fort Wayne Neighborhood Team website. When that button is clicked, the visitor is taken directly to a one-page webpage created specifically for that business. This webpage is used to display address, phone number and links to the businesses Facebook or main website.

Additionally that webpage is given it’s very own unique domain name which the business owner can use in all their marketing efforts.

Plus for each new business member, an attention grabbing online press release is created and distributed, telling the world of the new business affiliation with My Neighborhood Team.

Unlike the big service directories where companies are immediately lost amongst the hundred of similar businesses, Fort Wayne Neighborhood Team and all other My Neighborhood Team mini directories contain only one business for each business type, making it a very exclusive club that we believe will be one of the best marketing investments a small business owner can make.

The rollout will continue throughout the major cities and towns of Indiana before moving to Ohio and Kentucky in the very near future.

For more information on grabbing a mini directory spot on the Team we have placed a short video on the homepage at MyNeighborhoodTeam.com

We have experimented with this marketing model for almost two years and the results have been tremendous.

We are finding that by combining multiple region-specific restaurants or small businesses onto one single facebook fanpage, participating businesses gain customers dramatically when compared to the results of having their own private fanpage.

By only accepting a limited amount of restaurants into the Tasty Legend model, these businesses can also market their exclusivity as a selling point to their target market.

Growth results to date vary from 15% increase in new customers all the way to 75% increase.

This model is proving to be the most cost efficient marketing method for a small business with limited marketing or advertising dollars available.

Watch the Tasty Legends project unfold at TastyLegends.com