It was bound to happen. Ever since the Facebook Timeline was unveiled for personal profiles, everyone has been wondering when it was going to happen to business pages. And now it has! So we thought we’d give you a rundown of what the timeline is and how it works.What is the timeline?If you haven’t already activated the timeline on your personal profile you might be wondering what it is and how it works. As the timeline focuses on images and a visually pleasing layout, the easiest way to explain what it is will be through pictures.This is the landing page for anyone visiting for business page and what will be at the top of the page:

This is what is underneath the cover photo and general information:

If you continue to scroll down the page you will see all past events and posts.What are the changes to Facebook business pages?While most applications, insights and features on Facebook will stay the same, here are the top five changes with the new timeline:

• The layout – The timeline layout is completely different to the old layout. It focuses more on images and posts. It also lets you highlight stories according to their relevance and importance to your brand. You can highlight your stories by clicking the star in the top right hand corner of your story

• Your landing page will no longer work properly – This is because Facebook is trying to move away from landing pages but there will still be plenty of ways to engage your fans through the cover photo. Your landing page is now located with your applications and can still be viewed if clicked on but it won’t be the default landing page
• You will have a cover photo – Your cover photo will be the first thing new and existing customers will see when they look at your page. This will therefore need to be engaging and reflect what your business is about. Bang Online Marketing can always help you create an engaging cover photo
• Your insights will display at the top of your page – Your insights and notifications will be displayed at the top of your business page but will only be visible to administrators. It gives you an overlook of how your page is performing without going in to the insights which are still available by clicking on the “See All” links next to Insights, Notifications and New Likes
• Applications won’t be as prominent – As you can see in the image above, applications are now displayed under the cover photo and it will probably take a while before people start realising they can click on them and go exploring. Ensure you keep your photos and maps up to date for when they do start exploring

It’s a lot to take in and there will most likely be adjustments along the way but for now we’re excited about the changes and what this will mean for Facebook business pages in the future.The changes are optional for the time being but will become standard by Friday March 30 and will automatically be rolled out then. Facebook is letting all pages have a play around with the new layout before it goes live. You can do this by clicking “Preview” at the top of your business page where it’s announcing the change. Once here, you can play around with the layout of your page until you are happy with it. You can also save your preview before you publish it.Bang Online Marketing has already changed their layout to timeline. You can have a look at it here for some inspiration https://www.facebook.com/bangonlineYou can always contact Josie on (08) 9328 7000 or email Josie@bangdigital.com.au if you have any questions about the Facebook timeline for business pages.