Every entrepreneur, author, speaker or small business with a business page has several key  consumer facing hot spots to share sales, specials, invite opt ins and even promote events.

Take this checklist and compare it to your page to make sure you’re using every available promotional opportunity built into the Facebook business page model.

1.  Cover photo: This large billboard across the top of your new timeline is your cover photo.  This image is 852 x 315 px maximum and although Facebook states that you cannot have a URL, sales copy or calls to action such as “Like my page,” there are creative ways to illustrate your offering, the feel of your brand or business and to inspire people to “like” your page.  This photo should inspire, inform and engage people so think long and hard about what image you want to greet people who land on your page.

2.  Apps: The boxes under your cover image are called apps.  These are either apps you can install through Facebook or custom designed apps that can hold any information you want using iframes. These can be highly designed sales pages or simple opt in boxes. Any digital marketing promotion you are currently running can be imported to Facebook in this way.  Lujure is a terrific example of creatively designing the cover images for their app boxes. I’ve done something very simple with mine but they’ve been equally effective in driving traffic to my website.

3.  About: This often overlooked hot spot is right next to your avatar picture. Start the about section with a live link to your website OR a live link to an opt in page or perhaps a sales page. This is the first place people look, after your cover photo, to learn more about you. Make sure you make it easy for them to find out more about you, your products or services and your special offers.  Remember to start with the http:// to make the link live and clickable.

4. Milestones: Milestones are a feature Facebook has included to let you brag about special events in your company. You might consider a sale to be a milestone or an award or honor. Facebook places more importance on milestone entries so use these wisely and don’t overuse them. However, if you launch a new product, that’s a company milestone.  Highlight it.

5.  Pin to top: Facebook allows you to “pin” a particular post to the top of your page for seven days, at which time it returns to it’s spot in your timeline. Announcements, events, special offers, contests or any major promotional event can be pinned to the top of the page to make sure people who visit your page see it first.

6.  BONUS: OK, I know I said 5 promotional hot spots BUT even an update can be a promotional opportunity.  When you post an update that elicits strong response from your fan base, you’re upping the chances that those same fans will see your posts in their news stream during the upcoming week.  So dedicate at least one update a week to a call to action or an inspirational post or something that compels people to comment.  The Facebook Edgerank takes interactions between you and your fans seriously. Help your fans see your posts by creating engagement.

Let’s share our favorite examples of great Facebook business pages (including your own) to inspire one another.

If you’ve written a book, developed a program, created a keynote speech but no one knows about it, you have a hobby and not a business.

How long you can remain in the developmental and launch phase of your business depends on your upfront funding.  But if your business is bringing no money whatsoever into your accounts receivable, it’s time to take evaluate your business model, your marketing strategy or both.  Social media can give entrepreneurs valuable promotion, advertising and market research without an enormous additional outlay of cash.  And, most importantly, it can bring income into your bank account quickly.  Let’s take a look at three easy opportunities for promotion and income creation available to entrepreneurs, right now, through their current social media platforms.

1.  Build your database so you can market directly to people who’ve already expressed an interest in you, your book or your product by gathering e-mail names directly from your Facebook page by adding a custom box under your cover photo. These custom boxes or apps, as Facebook calls them, are created in an iframe and can contain a special offer such as a sample of your book, a free 15 minute consultation, or a checklist of success strategies.

2.  Sell directly from your Facebook page, again by using an iFrame app.  You can import your store, your product pages or your entire website right to a Facebook app or tab. The website will retain all of its functionality which means if people can buy your book or services on your website, they can buy it directly on your Facebook page. Here’s an example of a custom app I created for my Android and iPhone Marketing Tips app using a drag and drop app maker, Lujure.com.  With no design skills, I can import my assets and links and create a customer opportunity right on my Facebook page, which I can then promote through Twitter, my blog, my personal profile and through other social sites.

3.  Create an Amazon affiliate store and import the entire thing directly to your website and to Facebook in a custom app. Now every product you recommend or mention, including you own book, can immediately be purchased on Facebook without your fans ever leaving the platform.

There is more to being a successful entrepreneur than generating quick income, but the process of thinking through your offering, marketing it to others and generating income is a good start.

How are you creating income through social media? Let’s share some best practices to create more successes for the entrepreneurial community.

1. Log into Facebook and go to the page you’d like to rename.
2. Open the Admin panel by clicking it in the upper right hand corner of your page.
3. Next click the drop down menu that says “Manage” and select “edit page.
4. Next select and click on “basic information”
5. on the left hand side of your screen.
6. You’ll see “category” and “user name” and under those you should see “Name.”  This should be the current name of your page.
7. Next to the name of your page will be a live, blue, underlined link that says “request change.”
8. Click there and follow Facebook’s simple directions to request a name change.  Within a few days Facebook will review your request and ask you for any further documentation they need in order to help you.

That’s it.  My experience is that Facebook is very responsive to this form.  If you’d like to read more about the changes to Facebook’s fan pages with the rollout of the new Timeline design, check out my Procrastinator’s Guide to fan page changes.

If you’ve found yourself singing “tomorrow, tomorrow, I’ll change it, tomorrow” whenever someone reminds you about the Facebook Fan Pages transition to Timeline tomorrow, you’re not alone. But, like death and taxes, changes on Facebook are inevitable. So for the procrastinator’s among us, here’s exactly what you need to know about tomorrow’s changes on Facebook.

Facebook’s Timeline view is a two column visual presentation of your posts that highly favors graphic images as a brand asset.

Cover Photo

This billboard style photo will cover the entire top view of your fan page and the maximum size is 851 x 315 pixels. Facebook explicitly states that this must not be an advertisement, a call to action such as “like our page” and cannot contain a URL.

Even if you have not yet settled on the ideal image to represent your business, I recommend that you upload a photo or image that is appealing, attractive or inspirational as a placeholder. If you do nothing, when you log on tomorrow, there will be a large blank, possibly gray, rectangle at the top of your page, announcing to potential fans, clients or customers that you’ve neglected to keep up with the changes. Not the message a business wants to share with the world. To preview the Timeline design and upload your cover photo, enable the preview at the blue “preview” button at the top right hand side of your page.  Then click on the button that says “add a cover.”

Profile Picture

Facebook says that your profile picture on a fan page must be uploaded at 180 x 180 pixels, but will display at 125 x 125 or 150 x 150 depending on the size of the viewer’s display. Page profile pictures display next to your page’s name in your fans news stream, so it should stand on its own to represent your brand. You can also be creative with how your profile picture and cover photo go together. On your Page’s cover, the profile picture displays 23 pixels from the left side and 239 pixels from the top of your cover photo, so be sure to plan your cover photo so that your profile picture doesn’t obscure important parts of the photo.

About

Pay close attention to your about box, directly under your profile picture. This is your potential client or customer’s first invitation to join you on your website. I recommend starting your about box information with a live, full URL that leads directly to your website. Don’t rely on people searching for information on how to reach you or learn more about your brand. Make it obvious and easy.

App Boxes

Three of the four boxes below your cover photo are customizable and represent the most visible way to highlight promotions or special information on your new Timeline. These are your former “tabs” which resided in the left hand column of your Facebook fan page. These tabs most likely housed your opt in offer, your welcome tab, your “about me” page, your store or your sweepstakes or contests or any other custom tabs you’ve created for your brand. These are now referred to as apps by Facebook because they must be created in an iframe app. The images that represent these apps are boxes that are displayed on your page just below the cover photo. The images on these boxes can be customized and the size of each box image is 111 x 74 pixels. Although the Photos app will always be in the first position and the image will always display whatever photo you last uploaded, the other three slots are available for you to customize and order and you can read detailed directions on how to do that here.

Star or Pin

Each individual post can be highlighted in two ways. First, you can pin a specific post to the top of your page for 7 days at a time. You might want to pin a special offer, a launch, a live event or something of that nature to the top of your page during a promotional period. To pin a post to the top of your page, mouse over the upper right hand corner of the post until you see the pencil. Click on the pencil and a drop down menu will reveal itself. Click on “pin to top.” The pin will last for 7 days and then the post will be returned to it’s chronological place in your Timeline.

Another way to feature a specific post is to star it. When mousing over the top right hand corner of the post, click on the star and your post will cover two columns instead of one.

Milestones

Milestones are a way of highlighting key moments in your brand history. Brands like Ford Motor Company are using Milestones to take readers on a historical journey into the life of their brand, all the way back to 1908, evoking an emotional connection that is powerful, visual and creates opportunities for fans to share fabulous pictures of Model T’s and other iconic cars. Milestones are automatically expanded to cover two columns. To add a Milestone, select Milestone in the status update bar on your page, add a headline, location, date and details for your milestone and include a photo. Click save. You can also scroll to any spot on your Timeline and click to add a milestone or other type of story for any date.

Procrastinators, it’s time to make your move. Upload your cover photo, customize your app box images, add some milestones for your brand or business and pin an offer or special event to the top of your page. Let’s share our page URL’s here to inspire one another. If you have questions about how to use the new Facebook Timeline design for your business, post your questions below and I’ll respond.

If you have fewer than 100 fans, you can change the name of your Facebook business or fan page easily by selecting “Manage,” following the drop down menu to “edit page” and selecting “basic information.” There you’ll be able to change the name of the page.  But what if you’ve gathered a healthy following and the name of your business has changed or worse, you realize too late that you’ve misspelled the name of your company?

You can now change the name of of your Facebook Fan Page…maybe.

Now Facebook offers a way to petition for a change. Follow this link to access a page called “I need to change the name of my page.” UPDATE by Cindy Ratzlaff on 4/10/11:  Hi folks, The link to this form seems to now be broken.  I’ve written an updated posts, here, about the steps you can take to access this form from your Facebook account.

If your business name has changed, Facebook will ask you for documentation on the name change such as an electric bill, legal document or other proof that the official name has changed.

Unfortunately, however, your vanity URL cannot be changed at this time. So if the change is minor, as in an LLC has become an Inc. or a misspelling in the page name doesn’t match the vanity URL, this is an effective way to petition for a change. But if you want to change from DebbieJonesArt to DebbieSmithArt because of a personal name change, your URL, if you set it up already, will still be DebbieJonesArt regardless of what your title on the page becomes.

Follow the directions, have your documentation ready and good luck.

If you’ve been able to change the name of your fan page, I invite you to post a link to your page below so everyone can check out your work.

Custom images for Apps Are the New Advertising on Facebook Fan Pages

There are four boxes “above the fold” on the new Facebook Fan Page Timeline. The first position is occupied by the Photos app. This box position is permanent and cannot be moved to another position. The next three boxes to the right of photos can be moved, customized and featured at will, IF you created the app (or former tab). If it is one of the suite of apps created by Facebook, you cannot change the image. If the app was created by a third party, the option to change the image is controlled by the third party app and you should check with them. But if you created the app, you can change the image.

Step-by-step guide to customizing the app image on your Facebook Fan Page wall.

1. Make sure you have enabled the preview of Timeline on your Facebook page by clicking the blue “preview” you will see at the top of every fan page that has not yet migrated to Timeline.
2. Click the down arrow at the right hand side of the currently visible apps just underneath your page name and cover photo space to reveal all of your former tabs, now referred to as “views and apps” in Facebook language.
3. Select the app you would like to customize and mouse over the upper right hand corner to reveal a pencil. Click the pencil to reveal a drop down menu.
4. Go all the way to the bottom of the drop down menu and click on “edit settings.”
5. You’ll now see a box that allows you to name the app and a link to change the custom image. After keying in the new name of your app, click on the “Change” link.
6. You’ll be taken to a page where you can upload a custom image. Click on the “Change” link on this page.
7. The familiar “Browse” option will pop onto the screen allowing you to upload an image from your desktop. Facebook recommends 111 px wide by 74 px high and will resize and convert images that are larger. I’ve had great luck with 280 x 180 sized images. Select the desired image from your computer and upload. There is no save button. Don’t waste time looking for it. Now go back to your page and look at the box image. The customized image is in place.

That’s all there is to it. You can change these images whenever you like and you can feature a new set of custom apps “above the fold” on Facebook Fan Pages whenever you like.

You can post a link directly to your custom app in your timeline and pin it to the top of your page for seven days to give it extra importance. I’ve created some simple custom designs for apps here to show you what’s possible. I’d love to see yours, too, so feel free to post a link to your custom apps below so we can inspire one another.

By now everyone is going through the 5 stages of grief over the loss of default landing tabs as the fact that all Facebook fan pages will convert to the new Facebook Timeline for Pages Design on March 30, 2012 sinks in.

Questions about the content housed on the millions of custom tabs created by businesses and entrepreneurs such as contests, opt-in offers, streaming video channels and e-commerce pages have people scrambling and questioning whether or not Facebook fans pages will be a worthwhile investment for small to mid-sized businesses and entrepreneurs, in both time and money.

All of your custom tabs still exist. You just need to think creatively about how to market them.

As of this writing, all of the content on custom tabs is still live and accessible. The only change has been that you cannot set up a default landing tab for non-fans. So how does a page entice fans to search for and click on a tab now that they are no longer displayed on the left hand side of a page?

Page admins can upload a custom image to represent the tab or app as Facebook is now referring to all tabs. Imagine seeing a series of evocative, engaging images in this 180 x 180 pixel format under the cover photo.  Color, words, and images will call out to the reader like carnival barkers. “Come see the amazing offer.”

Page admins can also rearrange the order in which the apps appear. Four apps are “above the fold” and the rest live under the drop down arrow on the right hand side. Three of those app spots are available to admins to highlight the apps of their choice.  Photos will always display.  So admins can change the view to highlight specials, sales, contests or whichever three apps are most important to a page in any given time period.

I created two simple word images just to illustrate what’s possible. It was easy to upload the new app cover images and I expect to see brands and entrepreneurs doing some very creative work with these images.  If you have examples of fun, enticing or downright awesome images fan pages are using to highlight their custom tab offerings, please post their URL below.  Let’s amass some examples to inspire one another.

Facebook default landing tabs are gone and pinned posts are the new promotion as Facebook rolls out the Timeline design for fan pages.

According to Facebook, all fan pages will be automatically upgraded to the new Timeline design on March 30, 2012.  You can preview the look now and make changes but do not need to publish your new look until March 30^th.  So admins will have the opportunity to work on the pages outside of the public eye for the time being.

Default Landing Tabs are Gone

Facebook recommends that brands and businesses customize their new Timeline look by:

• Adding a new cover photo at the top of the page
• Marking posts and images as favorites with a star to cause them to extend over two columns and pull focus..
• Add “milestones” to mark key events in your business life
• Arrange the apps and custom tabs visitors can see on your cover
• Pin particular posts to append them to the top of the page.

Here are some of the key highlights in the new changes:

Pinned Posts

The pinned post are a new feature.  Pinned posts are those that the page owner decides they want to display at the top of their page. Those posts will appear in the top left of a pages timeline with a flag in the top-right corner, Facebook’s version of a pin. Pinned posts will remain there at the top of the page for 7 days and then return to the date it was originally posted to the Page’s timeline.

Only posts from the page owner or admins are eligible to be pinned.  So posts from fans can’t be pinned to the top of a page.  To pin a post, the page owner will click on a pencil icon in the top right hand corner of  that says “Page’s postSelect” and that will move the selected post to the top.

Admin Panel

The admin panel will be a quick view of page information so admins and owners can view notifications, respond to messages, review performance insights and activity logs and access the edit menu to make Page setting changes.  Page owners will find the new Admin Panel above the date selector in the upper right hand corner of their page.  Fans will not see the admin panel when visiting the page.

Default Landing Page

This change will upset a lot of page owners.  Pages will no longer have the option to set up a custom tab for people who are not fans such as a welcome page or a free offer page.  So all visitors will land on the wall.  This will have marketers scrambling for new creative ways to promote their brands, special offers and apps.  You can, however, pin a post with a direct link to that offer, to the top of your page.

Private Messages

One welcome change will be that brands and their fans can now message one another and that’s a change fan page owners have been seeking.

Cover Photo Rules

Facebook official lays out the rules of what you can and cannot include in a cover photo and let’s us know that all cover photos are public. It remains to be seen if Facebook will be able to enforce these particular rules (it would take an army) but why poke the beast and risk losing your account.

Cover images must be at least 399 pixels wide and may not contain:

• Price or purchase information, such as “40% off” or “Download it at our website”
• Contact information, such as web address, email, mailing address or other information intended for your Page’s About Section
• References to user interface elements, such as Like or Share, or any other Facebook site features
• Calls to action, such as “Get it now” or “Tell your friends”

I’ll be sharing more for the Facebook announcements later today.  Post your questions and I’ll get back to you here or on Facebook with answers.  In the meantime, start reviewing your images, planning for pinned posts and prepare for the demise of the default landing tab.

Facebook is expected to announce the rollout of the Timeline design for fan pages today. So what does your business need to do to prepare for the new design?  Think visuals.

Brands should be translating their key messages into visual images now.

The cover photo opportunity, which we’ve now all seen on Facebook personal profiles, is a beautiful billboard. At 852 pixels wide by 315 pixels high, this real estate can be used to convey a lot of information about a business. And because Facebook makes it easy to change your cover photo, having a cover photo strategy might mean creating multiple versions of your cover photo and changing it regularly.

The cover photo is certainly the largest, most obvious new opportunity for business pages, but keep in mind that if Timeline for business pages mirrors Timeline for profiles, the scrapbook feel of the page will give links, videos and uploaded images a more prominent place in your overall marketing strategy.  Creating images that entice fans to press like, or even share, means watermarking or adding your website or attribute to the visuals so that three shares down the road, the new viewer will subtly invited back to your business home base through an imprinted url.

Hosting your cover photo images and your brand visuals on your website is a way to make those images work harder for you. Besides sharing them through your Facebook fan page, you’ll be able to pin, tumble, e-mail and tweet your watermarked “mini advertisements.” Unlike cover photos on profiles, like the one I’m currently using, the fan page cover photo can and probably should, clearly help the viewer understand the brand offering at first glance.

But, keep in mind that most people are not clamoring to share or pin advertisements. Brands will have to work a little harder to create visuals that inspire, humor, teach, or surprise. Those are the visuals that fly through the web from person to person.

Advice to brands?

1. Make friends with a great graphics person and let them help you translate your message into share-worthy graphics that leave breadcrumbs back to your website or Facebook fan page.
2. Create a cover photo strategy that mirrors your brand or product delivery cycle.
3. Watermark your images so wherever they land, people have a way to connect with you.
4. Think inspire over advertise when creating images.
5. Let Facebook inspire you to be think visually across other consumer facing platforms.

Let’s share our favorite Facebook Timeline photos here to inspire one another. I like photos that tell me more about the person without hardcore advertising.  I’ll start with a couple of examples and I invite you to add your favorites.

• Nannette Bosh
• Hugh Briss
• Gary Vaynerchuk
• Tara-Jenelle Walsch
• Kathy L. Patrick

I’ll be listening to the livestream announcements today, as will others. Outstanding questions include:

• Will fan pages still have the option to set a default landing page?
• Will fan pages still have the ability to add custom tabs?
• How will the new design affect social e-commerce, contests, and opt in offers?

Do you have questions or concerns about Timeline rolling out to fan pages? Let me know and I’ll report back from the LiveStream.

Infographics are hot. They appeal to visual learners, they grab great Edgerank on Facebook, they rule Pinterest and they demand to be shared. Creating an infographic for your business or brand that provides top notch visual entertainment while driving home a point, teaching something or laying out a concept in an easy to understand way can give your business or brand that viral buzz you’re longing to create.

Here’s what I learned from infographics today. Over 80% of Americans use at least one social network. That’s 245 million people.

An infographic can:

• Tell a story
• Provide a road map
• Present statistics in a surprising or powerful way
• Make us laugh

WIX, is a free website builder offering entrepreneurs and small businesses a quick and free way to create a professional looking website. They put together a terrific example of a statistics graphic that’s really a subtle and clever promotion. Chock full of interesting, retweetable factoids about the reasons every business needs to “go social,” this infographic has all the right stuff to drive viewers to post, share, pin and tweet about it. Things like “Facebook users share over 4 billion items per day” is social sharing gold and is also good for presentations to potential clients who don’t yet believe in the power of social media in a marketing campaign.  By positioning themselves as a company who understands the social web, they’re providing value to their ideal customer, giving that customer something to share on his or her pages and attaching their brand to a visual that will be widely shared; basically putting their calling card out to a potentially massive audience who are willing to pass it along.

Do you have other examples of great infographics that cast their creators in a positive light and add to their brand credibility?  Please feel free to share them here.