Facebook has changed the business pages layout to TIMELINE. As of March 30, 2012 Facebook switched all of the business pages to the TIMELINE layout. If you haven’t logged into your Facebook account for several days, then you are in for a big surprise. Some of the features that we got used to in branding our Facebook pages have gone away and have been replaced by some great new features.

Here is a brief rundown:

NEW – The Cover Photo:

Facebook now gives us more control over how we can brand our business page. The Cover Photo is a large image at the top of your page that you can design any image and insert. This image is large enough that it gives your page the feeling of a website instead of a blog. In the bottom right hand corner of the Cover Photo is where you can click to change the image. In the bottom left hand side of the Cover Photo is the PROFILE Picture. The profile picture is typically your logo or any image that represents your brand. This can be sized to fit exactly to the box or you can position the image to show the area you want.

NEW: Milestones:
Milestones is a neat feature that gives you the ability to highlight important events, press releases, or remarkable things that have happened to your company. Milestones can be created by clicking on the book icon on the status bar. If you have not setup the milestone for the date your started your company, then you will have to do that first. Once you have created the start date, then you can add any milestone you want to the page for your company.

NEW: Pinning Posts:
If you posted something into your page and you want it to stay at the top of the page, then you would click on the Pencil Icon. In order to see the pencil icon, you have to hover over the post that you created. Click on the pencil icon and this will move this post to the top of your timeline. A yellow-0range flag will show up on the post letting you know that this post is pinned.

NEW: Starring Posts:
If you want to highlight certain posts that you created in the past or just created, starring posts is for you. First you have to hover over the post that you created. Then in the top right hand corner of that post you will see a star. Click on the star and this will make your post increase in width to fit to the Facebook Timeline page. This is a great way to draw attention to something without moving it to the top.

NEW: Facebook Admin Panel:
Facebook has also added an admin panel to the top of your page. The admin panel gives you a brief snap shot of what is going on with notifications, messages, New likes, Insights and page tips. It gives you enough information to guide you on what is working with your page and what is not.

Things that went away are:

• Tabs and Landing Pages – Facebook has removed the ability to create a custom tab or custom landing page. This used to be a great way to direct your customers to a set place branding and creating awareness about your business.