I am setting up the new layout for my own Facebook pages.  The new layout is great since you can do so much more with it.  Apps have now a greater visibility since they are directly on the top of the page.  So, it is very important to make sure what apps do you have and which ones do you want to show in the first 4.  Here is a little tip on how to hide, move or delete an app in the new Facebook timeline layout for your page:

(Click this link if video doesn’t show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zduQLBLp-pU)

If you have gone recently in your Facebook page, you have seen that Facebook will change the look of Facebook pages again. You can preview the new look and make changes and then publish it already.  Latest on March 30^th, 2012, all Facebook pages will change to the new timeline look.

Here are the new changes:

Cover photo: your cover photo should represent what your page is about.  The image should be 851 pixels wide and 315 pixels tall.  Your photo should be at least 399 pixels wide.  Facebook specifies that your cover photo 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.”
• Additionally, cover photos must not be false, deceptive or misleading, and must not infringe on third parties’ intellectual property. You may not encourage or incentivize people to upload your cover image to their personal timelines.

Your profile picture: your profile picture can’t be a banner anymore, but will be just a small picture that will represent your Facebook page in other parts of Facebook.  The picture should be at least 180 pixels wide.

Photos, likes and apps are now at the top of the page.  With the apps, you can see 4 apps on the page.  The photo app is first and can’t be changed.  The other 3 visible apps can be moved and ordered as you want to. You can show a maximum of 12 apps.

Control of your content:

• Weekly pinned post: this means that the post that you pinned, will be anchored to the top of your page for 7 days.  Use this to highlight your most important content since it is the first thing people see when they visit your page
• Starred post: a post that you star will become larger and take up the entire width of the page.
• Milestones: emphasize important event in your business.  Milestones have a flag icon and will also use the entire width of the page.  Examples are a new product launch or an event that you are hosting or participating in.
• Change post dates: you can now give a post a past date in order to populate your timeline.

Activity log: activity log helps you manage your page’s timeline. You can hide or unhide posts, star posts or change dates.

Admin panel: the new admin panel helps you keep up with all the activity on your page. You can see notifications, insights and messages all in one.

Privately message to pages: yes, you can now privately message to pages.

Personal experience: people have a more personal experience on your page since they will see how their friends are engaging with your page.

Facebook has a great video on how to change your Facebook page to the new timeline look: http://www.learnfacebookpages.com/.

When you have your ear to the ground with social media, you have heard lately a lot about Pinterest.  Pinterest is an online pinboard on which you share and organize ideas in the form of pictures.  You can pin videos as well. I looked at it and decided to give it a try.  I started first with one board (http://pinterest.com/wlugosantiago/social-media-marketing-for-coaches/), then added another (http://pinterest.com/wlugosantiago/places-i-have-been/) – and before I knew it, I was hooked.  It is a wonderful visual tool to show the world what you are about and what you like.

I also like the ease with which you can pin the pictures to your boards.  You just add a bookmarklet to your browser and then whenever you see something that you want to pin, you click on the bookmarklet.

You can choose to which board you want to pin the information and write a little bit about it as well.

For me, I see it as a great place to collect all the great articles I see about a specific topic.  When I am interested in something (like Pinterest right now), I usually research the topic in depth before I jump in.  A lot of times, I bookmark articles that I really like.  Unfortunately, a lot of times, I can’t find them anymore after some time since I did not add them to the right folder (or just simply did not add them to any folder).  Pinterest solved this rather nicely for me.  I can add a board about the topic I am interested in and add all the articles I found in that board.  Easy to find and easy to share. Here is my board about Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/wlugosantiago/pinterest-articles/.  Enjoy all the great articles about the topic!

Another great benefit is that you can connect your Pinterest to Facebook and Twitter and send an update out whenever you pin something new.  A very visual AND a very social tool.

For sure, you can add your own posts and products as well and market them through this new medium.  For me, the benefit lies more in sharing information in a very visual form.  Try it out and let me know what you think in the comments!