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CMU:DIY
Tips: Ten Facebook Timeline tips for bands
By Sam Taylor | Published on Friday 18 May 2012
CMU’s Sam Taylor provides a beginner’s guide to setting up an artist’s Facebook profile…
Facebook is a key tool for all bands large and small, we know that. But are you getting the most out of your band’s Facebook timeline? Here is a checklist of the basics for getting it right.
1. Prepare your timeline cover photo
Your Timeline cover photo (the big picture at the top) should be an 851×315 pixel image, and ideally be under 100kb. You can be fairly creative with this image – and there are already some great examples of bands and brands using the cover photo brilliantly – but the key thing to remember is that this is the first thing that people see when they land on your Facebook page, and you’ve got about two seconds from then to encourage them to explore further, and if your cover image is wrong you risk losing them. Facebook has a few T&Cs for cover images: no pricing or purchase information, no contact information, no referencing other Facebook features such as “like this page now” or “share this page now” and no ‘calls to action’. If you upload a cover image that says “Like our page and then go and buy our single at www.MyAwesomeBand.com” expect to be banned, or at least get a virtual slap on the wrist.
2. Prepare your profile picture
Another key part of the visual identity of your band’s Facebook Timeline is the profile picture, the square image that overlaps your cover photo, which also appears next to any posts you make and is the main image people see if they access your Facebook page from an iPhone or Android phone (which an increasing number of people will). This should be a 180×180 pixel square image, but make sure it is clear and bold because sometimes it will appear much smaller. This picture is in reality your main identity on Facebook, and often the first experience people will have of you if they reach your page through an advert or a post you’ve made elsewhere, so be absolutely sure that it’s clear and represents the band in the best way.
3. Get your photos in order
The photo tab at the top of your Timeline (just beneath your cover photo) shows the last image you’ve uploaded. It may sound a little pedantic, but it’s worth re-uploading a key image into your photo gallery if you’ve just done an update, or ensuring that the last image you upload each time is the right sort of picture to appear in this tab. Remember – this image is one of the first things people will see, so ensuring that you have something that is both interesting and representative – and looks good at a rather small 111×74 pixels! – is important.
4. Get your tabs in order
Although you can have twelve tabs (ie sub-pages) on your Facebook profile, only three will appear as buttons at the top of the Timeline, alongside the photo tab. The others are accessible by clicking on the arrow next to the four primary tabs – but realistically many people won’t do that. So you need to consider what order you put your tabs in, ie which three should get the prime placing alongside the photo tab? If lots of people are clicking through from Facebook to your Bandcamp or Soundcloud player, then you might want to prioritise this, or perhaps you are using apps for merch, email list sign ups or tour dates – work out what gets the best response and most meets your current priorities, and shift your tabs around to reflect this.
5. Customise your tabs
Every custom tab can have a custom graphic. There’s nothing worse than going to the Facebook page of a band who have obviously put a lot of thought into their cover image and everything else, only to see three dull and drab looking navy or grey anonymous app tabs underneath the main photo. Be creative, fire up Photoshop – or even take a photo and overlay some text on it – and use your tab images to continue the visual theme your started with your cover photo. Even if it’s just some styled text on a coloured background, it adds a bit of variation. Custom tab images should be 111×74 pixels, and you upload them by hovering over the custom tab you want to edit, clicking the pencil icon, choosing ‘edit settings’, and then upload your image. You can also rename the tab – ie change the word that appears beneath it – so think about having the right words too.
6. Write a short, snappy blurb
The ‘about’ section of Timeline is something that many bands overlook, yet it’s one of the first things I am drawn to if I come to an act’s page for the first time. A snappy blurb (you’ve got 150 characters, so barely more than a tweet) and a couple of links go a long way here – I’ve already clicked through to find out more, so if you give me a link to your Twitter account or website, chances are I’m almost certainly going to click through to those too.
7. Add a ‘founded’ or ‘started’ date to your info
This is also done in the ‘about’ section. Once you have added a start date, you can go back and create retrospective posts that will appear on your Timeline, so to record key events in your band’s career – first gig, label signing, record releases, chart achievements, key support slots and festival appearances etc.
8. Curate your timeline
In addition to going back and adding in past key events, your existing Facebook post archive also provides a narrative of your band’s story to date. Go back through those posts and look for key events – hover over them and click the star to ‘highlight it’. This will expand the post across the two columns of the Timeline, making it stand out when people scroll down. The same menu lets you ‘pin’ your post (use the pencil button), which will make it appear at the top of your page for seven days. You can also hide or delete posts.
9. Make sure that you are promoting your band’s Timeline correctly
A lot of people forget simple but important things – put your Facebook Page URL on flyers, posters and any other promotional material, and if you have your own band site make sure that, at the very least, it includes a ‘like’ button connected to your Facebook page, so that people can like you on Facebook without actually navigating away from your site. Even better, drop in the more advanced Facebook Social widget, that will show them the faces of other people (and any of their friends) who already like your page.
10. Get to grips with Insights
One of the most powerful aspects of running a Facebook fan page remains the amount of data that Facebook gives back about your fanbase. Explore this, and work out what things are resonating with your band’s fans, and what things aren’t. In addition, if you’re going to start buying Facebook ads (which is definitely something worth considering – look out for separate tips on that here on theCMUwebsite.com in the future) then Insights offers you powerful demographic info to help target and segment your campaigns so to keep control of your budget and measure return on investment.
Sam offers more insights on social media strategies through the CMU Insights training courses. Click here for more information.
