Creating a successful Facebook page requires more than just a few clicks, especially with the new timeline design.

Even before timeline, there were so many things to consider that we’d found it helpful to create a checklist for pages.

So we’ve upgraded our pages checklist to help you upgrade to timeline, and also keep track of your page on an ongoing basis. Print out this timeline checklist or save it on your computer so you can check off tasks once you complete them. And by all means, give us feedback on this in the comments section beneath this post.

1. Analysis

Task	Description	Complete?
Internal Analysis	Do I generate added value for my business and my fans with my page? Do I have the resources (time and money)? Does it fit with my business strategy?
Target Group Analysis	Who is my target group? Is the target group actually on Facebook? Are the fans on my page part of the target group?
Stakeholder Analysis	Are there active fan pages for my business or products? Is a merger or partnership possible? Tip: Merge the pages, where applicable. An explanation how to do this appears here.
Competitive Analysis	Are my competitors active? What are they doing? Tip: Compare your fan page with others.

2. Strategy

Task	Description	Complete?
Define Objectives	What are my objectives for the fan page? Are they reasonable and measurable? Do they contribute to the success of my business? Are they smart?
Define Key Performance Indicators	How do I measure success (number of fans, user engagement, increase in sales, and so on)? What do I want to achieve? Which metrics should I use? Tip: Define clear objectives and metrics upfront for a certain time frame and continuously check the performance.
Create a Framework	What resources do I have available? What departments need to be involved? Who is responsible for what? Tip: Involve all internal and relevant stakeholders (marketing, legal, customer support) in a timely manner and create processes and outlines for responsibilities.
Define Systems And Processes	Who is the responsible spokesperson within the company? What are the processes for approval? Tip: Outline an approval process that serves as a binding, unmistakable guideline for community management. Plan for quick processes that enable personnel to act.
Define Content	What basic content will be posted? Tip: Avoid marketing and advertising text. Facebook requires individual contributions that adapt to the platform, its environment and behavior.
Internationalization	Do I need a central fan page or country-specific fan pages? Are the target groups within the markets big enough for individual pages? Are there sufficient resources for multiple pages and translations? Tip: Individual status updates can be directed at different countries and languages.
Define Direction	Is the fan page long term or is it campaign driven? How will the users be directed to the right page?

3. Basic Set-Up

Task	Description	Complete?
Page Name	Is the page name fitting and can it be used long term? Does it conform to policy and the law? Does it communicate your objectives? Will potential customers or fans search for this name? Tip: The guidelines for Facebook page names appears here.
Profile Picture and Cover Photo	The new profile picture (square and small) ideally can be used for the company logo. You could try to design a profile image that’s part of the design of the cover photo, but that requires a lot of work. Does the new cover photo fit the objectives and does it represent the company? Tip: The new cover photo ideally measures 851 pixels by 315 pixels and has a resolution of 96 dots per inch. When deciding which picture will be the new cover photo, some Facebook guidelines have to be considered. An overview of the requirements appears here. Tip: Test the new design in advance with a Photoshop template.
Information Tab	Is all relevant company information provided? Can a fan get in touch via email or phone? The new design directs more attention to the info tab, so design accordingly. Tip: The information options within the info tab vary depending on the type of fan page selected (local business, company, and so on).
Create a Vanity Address	What address do I want, and do Facebook’s rules allow it? What are the rights for the URL? Is it communicated in marketing? Tip: A vanity URL can be created here. Be sure your page is selected.
Chronology	The new timeline can be used to illustrate the history of the company. Tip: Add past events in retrospect with the new timeline features to create a rich company history on Facebook.
Applications	Which applications are needed on the page — or are they even needed at all? Who designs them? Who implements them? What resources are necessary? Tip: Timeline allows almost 300 pixels more horizontal space for displaying application thumbnails. Take advantage of this.
Integration with Other Channels	Am I active on Twitter or YouTube? Should these channels be integrated as a separate tab on the fan page?
Netiquette	Does my page require a netiquette? What should be included? Can I bypass Facebook rules here?

4. Community Management

Task	Description	Complete?
Editorial Plan and Responsibilities	What content will post within the next weeks? Who is responsible and serves as administrator? What type of voice will be used? Tip: Create an editorial plan that outlines when contributions are to be posted and name clear responsibilities so that even in emergencies one person is responsible for the fan page.
Frequently Asked Questions And Approval Processes	What are the most common questions? When do I need to inform the legal department? Who can give approval? Tip: Create an FAQ in advance and outline posts that require an approval process so the community manager can react quickly and independently.
Crisis Management and Prevention	What are potential crisis topics? What are our opinions in each of these scenarios? What will be communicated and what not? Who needs to be informed when and how should they be involved? Tip: Develop a crisis plan and statements for well-known issues so your community manager can react quickly.
Pin to Top	What’s the post of the week? Do I have to point to current promotions or campaigns again and again?Tip: Use the function ‘”pin to top” to prominently show your current campaign, your promotion or an important post on your fan page.
Messages	Do I want to allow direct messages delivered through the Facebook page or do I want to focus on emails? The new option is a chance to conglomerate crucial comments or service queries in a less public way beyond the timeline. Tip: The launch and the use of the messaging function on Facebook require adequate monitoring and the development of frequently asked questions to ensure fast processes.
Monitoring	What is happening on the fan page? What happens on weekends and outside of working hours? Tip: Set fixed monitoring periods, also beyond normal working hours. Determine which comments require a reaction and which do not.
Reporting And Evaluation	What is the atmosphere like? Have performance indicators been achieved? How is the activity? How is growth? Tip: In addition to Facebook insights, use additional sources for evaluation and develop your own metrics based on objectives. Continually compare this with your determined performance indicators and standards, checking at regular intervals.

5. Additional

Task	Description	Complete?
Media Buying	Are advertising campaigns on Facebook effective for my goals? How is the price-performance ratio? Is there a desired click-through rate? Who designs and administrates ads? How are they paid for? Is the contact with Facebook necessary? Tip: Start with a small budget and test the effectiveness of ads if you are unsure. You can create and manage ads on your own. An up-to-date overview about the different ad types and how they can be used for business purposes appears here on Facebook.
Marketing & Presence Beyond Facebook	Presence on other platforms/independent activity: Is my fan page included on my homepage? Within my advertising? How should the fan page be integrated in marketing communication? Tip: Integrate your fan page on your homepage with the like box, which you can find here.

As with most social media sites, Pinterest started out as a place for individuals to connect with friends and then developed into a place for businesses. Pinterest is currently on the brink of individual-to-business use, so now is a great time for your company to get started. This new site has been growing exponentially since its launch in March 2010 with nearly 11.1 million unique visitors according to Site Analytics.

For those who are unfamiliar with Pinterest, it is the social networking of visuals. It allows people to “pin” pictures that they like onto their virtual boards. Most people use these photos and boards as a way to plan an event, such as a birthday party or wedding, because it allows them to see the color scheme and overall theme of the event all in one place. However, people have slowly begun creating boards simply for fun. They may have a board titled “things I like” or “things that I think are funny” as opposed to a collage of details for a specific occasion. Below is an example of a board that someone created of a compilation of their favorite foods:

People not only have the ability to pin things they see onto their Pinterest boards, but they can comment on photos, like photos, and follow certain subjects or certain people. In other words, the site has a definitely social media feel.

Tips and Tricks to Using Pinterest to Help Build a Brand

What most companies don’t realize is that you do not have to be a design company to use Pinterest to your advantage. The site isn’t strictly photographs. Infographics as well as videos are welcome on Pinterest and can be added to someone’s board.

Below are some of the reasons that every business can benefit from Pinterest.

Visibility and SEO: Every image that is pinned will include a link back to the website where it originated. This helps to spread the word about your company and what your company can offer. Not only will this improve the visibility of your brand, but there are SEO perks because the links will count as inbound links.

Photography Popularity: People are simply more interested in photos than they are articles. Part of the reason every article on the Web is accompanied with a photo is because photos can grab the attention of readers. Infographics are also extremely successful because they are an alternative to blocks of text. In other words, a site centered around photography is only going to continue to grow. This will further increase the visibility of your site.

Interaction: The site will allow you to interact with customers, clients, and others in the industry in the same way other social networks do. This will help you build connections through a medium that is comfortable for your customers. It’s also extremely simple to manage Pinterest (unlike many of the other social networks), so this will help save your employees time while still building relationships.

Target Audience: People choose which topics they would like to follow and which topics interest them. If they choose “business,” for example, as a subject that interests them, then your photos and/or infographics will come up. In other words, you will be getting the right sets of eyes looking at your material. Because everything links back to your site, this could be a great way to find potential customers.

Here’s another example, the MarketingProfs Pinterest board:

Once you’ve decided that your company can benefit from Pinterest, there are a few steps you need to take. The first thing that usually surprises people: You still have to be invited.

How to Get Started with Pinterest

Although having to be invited to the site may seem like a drag, it’s typically a very short process, and it helps to keep the site regulated. In other words, you won’t find any spam on this social networking site (certainly a change from the others).

If you visit the Pinterest homepage you will see a big red button that says “Request an Invite.” Click on that button, type in your email address, and in a few days, you’ll be ready to go.

Once you’ve been invited, it’s time to get started. Below are a few quick steps to get the ball rolling:
1. Create your profile by clicking your name in the top right hand corner. You can then click on “edit profile” and add your company logo as a picture, a little snippet about your business, and your location.
2. You can then click “Add” and then “Upload a Pin” to add photos from your website or browser.
3. You will then be ready to start pinning and creating your own boards!

The site is extremely simple to navigate, so your team should have no problem figuring out how to create a great profile and add some great images. In the end, you should find that Pinterest is a lot of fun. It works well when it comes to marketing, but it’s also a great place to see some great things.

If you went to your CMO and said, “I want to allocate time to a website that is primarily used by furniture restoration geeks and women designing their dream wedding,” what kind of response would you expect?

Now, if you went to that same CMO and said, “I want to investigate a new social platform that’s driving more referrals than Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube combined,” how do you think that would go over?

The problem is B2B marketers too often think about Pinterest in the form of the latter. But that type of reasoning holds B2B marketers back from exploring the most exciting platforms in their early days.

For the uninitiated, Pinterest is the still “invitation-only” social bookmarking site where people can display their interests in a highly visual way. Users “pin” various pages from the Web to their “boards,” which are self-organized by category.

Today, Pinterest is most heavily used for topics such as fashion, furniture, and food. But here are the facts that make Pinterest compelling for B2B marketing:

• Pinterest’s visitor traffic rose to 11 million visits in December, 40 times what it was six months before.
• It accounted for 3.6% of referral traffic in January, on par with Twitter.
• It’s sticky, with users spending an average of 88.3 minutes on the site, ranking behind only Facebook and Tumblr among the top social networks.

You’d think that with trends like that… Pinterest should be making marketers of all stripes drool. But many aren’t.

Here are three excuses you might hear from B2B marketers for avoiding Pinterest—and why they’re wrong.

1. ‘It’s not our audience’

This is perhaps the most common excuse B2B marketers give for skipping out on just about any social platform. It’s the same argument you likely heard about Facebook, or even Twitter, in their early days.

At this point, Pinterest is dominated by links to mid-century lamps and Etsy projects (it skews towards women and the 25-44 age group). But as awareness grows at a rapid clip, people with business interests are going to jump in. (In fact, it’s already happening.) Saying it’s just for knitters is like saying Tumblr is just for hipsters. (Check out the MarketingProfs Pinterest account here.)

2. ‘Pinterest is purely visual’

B2B marketing is prone to spreadsheets and verbose product spec sheets. So where does our text heavy marketing fit on Pinterest?

It doesn’t. But a picture’s worth a thousand slogans. Our content is becoming more aesthetically driven as the competition for attention heats up.

Pinterest is a great way to attract people to your words by highlighting your images. (For a prime example of this in action, check out Joe Chernov’s “Infographics” board.)

3. ‘Pinterest doesn’t have brand pages’

No. It doesn’t. And this may be the best reason to join.

If history is any indicator, social networks don’t hook a rabid fan base by offering brand pages. As Pinterest grows organically, the time to build your personal brand is now.

Remember: Pinterest is novel, but it isn’t new. It works much like the bookmarking services we know (think StumbleUpon or Reddit)—only more visually enticing. You can pin charts, infographics, slideshows, ebooks and more. (As an example, I started a board for “Good Content Marketing” and for Eloqua’s “Chart of the Week” series.)

By getting involved with the Pinterest community now, you’ll be more likely to become a power user when opportunities like brand pages and ads open up.

So get pinning!

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