Facebook Timeline Profile Early Access Tutorial

How to get the new Facebook Timeline profile today

facebook timeline profile early access tutorialWow there were certainly a lot of exciting announcements at the F8 conference this week and Facebook’s Timeline Profile was just one of them. After having had a chance to test it out for the last 48hours, I absolutely love it! From a marketers perspective it’s a dream in terms of the amount of new real estate we now have access too. Your new about me page is literally a fully blown webpage which I’m sure will prompt a lot of people (like me) to do a mini Spring clean. And with the new open graph app platform opening up to developers, we are going to see some seriously exciting new widgets available in the coming months. Personally I’m really keen to see the impact the ability to search news inside Facebook is going to have on SEO.

Facebook’s new Timeline cover photo adds a new dimension for marketers

The facebook Timeline cover photo is literally like a magazine cover where you can advertise anything you want in large, widescreen format. I’m sure it wasn’t Facebook’s intention to create advertising space but it has lots of creative potential for marketers, including a great place to feature our blogs : -)

facebook timeline cover photo

What I also loved about this, is if you click and choose one of your existing photos, it seems to magically resize it to the correct format without any distortion.

Now lets get your new Facebook Timeline enabled

Find out how many of your Facebook friends can see your new Timeline

Once you’ve hit the get it now button on your profile, head over to the Introducing Timeline page and you will be able to see how many of your existing friends magically became overnight Facebook developers! Just scroll right to the bottom of the page. Mine seem to be multiplying by the hour which just shows how excited everyone must be to check out the shiny new features.

facebook new timeline beta
Thanks to both Mashable and Techcrunch for the early instructions!

If you have your new profile enabled, I’d love you hear your thoughts in the comments below. And if you think your friends would benefit from getting the Facebook Timeline early, make sure you click one of the share or recommend buttons on this page.

Michaelé

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31 thoughts on “Facebook Timeline Profile Early Access Tutorial”

  1. Hi Michaele,
    Your video tutorial about how to set up the developer app on Facebook is spot on and so simple to follow. I love that you have featured front and center your beloved lab Spencer! Can’t wait to set up my page so I can see yours in real time. :)

    I believe this change is going to take Facebook to a new level for the people who a. see its power and b. like rolling with the changes because change means progress. Your teaching and technical wizardry make learning behind-the-scenes techie stuff a real treat!

    Thanks so much!
    Mary Lou

    • Hi Mary Lou,

      Thank you for the kind words and yes I thought I would let Spencer have the spotlight till I work out what I want to feature.

      I just went to your profile and see you have your Timeline set up. It’s great to see so many people jumping in early so they can get a head start on all of the new tools. I can see whole new market opening up for people who want to design cover photos.

      I always appreciate hearing your thoughts on all things Social Media :)

      Michaelé
      P.S. Nice work on the attention grabbing title you chose for your last post!

  2. Hi Michaelé,

    Great video tutorial so thank you so much for that. I’ve been contemplating on whether or not I was to switch over already but I’m seeing that I probably should. Your post convinced me that I need to just do it and get ahead of the game so I can share with my readers just how to implement this as well.

    I appreciate you going into so much detail and actually walking us through how to do this instead of me reading yet another post with only screen shots. I’m a visual person so I really appreciate this.

    Have a great day and thanks again.

    ~Adrienne

    • I have the same sentiment. I was kinda hesitant about this timeline feature at first but I still gave it a shot. And it was worth it. I loved it! I got excited and searched for some amazing cover to use. I got several cool covers from http://pickacover.com. All in all, I love the changes, so far…

    • Hi Adrienne,

      I must admit that I usually don’t like to jump in early on these types of changes as I prefer waiting until all of the bugs are ironed out. I guess this time round I could see that there were going to be a lot of new features to learn, so it made sense to get cracking asap.

      Thanks for your feedback on the video. I’m visual too and I know I learn a lot faster when someone does a quick walkthrough on their screen.

      Great to see you here.

      Michaelé

  3. Hi Michaelé

    What a fantastic and thorough explanation of the changes! Thanks for putting this all together! There are so many things changing around us and it’s nice to get the visual to connect some dots!

    I hope that you have a beautiful weekend, my friend! :D

    Best regards,
    Cat Alexandra

    • Hey Cat,

      Thanks for stopping by and leaving your feedback. I don’t know how we coped before screencasting technology came in but gee I’m glad it’s here!

      Here we are coming into the weekend again so I hope yours is fantastic too.

      Michaelé

  4. There are some changes though that most FB user are not agreeing. I do hope FB guys would sense this. Some people also posted their views to return the old facebook updates before. I logged on last time and I too had trouble understanding the said changes.

    • Hi Shads,

      Yes there will always be people who don’t agree with the changes as some people don’t like ANY change full stop!

      The irony is, if Facebook never changed anything, people would be complaining everywhere that nothing ever changes.

      Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

      Michaelé

  5. This is great! I can’t wait to start using this and the tutorial was perfect. I love it when people step by step with directions. Not everyone is tech savvy and creating something so it’s, “dummy proof”, makes all the difference in the world.

    It’s nice to get in on something before the masses start using it. Thanks for looking out and creating this post. Very informative and I hope to get allot of use out of it!

    • Hi Sonia,

      Glad you liked the tutorial. I’m a big fan of step by step instructions when it comes to the techy stuff. In fact I’ve been waiting for a dummy proof tutorial on the Yoast seo plugin to drop out of the sky but it hasn’t yet :)

      Looking forward to seeing your new Timeline.

      Michaelé

    • Hey Tom,

      Great to see you’re making the most out of Commentluv. I see you’ve managed to include a link to your last post this time :)

      Michaelé

  6. Very thorough tutorial! I have to admit to being a bit confused about the FB Timeline feature but now I get it.

    I love the new look of it and how you can feature one picture like a magazine cover. Totally love the pic of your dog! I can see where this will be used quite nicely by online marketers trying to brand themselves.

    I know people don’t like change and there has been a lot of complaining in the forums and on FB about the new changes instituted by FB, but sometimes change is a good thing… and this looks like one of those times!

    Thanks for the great tutorial!

    • Hi Bob,

      I’m glad the video took some of the confusion out of the Timeline changes. I agree with you on the new cover photo option, I love it! And I can’t wait to see all of the creative ways marketers take advantage of their new real estate.

      There’s been complaints about changes on Facebook? :) :)

      Michaelé

  7. Hi Michaele,
    Thanks for sharing this video tutorial on how to set up the timeline profile on FB. I’m excited to try it but I’m also hesitant. I would like to wait a bit and see what others think of it.
    From what I’m seeing, I like the cover photo format and I like the idea of how easy it is to view older posts and events by just clicking on the year.
    Facebook is really stepping up the tempo. I hope they also address any security issues.
    Thanks for the walk through. Have a nice day!

    • Hi Theresa,

      I’ve heard nothing but great feedback from others that have switched over early. As you’ve mentioned, it’s so easy to view older posts and basically clean up your profile. And you’re given the option to remove any junk before you publish your new Timeline.

      Thanks for stopping by, it’s great to have your input.

      Michaelé

  8. I love the new look of it and how you can feature one picture like a magazine cover. Totally love the pic of your dog!

  9. Michaele,

    I for one love the new timeline. I know there was a small group of users who were polled recently and the majority was not in favor of it. And the recent lawsuit with Timeline halted the official launch. However as a marketer and connector on Facebook time line rocks!

    First off the cover is great. I’ve seen many festive variations as this those who are creative to express themselves or their brand. The ability to move around buttons and features does take a little getting used to but all good things are going to change.

    You did a great job breaking down the steps to enable this new feature. Sometimes the technical looking stuff is easier than it looks. Hopefully others will be able to take advantage of your video when Facebook opens the doors again…even if its to coders only.

    Ken Pickard
    The Network Dad

    • Hey Ken,

      I’m with you on the cover photo, it’s pure gold for marketers! Interesting to hear about the group of users that were polled who didn’t like it. I guess Facebook has become one of the most winged about platforms on the net.
      The new buttons are a bit of a learning curve and I still can’t work out where posts I’ve been tagged in go lol. Just a minor hiccup and I’m sure there will be more. All in all I love Timeline but I’ll keep quiet for now on what I think of the ticker :)

      Thanks for letting others know about your experience with the new features.

      Michaelé

  10. Hi Michaele,

    I just want to ask a few info or rather would like to ask clarification about this FB timeline. Will my friends be able to see the changes I have made in my FB? This is just bsically one of my concern. Upon doing this comment i have not tried but will do it once i am done working. I love to make changes with FB like what I have done recently was add a welcome page thru static FBML. It surely was a cool project for me and I have installed it for my clients site.

    Thanks for sharing this great news and will surely try it.

    • Hi Rose,

      Great question and no your friends won’t be able to see your new Timeline until they have theirs enabled. When I first made this tutorial, the Timeline was due for public release within a week, so it’s kinda strange now after this much time knowing most people can’t see the new layout.

      Btw, that’s a lovely Hawaiian retreat site in your profile. Is it yours?

      Thanks for stopping by.

      Michaelé

  11. Hi Michaele,

    Thanks for the response. This is actually for one of my clients website. If you click the link it will give you loads of information if you happen to think of having a vacation to Hawaii of that sort. I am doing the SEO part of this site as it is part of my work which is my niche.

    I appreciate a lot your response it makes me feel great that I have been able to get into your site and not just live a comment without any response. It feels different when the owner gets to respond to you somehow. Just my thoughts. Thanks again.:)

    • Hi Rose,

      I guess the site caught my attention as Kauai Island is one of my favorite places and I haven’t been back for years.
      Your client is certainly lucky to have someone who leaves genuine, authentic comments doing their SEO. I feel sorry for the people who are paying for spam comments as most blog owners don’t approve them anyway.

      I totally know what you mean about owners replying to comments as I feel the same. In fact I visit sties every day that I don’t leave comments on as I can see nobody is home!

      Anyway great to see you back here and good luck with your niche :)

      Michaelé

  12. Hey Michaele!

    I just ran across you site from thenetworkdad.com. (Don’t You just love the blog world?)

    Two quick things:

    1. Boy! Do you ever have a niche! So many people have sites that discuss SERPs, SEO, etc… you really have some great tips on here about the “people aspect” and Incorporating with our readers socially. I am not naturally good with people, so I admire that. Keep it coming.

    2. Noticed you use linkwithin. I used to use them as well until I discovered that every click redirected my readers momentarily from my site. I don’t know enough about web-stuff to know why they do that, but it made me uncomfortable. So I switched to the nrelate plugin, and I have to say I like it a lot better. Faster, doesn’t mess up my bounce rate, etc. Just thought I’d mention it.

    Anyhow, that was all. Carry on!

    Q

    • Hey Quinton,

      Ken is absolutely awesome at promoting others and creating social buzz!

      I really appreciate your comment re the ‘people aspect’, as that’s always been important to me. But I do really love SEO too :-)

      Thanks for your feedback on linkwithin as I forgot it was even installed. I’ve never noticed the momentary redirect but it would make me uncomfortable to. Though I can’t seem to duplicate what you’ve seen. Sounds like I should look into nrelate.

      Anyway, great to see you here.

      Michaelé

      P.S. I just went to visit your blog and the URL you left above is leading to a 404 error.

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