Make Facebook Timeline about your community

Beth Kanter can now swap in new cover images — so can you

Over the past week, Beth Kanter and I have been busy converting her Facebook page over to the new Timeline format.

Two things I love about Beth:

• She’s not afraid to experiment (that’s probably a huge understatement).

• She’s more about getting things done than she is about getting things perfect (which ties nicely back to the first point).

One of the first things we talked about was her goals.

She said she wanted to do something smallish for the new Timeline, and then invest more for the launch of her book, “Measuring the Networked Nonprofit,” in the fall.

Beth’s Facebook page cover image

Beth was pretty clear about what she wanted for a cover image, but she also wanted to approach designing her page as a process. Smart.

The solution was to to create a few cover images that she could change up every now and then like clothes on a Barbie doll (her analogy).

Beth also wanted to make her cover image about her community – not her. So we ended up cropping a section from a massive LikeBox I threw together on a WordPress page.

I created a Photoshop template she can use to make her own cover images whenever inspiration strikes.

Beth’s Facebook page Timeline apps

We also created a few custom tabs for her page to highlight her blog, The Networked Nonprofit, curated resources, and a sign-up form for for her upcoming book. Because Beth wanted the ability to easily edit these tabs, we used ShortStack.

The great story Beth can tell

One great thing about the new Facebook Timeline format is that you can use things like milestones and highlights to tell a story over time.

And because Beth has made huge contributions to the nonprofit tech community, and has also seen a lot, she has an opportunity to tell a few different stories:

• Her own journey alongside technology for more than 25 years.
• The transformation of specific nonprofit organizations that have gone from fortresses to networked nonprofits.
• The growth and expansion of the nonprofit tech community.
• Her own work in Cambodia.

What do you think?

Related

• Facebook Welcome Pages are dead — say hello to Timeline (Socialbrite)

• How to create Facebook Timeline covers for your nonprofit’s supporters to use (Socialbrite)

• 11 ways Facebook Timeline changes your content strategy (Socialbrite)

• What Facebook Timeline apps are really all about (Socialbrite)John Haydon delivers social web strategy solutions for “the quick, the smart, and the slightly manic.” Curious? Then visit the John Haydon blog, follow him on Twitter or leave a comment.