March 30, 2012 is less than a week away as I write this, and by the time you read this it may only be a few days away.  What’s the big deal about March 30th?  If you don’t have a Facebook business page, it’s no big deal at all.  But, if you do have a Facebook business page (AKA Fan page) it’s a very big deal.  That’s the day that Facebook will automatically switch your page from the way it looks now to the new timeline view.  Along with the switch in appearance will come some big changes in the functionality of your page.

You may have noticed the sudden increase of spam emails warning you about this change, too.  What I have noticed is that often times, the emails are providing some incorrect information.  I decided to go to the source to see what Facebook had to say and what I found was a couple of really terrific resources that I want to share with you.

First up is this video which is a replay of a webinar that they held in which a couple of Timeline product managers answer the questions that came in from the live audience during the actual webinar.  Although this will burn about 30 minutes of your life, I strongly suggest that you watch it as it will give you the straight scoop on what is happening and it will also give you insight into why things are being done the way they are.  If you can’t see the video, go here to watch it directly: http://livestre.am/1kgiV

The next resource is a pretty cool walk through in the form of 5 interactive lessons.  These are designed to bring you up to speed on applying the changes to your timeline.  The course will take another 30 minutes of your life, but it does give you a chance to test your knowledge and to apply what you have learned.  It’s baby steps and doesn’t cover everything, but it is worth checking out at: http://www.learnfacebookpages.com/

If you’d like a much more immersive and hands on learning experience, join me at the Bay East Association of REALTORS® on April 4th for a 3 hour, hands on, deep dive into what’s changed, how to apply the changes to your pages and more importantly, how to use Facebook in your real estate business.  Here is a link to the registration details: http://www.RealtyTechBytes.com/FBClass

There are only 20 seats available for this class and some of those are already gone, so if this is something that you want to do, take action now!

I hope that this has been helpful to you as we navigate through yet another Facebook change!  By the way, I’ve made the change both on my business pages and my personal profile.  Click on the picture above to visit my Timeline business page and check it out.