written by Bonnie Chomica
Your Very Own Facebook Secret!
Do you feel hesitant sometimes to try certain things on your Facebook Page?
You’re not sure what it will do or look like. It all just makes you nervous.
Facebook can be fun and interesting, and it can also be intimidating and frustrating.
To help you feel more confident to maximize your Facebook Page skills, I have a terrific idea for you.
THE SECRET FACEBOOK PAGE
Create a new separate Facebook Page just for testing and trying things out. You leave it Unpublished and nobody can see it.
It’s your very own Secret Facebook Page. Call it whatever you like.
I have my own secret page and I use it for all kinds of things, AND nobody knows about it. Well, I guess you do now – lol!
To make sure it is Unpublished, Create your Page, then
- Click the Settings Link under the top Blue Bar
- The First item you see is Page Visibility
- Only options are Page Published and Page Unpublished
- Leave it at Unpublished
FACEBOOK LIVES
I like to do Facebook Live videos. After you’ve done a few they become easier and easier.
But, I still like to set up my recording space and do a test run on my Secret Facebook Page BEFORE I go live on my Marketing Done Write Page.
- Test backdrop
- Test lighting
- Test microphone
- Test video
- Check my hair and teeth – lol
I do a 15-second Facebook Live broadcast on my Secret Page including the text you put up to introduce it and note all the steps required to complete it. And how it loads and plays back.
It’s all on the Secret Page that nobody can see but me.
Then I put on my lipstick and go to my Marketing Done Write Live Facebook Page and I’m ready to broadcast.
MOBILE TESTS
I live on my desktop, but sometimes doing a Facebook Live on your phone, outside, can be effective and impactful. And even fun.
If you have the ‘Pages’ app on your phone or tablet, you can select your Secret Page and do a test there to see what your background looks like or if the sound needs adjusting.
It’s also important to check your phone when posting things on your Secret Page so you can see what each item will look like on mobile (e.g. images, albums, links, etc.)
EVENTS TESTS
Another useful thing to test is Event creation. When you create an Event on your Page, you have to fuss with
- The image – which is a different size (1200×628 px – 2019)
- The descriptions
- Tickets and other options
On your Secret Facebook Page you can learn about and try the different features, and again, nobody can see what you’re doing.
VIDEO LINKS & IMAGES
Sometimes you just don’t know how your Facebook posts are going to look. Your Secret Facebook Page is a super way to test them out.
- Load up an image to see how it looks
- Load up several images to see how that looks, or if you want a specific one to show up first
- Put in a link to see how it previews and what image shows up
- Practise scheduling posts to see how that could make your life easier
- Test Text posts on the colour backgrounds (the little squares that show when you select ‘write a post’) – only so many characters before the colour goes away.
COVER IMAGE AND PROFILE IMAGE
Your Profile and Cover images are very important for your Facebook Page. These are also different sizes and are not always easy to master. Your Secret Facebook Page is the perfect place to fine-tune and test.
[Cover photo 851×315 px, Profile photo 180x180px – 2019]
Again, you have to remember that most people view Facebook on their mobile phone.
The cover image is seen differently on desktop vs mobile, so if you’re planning on changing your image, you can check it on your mobile phone or desktop on your Secret Facebook Page.
CAVEAT
Some things won’t be apparent or visible because the Secret Facebook Page is not Published, so technically not live to the outside world. Things like advertisements and some settings or features won’t be active, but it’s a great place to try many things out, or to snoop around and click things without fear of messing up your live page.
Give it a shot to test things and fine-tune your Facebook posting and recording skills, and not get all nervous and frustrated and limit your use of Facebook.
ACTION ITEMS
- Go to Facebook.
- Create a new Page.
- Leave it Unpublished.
Easy Peasy.
So what do you think of this juicy Facebook tip?
Let me know in the comments if you find it useful or if you have other suggestions.
This information was originally broadcast on my real Facebook Page. Go and Like and Follow it to be sure to capture other #TuesdayTips.
Happy Facebooking!