Facebook is at it again, changing not only their layout, but the way we experience Pages entirely. Their latest invention, Timeline, is the new layout for our personal profile, group and brand Facebook Pages. There has been some debate whether this layout is better, worse, or makes any difference at all. Ultimately, it is up to Facebook, and marketers must adapt, so here is everything you need to know about Timeline for your brand’s Page.
Cover Photo
One of the most striking features of the new layout is the cover photo. Having a cover photo makes a page all the more personal. However, a cover photo cannot be an advertisement or display any offers or contact information. Instead, choose something that will grab the viewers’ attention, like a cityscape or a vibrant pattern. Use the cover as an opportunity to brand your product or service.
Administration Panel
Timeline’s administration panel displays your page’s notifications, new likes, insights (fan demographic, shares, and reaches), messages, and Page Tips. Page Tips is a new tool that helps develop your page by giving insight about who is viewing it and what articles, videos, and polls fans are interacting with. This can be very helpful in the early stages of creating a brand Page in order to reach out to potential and actual fans so you know what is working and what isn’t working on your Page.
About Section
Under the Administration Panel is the About Section, where you can display a short blurb about your Page, such as its classification (like ‘Advertising Agency’), where the business is located, contact information, and your company’s mission statement. To the right, the Favorites Section shows photos, likes, maps, blogs and other ‘favorite’ Pages for fans to see.
Layout
Completely different from the old linear layout, Timeline’s new look is much more interactive. Instead of using a linear, chronological list of posts, Timeline highlights the most recent and popular posts, friends and activities at the top of the profile. Another new feature of the Highlights part of Timeline is mutual friend activity: you can see right away which of your friends have visited, liked or mentioned anything on the page.
Timeline
To utilize the timeline feature, Facebook has provided an area to the right of the page where users can view the history of any profile. By clicking on a specific month or year, users can see all of that profile’s events, beginning with its creation. This is useful if you’re interested in specific information from a certain time. In the old layout you would have to click “older posts” at the bottom of the page continually until the information was found. The new Timeline makes finding information easy and efficient.
Newsfeed
As before, people can see updates and posts from businesses they “like” in their newsfeed, but this won’t give them an overall impression of a business. Timeline is especially important for new “fans” of the page because they have not been privy to past posts through their newsfeed. By visiting the Page, timeline helps to inform the user and give them a concise history of your brand.
What do you think of the new Facebook layout? Did you prefer the old layout or are you a Timeline fan? What do you think are the pros and cons of each? Share with us in the comment section below!
