Timeline is the dynamic new way Facebook allows users to present both themselves and their brands on their fan pages. Replacing often dull and static Facebook pages, these easily manipulated pages focus primarily on user engagement. In large part, this is accomplished through Timeline”™s strong emphasis on images and videos.
According to independent studies by Recommend.ly and Wildfire, the switch to Timeline produced the following results:
- A significant increase in positive fan engagement
- New posting functionalities resulting in increased user interactions
- A 59.9% increase in traffic to photos and videos tabs
- Improved “Comment” and “Like” engagement
- But, fan growth was unaffected. Numerous strategies are still required to acquire fans.
In summary, user interaction and fan engagement for numerous brands have notably increased because of extensive Timeline utilization. However, this utilization overall had little effect on the number of new friends or fans across the many Facebook accounts that were studied. Whether these improvements in engagement will continue over a longer time period remains to be seen since users adjust very quickly to new online technologies, and these studies ”“ though extensive – focused primarily on companies with sufficient budgets and staff who were able to fully utilize this new technology. What is noteworthy, however, is the enormous potential for new tools and apps (third party applications for Facebook) that can enhance fan page appeal, brand recognition, interactivity or fan growth. Already, the amount of traffic through Facebook apps has shown significant increases.
The Landing Page
Brand management ”“ especially when augmented with Timeline ”“ further emphasizes the importance of the landing page, which is simply a page which people are directed to. For example, if I encourage someone to sign up for one of my webinars, I will send them to a landing page with a sign-up form (and some additional information).
Pictures and videos are particularly effective on Facebook and Timeline allows a viewer to easily identify a key product or service that a company offers. The image of the excellent Dunkin”™ Donuts fan page, for example, showcases Dunkin”™s offerings while even highlighting one of its many fans. Dunkin”™s profile picture is also in the lower left hand corner. In general, the more visual the landing page, the more likely you will increase fans or conversions.
When developing your landing page ”“ whether it is for Facebook or elsewhere — the key element to keep in mind is its purpose: to get your target to take action. Whether it is to like a page, fill in some form or even to respond by clicking on some link, if your users don”™t take any action, your page failed.
Visual Facebook
Research has shown that including visual images with a message results in significantly more comments and likes than just posting a message. This is why many brands (such as Coca-Cola) include images with almost every post. It helps keep their audience engaged and responsive. In fact, posts with photos receive almost 50% more likes than posts without photos.
At present, Timeline appears to have greatly augmented two of Facebook”™s greatest strengths: its wide audience appeal and ability to provide a platform that greatly enhances brand recognition. Given Facebook”™s drive towards increased revenue and profitability (it reported a $1.5 billion profit on revenue of $3.8 billion for 2011), the results reported by these early studies provide evidence that Timeline is a major and successful component of its overall strategy.
Bruce Newman is the vice president at The Productivity Institute L.L.C. in Carmel. He is also a social media strategist and the designer of a new service, wwWebevents.com. Follow him on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and the Productivity Institute blog. He can be reached at bnewman@prodinst.com.
