As brands move to Timeline view for Facebook pages, we talk to some of Australia’s experts about the changes.

Improvement?

“While I was sceptical and didn't like the new 'look' at first, it's grown on me,” says Jo Spurling, Director of Ink & Sparrow. “I think there's great opportunity here for businesses using Facebook pages, it just falls to them (and their marketers and agencies) to think outside the square a little bit – especially as Timeline is a deathnell for the Welcome Tabs which some of us were so fond of.”

Alex Lefley, Account Director at Edelman is enthusiastic about the changes. “Facebook has continued their mission to emphasise stories and engagement over traditional advertising and one-way messaging. The introduction of Timelines along with other new features (Reach Generator, Premium Ads and real time analytics) has provided brands with a terrific opportunity to create rich, adaptive stories and deeper emotional connections to their community.”

Kate Thompson is Channel Manager, Social Media within Direct Channel Marketing at National Australia Bank. She says, “The essence of using Facebook as a brand won't change, it's all about creating a two-way conversation between us and our customers. What Facebook's Timeline does is introduce a story-telling element to brand pages. This will allow individuals to discover the brand with ease and certainly highlights the need to be engaging, authentic and transparent. The cover image is also an excellent piece of real estate which can be used to feature compelling content about the brand. Overall, I'd say it's a welcome evolution from Facebook (for mobile too!).”

Pretty as a picture

The new Timeline layout, with two columns of content, displays large previews of images and video. It’s perfect for a brand with as many visuals at their disposal as Tourism Victoria has. Paul Baron, Group Manager Online Marketing says, “The changes are reflecting the growing user demand for photography and video on Facebook, which is something that we've already factored into our approach to publishing and curating content. Well before the shift to timeline, we'd noticed that visual content is more engaging than almost anything else that is published on Facebook and had responded.”

Baron found people were more likely to view Tourism Victoria content (and content they curated) on their friends’ walls, and share it on their own. Nonetheless, pages is a superior presentation of this visual content.

Promoting special content

Thompson sees the advantage of being able to highlight (make double column wide) and pin (send to top of wall) features. “We have a robust social media strategy that we'll continue to implement which is focused on providing exceptional customer service within the channel and driving engagement with our communities by sharing relevant content. There are definitely increased benefits to sharing rich media in Facebook's new Timeline layout, and pinning or highlighting posts that represent key milestones or events, probably more so now than ever,” she says.

Hot tips

Lefley’s advice to brands working on their new look Facebook page is:

Think about the cover photo – Facebook have introduced some guidelines on what can can’t be done so try to work around this and create something that is going to have impact and represent your brand best

What is your hero content?  Use the new addition of the star function to make sure it is easily seen by visitors to your page.

If you have additional page tabs custom built try to limit them to just two otherwise it will be harder for people to find them when visiting the page.  It is possible to have more but users have to put more effort in to find them.

Resources and analytics

With Facebook Timeline also comes more sophisticated analytics. Edelman Global digital team comments that appropriate resourcing will be needed to take advantage of this. “The changes highlight that a company’s dedicated resources whether in house or agency/partner side will be more critical than ever—after all, real time analytics are of no use unless a human being is there to monitor and make sense of them. Facebook is no longer a social network for individuals—it's officially becoming a media ecosystem for business.”

Moving Over

On 31 March 2012, all pages will be moved to display Timeline. In the meantime brands can opt in. NAB are working on their cover picture and Tourism Victoria has already moved over. Of choosing activate timeline now, Lefley says, “If you have the resource to do so then yes – I would suggest business switch to Timeline as soon as they can, so when the shift happens automatically they’re not left with a sub-par page that is lacking in the depth of rivals who have switched earlier.”