Facebook recently introduced a new feature called Timeline for brand or company pages, which is set to take the place of existing profile pages. With Timeline, all of the Facebook actions related to your company, like status updates and wall comments, will be presented in a chronological time line divided into two columns down the page.
Many are wondering how this will impact a business’s brand image or Facebook presence. Through timeline, Facebook intends to provide users with more relevant and interesting information about brands and companies. So, how does this help you as a brand manager?
Create A Hype
The new layout intends to showcase page updates with the most activity. Companies therefore need to step up their fan interactions as your brand page will be dominated by responses from active users of Facebook. Any announcement or statement that does not evoke responses from Facebook users will be overshadowed by other status updates.
Now more than ever your posts need to trigger responses from Facebook users, for your updates to get sufficient publicity on your page. You need to create and design online campaigns which create hype and involve people. This will result in increased interaction on your page.
Make a Good First Impression
Your brand pages now feature a cover photo, located at the top of the page. The cover photo will be the first thing that visitors catch sight of when they land on your page. First impressions matter. So choose a striking image that captures your brand essence or gives off a ‘wow’ factor. Don’t forget about your profile photo, as that is still the image that will be displayed in news feeds.
Control The Display
You are now in control of the layout of your brand page. You can choose to highlight an achievement like “Your company being featured in the Best Places to Work List” by pinning the news clip at the top of your page. As before, you can still choose to hide an element on the page or even delete some elements on the page. Finally, you may use the timeline feature to adjust the dimensions of an image or change the location of an element.
Message Your Fans
You can now send private messages to individual people that have “liked” your brand page on Facebook. This feature of the brand page is very useful for companies to engage with customers on a more personal level. For example, you can ask customers to give their feedback of an ad campaign. It also helps companies solve problems with customers or clients by taking the conversation “offline” when necessary.
The Facebook timeline feature helps you engage with existing and prospective customers. You have time until this Saturday, March 31st, to prepare and make updates to your brand page before the forced change happens. Don’t miss out on the opportunity of using this social media channel for promoting your brand.
Author: Clency Genevieve D’ Almeida
With over 3 years of professional experience in corporate communications, corporate social responsibility and public relations, Clency currently works as a ‘Content Writer’ for Softway Solutions. As part of Softway’s internet marketing team, Clency develops articles and blogs on various topics to support online marketing efforts for Softway’s clients. In her free time, Clency likes reading books and listening to music.
