Facebook just launched Timeline for brand pages. Marketers and brands are looking forward on how the Timeline will enhance user engagement and CRM. Big brands like Starbucks and Coke have launch their revamped brand pages and more brands will follow suit as Facebook reminds that the Timeline change will be mandatory. If you’re a page admin, you can check how your page will appear in Timeline format by previewing it. It’ll help you plan and assess what you need to add on the page aside from a cover photo. The cover photo is one of the visual enticements that the Timeline has. It’s proof that Facebook wants to enable brands to connect with customers using a more visual approach. But is this change favorable for brands? Will user engagement still be the same without the feed? I’ve rounded up a few ideas why the Timeline can make or break a brand’s Facebook page. Read on.
1.) Leveraging UGC
Content is asset. It’s the very lifeforce that fuels the Internet. In the Social Web, content isn’t limited to text or a couple of sentences. We live in a world of instant where users will share content using mobile devices. Photos, videos, location-sharing pins, and site links are the most shared content on Facebook. For brands, it’s an opportunity to utilize Timeline as a powerful syndication tool to spread content. But wait, brands should ascertain what content drives the most engagement. Dunkin’ Donuts is doing it well with their…donuts, and they’re also putting a premium on user-generated content. Their page is very customer-centric which is why it has 5 million fans. With the Timeline format enhancing pages visually, it’s time for brands to drive their fans in sharing content. After all, a brand’s page is really the customer’s page.
2.) No Tabs. No Problem.
The landing page has been a great help to brands and page admins. Facebook’s Timeline is changind the landscape of brand pages. The tabs were options to control an impression a user will encounter. Now that the Timeline format has arrrived, there’s no default page anymore. This means reduced fan-gating and instant likes. It’s either a good thing or a bad thing. The Timeline is designed for users to get “lost” within their page and explore so they can learn more about the brand. The bad? No CTAs like “Like Us to View More” which can add instant fans to the page. It’s up to brands how they’ll customize their facade to make it more interactive for users to share the page.
3.) Connecting More Through History
Sure, the News Feed will be missed. But this is an opportunity for brands and marketers to focus on new functions of the Timeline that will increase user engagement not only with user-generated content but with brand-generated content as well. The Timeline format for brands is no different from an ordinary user’s personal Timeline. It tells us that Facebook is enabling brands to open up itself including every brand’s rich history. Every accolade and milestone that a brand achieves is documented in their timeline and this acts as a wikipedia of sorts. The Timeline format is a pseudo time machine where people can learn about a brand's throughout the years. People are educated about the brand through being open which prevents the idea of alienating users and dismissing them as mere customers.
4.) Humanizing Brands
Facebook is a great community management tool if you know how to use it. Seasoned community managers and page admins are always monitoring and replying to customer queries and rants on their pages. Usually, a thread turns ugly and forms flash mobs even if the complaint of one person doesn’t really concern them. Not all brands are able to put up a social monitoring command center like Dell’s or Gatorade’s, a Facebook page is a practical and easy tool for better CRM. With the launch of Timeline for brands, customers will now be able to exchanged private messages with a company. It makes the conversation more personal and every customer appreciates that.
5.) Real-Time Social Analytics is Imminent
Google launch Real-Time Analytics last year. Facebook didn’t have an answer until Timeline for brands was released. Facebook now plans to gear community managers and page admins with real-time tools for better social monitoring. Page managers will be able to view and analyze real-time date for metrics such as Engaged Users, People Talking About, and Page post metrics. Brands and marketers can also instantly omit what isn’t workin and replace content or ads with better copies and CTAs. Real-time tools will be a game-changer, but with the recent EdgeRank issues it remains to be seen if Facebook’s real-time analytics is actually feasible or just hype.
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