The time has come, the new Facebook Timeline format is officially coming to brand pages. The official switch is happening on March 30 th for all brand Pages, but has already started to roll out for a number of pages. How can brands prepare? Until that go-live date, Facebook admins are able to explore and make changes to brand Pages before they go live. Here at TURNER, we’ve been eagerly awaiting the new Facebook Timeline for Brands format which will offer a much more visually appealing look and consistency with the rest of Facebook. So why does this matter? Here are five reasons why Facebook Timeline for brand Pages is awesome:
- Facebook just got even more social. If that’s possible. When someone visits a brand page in the new Facebook Timeline format for the first time, they will see friends’ recent posts related to the brand right on the Page, including how many friends have Liked it. This potentially makes Pages–which to date have been anything but traffic magnets–more social and relevant for the user.
- Headlines just got pinned. Facebook will allow admins to pin important stories to the top of the brand’s Facebook Timeline for up to seven days. This is awesome because brands can share a giveaway, special or press coverage once and it stays at the top for every user to read first.
- Timeline leveraging history. The new Facebook Timeline gives brands a great opportunity to showcase their history in a visual way. Important milestones can be called out by starring a specific post which makes it visually bigger.
- Cover Photos help showcase the brand.Brands, restaurants or hotels can feature their offerings in a visual way. Better yet, brands can create a theme or style that’s unique to the Facebook experience, in a less tacky MySpace way.
- Customer Service/ Private messaging just got easier.Facebook Timeline allows users to send direct, private messages to the brand. This creates a new customer service channel where brands can address users concerns without having to discuss issues publicly on the brand Timeline.
For more information from the source itself, check out the Facebook Timeline for Pages intro video and product guide.