social studies: facebook timeline for brands

SOCIAL STUDIES: FACEBOOK TIMELINE FOR BRANDS March 2012

SOCIAL STUDIES: FACEBOOK TIMELINE FOR BRANDS (ITʼS REALLY HAPPENING) March 2012


When is this happening?

Automatic rollout happens on March 30th, but brands can proactively switch to Facebook Timeline format any time before then.

Source: Facebook


Why is this happening?

“Today we can’t just talk, we have to listen as well. And that means for marketers, too.”

Facebook Timeline for brands makes it possible for people to interact with brands the way they interact with friends.

Sources: Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook Marketing Conference, February 2012


How is it different?

Say hello to the new Facebook.


Format Facebook Timeline for brands looks a lot like Timeline for users.

Large cover photo

Smaller profile photo that

doubles as avatar for brand posts

Brands can add milestones that pre-date Facebook, in

order to give a comprehensive representation of the brand’s

history. Life before Facebook? Do any of us remember it?

The About section is more visible and tabs

have been replaced by featured content areas (photos and custom

apps) that can be arranged to

your preference

Source: Facebook

Users who visit your page can see how

other Facebook users are talking about your

brand.


Format New features place the emphasis on engagement.

“Talking about this” measures the level of engagement with your

content. Including Likes, shares, tagged photos and mentions

of your brand

Stories can be sorted by highlights, brand

posts, posts by others or posts from a users

own social circle

Users who visit your page see how many of

their friends like you, and how they’ve talked about

your page

Prioritize content you want people to see:

“Pinned” posts stay at the top of your page for up to seven days. “Star” a post that is important and hide

stories you don’t like

Like your personal timeline, the visibility of every post or piece of user engagement is

managed on the “activity log”

Users can message a brand privately—a huge help for

keeping the focus on content vs. individual issues or posts

Source: Facebook


Open Insights Now, your engagement is (semi) public domain.

Anyone who visits your page can see who among their friends Likes your page and

view the evolution of your fan base.

Sources: Facebook


Admin Panel A centralized place for page management.

All user activity is located here

New likes used to disappear after awhile. Now they’re

all here

Page insights are readily available and visible for all admins

Messages from users will all appear here

Source: Facebook


Things to Consider The good, the bad and the okay.

Source: Facebook

•  Apps are now wider: •  You can choose from the formerly standard “narrow” view

(at 520px) or the new “wide” view at 810px.

•  Like-gates are gone.

•  Cover photos aren’t a free-for-all. You can’t: •  Include a price or offer •  Include a call to action •  Include contact information for your company •  Violate a third party’s intellectual property (duh)

•  Photos are better than ever •  Each milestone can include an image of 843x403px. •  “Starring” posts can make them fullscreen, so choose

photos that are a minimum width of 852px.


Facebook Timeline in 5 Easy Steps New features place the emphasis on engagement.

•  Pick a new cover photo •  You have an expansive 851x315px to make a splash.

•  Select a profile picture •  This image becomes the avatar for your brand on your own page, within the news feed

and on sponsored stories. •  Logos are recommended, and will scale from 180x180px to 32x32px.

•  Arrange your apps (and tabs) •  What do you want to feature on your page’s nav bar? •  Are your apps updated to reflect the new tab width? •  Do you have icons that reflect the new 111x74px format?

•  Comb through your activity log •  Preview what your page will look like with the Timeline format. •  What stories do you want to pin at the top of your page? Which stories do you want to

star as important? •  What stories do you want to hide on your timeline?

•  Map out your milestones •  What are the key dates for your brand? Each milestone can have a photo at 843x403px. •  You can update and edit as time goes by.


New paid options

Reach Generator and Premium are blurring the line between paid and earned content, making your Facebook page “mission control” for all engagement.


Reach Generator Turn your content into ads.

•  What they promise: •  Guaranteed reach of 75% of your fans each month,

50% of fans each day.

•  What it does •  Turns your brand’s posts into sponsored stories on

the right side of their page or within their news feed. •  Doubles the volume of engagement (likes,

comments, shares).

Source: Facebook


Premium Turn your content into ads.

•  What they promise: •  For a minimum required spend, you

get 5-10x more engagement for placements in the right-hand side and Facebook newsfeed.

•  What it does: •  Turns your brand’s content into ads:

•  Right-hand side of homepage with sponsored stories

•  News feed stories in a user’s home page

•  News feed on mobile •  Log-out experience: a highly

visual ad that users see when they (you guessed it) log out of Facebook

Source: Facebook


Premium Turns your page content into ads. Every post has the potential to become an ad. As a result, your ads are as compelling as your content.

Source: Facebook


Premium Facebook will automatically truncate your premium post to fit into their new character limits. Here’s what this means for the different ad options:

•  Photos: Facebook will feature the first 90 characters of the photo caption you choose to promote and will include a photo thumbnail that is 168x128 (4:3 aspect ratio)

•  Video: Facebook will feature the first 90 characters of the video caption and include a thumbnail of your video that is 185x104 (16:9 aspect ratio)

•  Question: Facebook will feature up to four answers, or the first three plus a “see more” link

•  Status: Facebook will feature the first 150 characters of your promoted status update

•  Event: Facebook will feature the first 90 characters of your post and will include a 70x70 event thumbnail and up to about 5 lines of text from the event description

•  Link: Facebook will feature the first 90 characters of your link description and a 75x75 thumbnail

Source: Facebook


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