Partly to stay one step ahead of pesky
competitor Google+, Facebook introduced the controversial Timeline that
automatically adds status updates, photos, and ongoing as well as
“historical” events onto a member’s profile. Resurfacing all the content
ever created on Facebook may be a prospect that many individual users
find daunting, but the advantages to companies are indisputable.
Timeline
will undoubtedly evolve swiftly as brands begin to explore new
marketing and engagement territories and there will certainly be a
number of “why didn’t I think of that first” facepalms among email and
social media marketers when others leverage the new Facebook feature.
For now though, you can concentrate on these top five marketing benefits
while applying your own imagination and creativity to take Timeline to
the next step:
1. Cover hero shot -
The old style brand page limited brands to a fairly small profile image
and five thumbnails while burying tagged images and photo albums
underneath the Wall, but Timeline introduces a 849 x 312 pixel cover
image positioned at the top of your profile which is a prime location
for a hero shot.
2. Star click to full widescreen -
By clicking on a star in the post, the specific image in thumbnail
section of the Timeline will expand to full widescreen size, allowing
companies to feature attractive graphics and layouts that were
previously outside the capabilities of the platform.
3. Prominent top-positioned nav bar -
The info tab is currently hidden on Facebook Fan Pages and if any of
your followers stumble on it all they’ll see is the conventional layout
format containing nothing but a mass of gray text. Timeline’s navigation
bar at the top of the page places the info as well as the apps, map,
and photos into much-anticipated prominence.
4. Infinite scrolling -
The scroll now has no limits and can stretch to infinity and beyond.
This feature allows businesses to place a much greater extent of product
information that has the added advantage of being immortal. By
prolonging the content’s lifespan, followers will have more time and
selection possibilities for engagement now that posts don’t vanish below
the event horizon of the Facebook Wall.
5. Substitute your blog or even your website -
Timeline now presents a valid alternative to setting up a specific
domain page or even a blog, an advantage that is of considerable
significance to small businesses who can’t afford the time or resources
of setting up and maintaining the massive online presences of the major
brands. By making full use of the larger images and post size Timeline
can take the place of a brand blog or product highlight, cleanly
packaging a profile which portrays ongoing updates.
Trademark violation may present an obstacle
Not
everything has been smooth sailing on the way to Timelineland. The
introduction of this feature across the platform has seen ongoing delays
and the rollout has been slower than many Facebook enthusiasts would
like. Another factor is the lawsuit brought by Timelines.com which has a
pre-existing registered trademark on a virtually identical service.
But
beyond the copyright issues facing Facebook, if the company manages to
launch business Timelines across the platform it could present a major
boon to email and social media marketers. Only time and the courts will
tell how things will work out, but start tinkering with Timeline now to
gain some branding points for your business.
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