Social Media giant Facebook has changed the layout of personal profiles. In this article we cover what the new changes are, the effects they have on your personal information, and how these changes impact your business’ facebook marketing.
I was asked to sit on a panel of social media professionals this January to discuss facebook’s new timeline profile layout with members of the Baton Rouge Social Media Association. Prior to the discussion, I created a short 10 minute slide presentation (click here to view the presentation on slideshare) to bring the attendees up to speed on the timeline layout. This article expands on that presentation.
Timeline Layout
In September of 2011, facebook introduced and made available to the public the new timeline layout change to its profile page with this short 2 minute video…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hzPEPfJHfKU
Timeline is simply that. The layout takes all of the information associated with your profile and creates a story of your life over time. It groups like subjects together to paint a picture of your experiences. Status updates, pictures, videos, tags, etc. are used and displayed in a logical, chronological order. Now, visitors to your profile do not have to scroll through your status updates, photos, and videos individually to see what you’ve been up to. They can simply scroll down your timeline and glance over the info.
Haven’t seen a friend in a couple of years? With a quick glance you can get a feel for their life as it is depicted on facebook in just a couple of minutes. Pictures are larger, bringing the notion that “pictures are worth a thousand words” to light.
Timeline Personalized Video
Want to see what your personal timeline would look like in a cool video format? Facebook released this video app, the Timeline Movie Maker, that paints a story of your profile in a similar format to the video presented at the F8 Conference of Andy Sparks’ profile.
Is facebook having issues with convincing people that timeline is and should be the preferred profile layout, thus the need for the video app?
As an added bonus, here’s a link to a creepy video about how the info on your profile can be viewed/used by some shady characters.
Cover Photo
The timeline makes some significant changes to the layout of the profile page. Most notably is the cover photo. This super large banner graphic at the top of the layout takes up a lot of real estate and can be used to personalize your profile in a glance. Your profile icon photo (the picture that is displayed next to your posts on other pages) can be found at the bottom left of the cover photo.
The location of these photos makes for funny and creative uses of their combination. See the photos below for inspiration.
You can also find additional ideas on cover photo designs here: http://coversfacebook.blogspot.com/
Privacy Concerns
“Now, you and your friends will finally be able to tell all the different parts of your story –from the small things you do each day to your biggest moments. What will you create? We can’t wait to find out.” -Sam Lessin, a Project Manager at Facbook via the blog
I bet they can’t wait to find out. More on that when I talk about ads below.
How much will you share on/with facebook for the world, stalkers, identity thieves, and psycho ex-significant-others to see?
At the request and direction of Misty Albrecht (@MistyAlbrecht), the Event Planning Committee Chair and board member of the Baton Rouge Social Media Association, I removed my birthday from displaying on my timeline. Misty works in the banking industry and is in touch with headaches and devastation that comes with Identity Theft. I listened.
Be careful with what you post for the world to see. Someone is probably watching and waiting for the right information.
Now that timeline displays your posts and status updates more prominently, facebook advises that you review all of your past posts and status updates to determine if they are displaying properly and to the correct audience. You can now set who can see what with a bit more accuracy.
New Events you add to the timeline default with the “public” visibility setting. If you want to keep your events a bit more private, you can select the “public” dropdown menu next to the save button and choose your preferred privacy level. Select from friends, groups, or custom options.
More Targeted Ads – Is that REALLY a Concern?
Some people view the fact that facebook knows more about you through your completion of your timeline as additional privacy concerns because that information can be used to create highly targeted ads and because your personal history is now stored online.
I am a proponent of highly targeted ads. That’s right. I said it!
When facebook introduced new ad features last year of targeting based on zip codes, likes, and preferences, I was ecstatic!
From a marketer’s perspective, I don’t want to waste money on advertising to people who are uninterested in my message.
From a personal perspective, I’d rather see ads that are highly relevant to me that may solve an actual need or want that I have. Nothing bothers me more than ads that have nothing to do with me.
Some people may disagree, and that’s ok.
Moving on…
For more information on how to modify your facebook timeline, check out Mashable’s Guide. It’s not all inclusive, but it covers the hot topics. http://mashable.com/2011/12/07/facebook-timeline-guide/
Impacts to Your Business from the Timeline Layout Change
Mashable commissioned a study that tracks the eye movements of viewers on the standard profile vs the new timeline layout.
The graphic above shows the places on both pages that participants in the study viewed on the pages.
Key Takeaways from a marketing perspective are:
- Timeline cover photos get noticed first, but more time is spent on the profile photo.
- Ads get noticed more on Timeline. Cha CHING, baby!
Facebook isn’t a multibillion dollar company for nothing. I’m sure they performed the same type of study which indicated that ads get noticed more. More visibility equals more clicks equals more dollars for facebook.
The ads on the timeline float and stay in the frame as the visitor scrolls down your profile; whereas the ads on the standard profile are only visible when the most current information on your profile is viewed at the top.
From facebook’s perspective “brands are now an essential part of people’s identities”. Sure they are, facebook. As long as you MAKE them part of their identities. Marketing geniuses.
The more integration between brands and identities, the easier it will be to integrate ads into the natural flow of a person’s timeline and perception of their life. “Wow, Mary had a huge event that relates her with Coca Cola, maybe I should too!” Pure Genius. (guess the movie reference)
When will the Timeline for Business Fan Pages Rollout?
No word from facebook on that, yet. But given their love of consistency across channels, it may not be long. As for now, facebook requests that users NOT use their timeline cover photos for advertising.
When businesses CAN use them for advertising, do you think most will use them as traditional print ads or have more engaging content?
I’m hoping for the latter. I can’t take anymore “Specials of the month.” Give me something that peaks my interest and makes me want to get involved, like “What will you create? We can’t wait to find out.” I bet you can’t, facebook.
Here are a few examples of how business pages might look with the timeline layout:
The New “Add to Timeline” Button
Now, instead of embedding the “Like” button on your website or App, you can embed the “Add to Timeline” button.
How is this button different?
When a visitor clicks this button, the website owner can control what is posted to that visitor’s timeline. For instance, instead of clicking “like” on every article you read on a news website, that website can post the articles you read to your timeline automatically!
I’m not excited about this one. I want to be selective about what I share. People reading my profile don’t want access to my Internet History. Well, maybe they might, but that’s beside the point. I want to CHOOSE what I highlight and leave alone what I thought was garbage.
If you check out the “Add to Timeline” button and use it on your site (It’s not going to be on ours, unless the “Like” button is decommissioned), let us know what you think of it via email.
Want to create your timeline now? Go to the link that follows, watch the video, and click the link at the bottom below the video. http://www.facebook.com/about/timeline
Got a question about timeline? Send us an email at info@baconsocialmedia.com or give us a call at (225) 788-2617.
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