Timeline and Fan Engagement

Facebook – the pioneer in social networking sites is building relationships among people. It has been aptly used by businesses to promote their brands.

Brand exposure and promotion through Facebook takes new heights by utilizing Facebook’s pro-business feature, Timeline for brand pages.

As the ‘Facebook Timeline for Brand Pages’ has been realized, businesses should focus on the presentation and utilization of opportunities.

By implementing suggested best practices, businesses can take advantage of the Timeline to reach more customers. It is no more an option but a necessity as businesses are forced to use Timeline for promotions.

Promoting Businesses through Timeline

The visual landscape of the Timeline is the best location to showcase your products and services. It is also the best place to present the best content that needs extended exposure.

Businesses have got the opportunity to highlight the most memorable events of your business. This is the time visitors will be eagerly waiting for the information presented in the new format as Facebook has officially launched Timeline for brands on 30th March, 2012.

Organizations can deck their Timelines with all the bells and whistles to lure visitors to stay on the pages and also to make them visit them again.

Timeline’s Effectiveness in Fan Engagement

The prospect of Timeline for brands is great as companies will be able to play their strengths in a better way.

It is reported that some of those companies who were already prepared for the change and who are very ambitious to plunge into the new way of presentation of things, have doubled the stats of ‘engagement per fan’.

It is also reported that there is a drastic fall in fan engagement in more than 50% of brands. Brands which are cautious in implementation of expert advice on various factors such as presentation of sharable content, visuals, pins, etc. are able to optimize fan engagement by more than 25%.

As the days pass, we will get the more realistic picture on the prospects of Timeline for brands. There is no doubt that brands will invest time and money to revamp their layout.

As consumers spend more time in exploring timelines of brands, the major chunk of the time will be spent on Newsfeed. The best practices implemented by business will result in the ability to surface in a user’s newsfeed.

It is not only presentation of visuals and quality content but also the engagement that matters most. MTV is quite successful in this matter.

Brand Promotion is a Cumulative Process

Consistent presence, promotion and engagement will lead to success in the long run. It is the culmination of facets of promotions, engagement and building of trust and relationship that convert into sales in the long run.

It is also to be noted that the promotions and presentations made by one business cannot be simply copied by another organization.

No doubt that it will be an encouraging factor to notice impressive sales and thus profits by a particular business establishment. Perseverance is crucial to win the hearts and minds of customers.

Timeline for Brands : Connecting Brands with Masses

Brands should reach crowds. Facebook’s ability to connect, share, engage is the dominant strength that businesses can take advantage of.

The renewed attempts of Facebook to offer brand a better platform through ‘Timeline for Brands’ will go a long way to enhance promotions and engagements.

Change is rule of the life, the one who follow this is Facebook. When the users start feeling comfortable with one the other change is there, and the most recent one which is not liked by all is Facebook Timeline.

Currently it is in beta phase but over a few weeks every user will be forcefully shifted to this new profile layout.

I myself being a dedicated facebook user haven’t applied timeline on my profile. But with no control of me, once the Facebook upgraded the change will inevitable.

So, whether you like or not you have to learn how this Timeline works. If you want to make that change now, you can do that by visiting facebook.com/timeline.

In previous facebook profile layout page there is a single long page which reflects all the status updates made. But in Timeline users have been provided a manageable navigation index of each and every update and posts made by the user.

Added feature of this is that you can track back in time with it. Using this you can make posts dating in even before your birth.

An interactive map is present to depict the locations to which your post is being made. The motive behind this change is to make the FB experience more personal for the users as they are know allowed to upload events, personal stories, pictures, videos.

To make your encounter with the new timeline interesting, there are few tricks which you should learn.

Timeline Tricks You Must Know

1) To get started with it put a cover photo to your profile, or you can make a collage of different pictures of yours and upload as your cover atop your profile.

It is provided with a profile picture of yours located at the lower left corner of the cover. Here most of the users put a close up picture of them, which is of no use, as in front of that large cover photo small close will go in vain.

Instead in profile picture upload a picture having a written text on it, which depicts something about you. Or any other interesting picture which reflects your personality.

2) Next comes the most time consuming task of arranging your updates according to the time when they happened. One can do this by using the activity log button present at the top of the page.

To make it easier you can also use year by year slider present on the upper right side of the layout.  In this you have flexibility with your post to make them highlighted or hide from your friends.

Mouse-over on a post few buttons appear like: Edit, Delete and Highlight. As name suggests the first one will allow you to edit your post to make those changes.

It will also give an option to hide your post from your friends, without deleting from your own profile. The last option is an interesting one, which will change your post from one column to two column wide, to make it more visually appealing.

3) Highlight your life in events. If there is something memorable which you want to highlight with a date on which that occurred then, Life Events option is your answer.

It is present at upper right side of your profile, which let you create moment like your marriage, child born, the day you join facebook and many more. It also gives you the option of custom event creation.

4) Flexible Photo edit. Timeline provides you with flexible photo editing features for your previously added photos in your account. Hovering your mouse over an image will display a menu with lot of options present in it. Like changing the date, location, cropping.

5) Revisit Your Privacy Settings. Whenever a new change comes on Facebook we revisit our privacy settings to ensure our privacy. Timeline has not much effect on our privacy, as compared to it is easy to manage.

Here you can edit that who can see your timeline. You can also change the settings for individual post from here.

A feature called close friend list can be created here once and can be specified every time you make a new post.

With Timeline Facebook wants its users to just relive their past.

Facebook Fan Page

Facebook is a very important part of social interaction on the internet. Many companies are taking the opportunity to get onboard and interact with their customers in a meaningful way. The designers over at Facebook provided a great boost with the alteration of Fan Pages. The changes made allow the user to make more effective use out of available screen space.

Should I Template My Fan Page?

The user that does not want to take the time to figure out the intricacies that accompany a customized view may be interested in a template. A template is more than just about changing the visual appeal and layout of your Fan page. It’s about setting your space on Facebook apart from the others.

Free Templates
Many developers out there have put together free templates to give options and attract an audience. Quality will vary. The problem that comes with free software of any kind is the lack of attention it may have in the long run. You may find yourself waiting a long time for an update when advancement renders it obsolete. This will vary depending on the coder.

Paid Templates
Opting for a paid template is a good choice as they will often be supported attentively. The coder is likely to put a much greater amount of work into it because it will be generating funding for their website and projects. Quality will often be higher than a free template, but it often depends on the author. Shop around! There are plenty out there to be had.

Utilizing Your New Space

The great part about the Facebook Fan Page is the freedom given to really reach out to visitors and draw them in. Various elements are universal whether you decide to stick with the default display or find the perfect unique template for your Fan Page.

Profile Picture
The profile picture is the most important part of the layout. It is your opportunity to present your brand and even some limited product placement to the visitor. The maximum width of 180 pixels should be used. Length can be as tall as 540 pixels, but going the maximum may not be the best approach. Use your visible space effectively. Be sure to alter your profile picture thumbnail to a useful section of the graphic.

Tabs and Navigation
The default layout or templates will offer freedom to customize the navigation functions of your Facebook Fan Page. Provide direct links to the relevant areas that you would like to guide visitors to. Connections to other profiles on websites, quote pages, about us information; whatever may be applicable to your business. Take advantage of these direct connections to put traffic in areas needing attention.

Photostrip
There is a major difference between the personal page and fan page photostrip. On a personal page, the user is able to dictate what order the graphics appear in the photostrip. A fan page does not have that option. The user may choose which graphics appear but may not choose which order they appear in. Thus, some creative thinking is necessary to make the most out of it.

The graphics used should not need to be in a particular order to make sense. An ironic presentation that mixes things up may work depending on if your business relies on out of the box thinking. Another choice is to use power words and graphics that represent your business. Even graphics utilizing product placement can work wonderfully.

Ultimately…

There is quite a bit going on with Facebook Fan Pages and their use for your business. Explore the various elements to find the right approach for you. A template can be a great way to personalize the layout of your Fan Page. An innovative presentation coupled with quality content will keep your visitors coming back for more.

Jeff is an internet marketing consultant and a part time blogger. Jeff is also a consultant and content contributor for Queens new homes community.

like-gating

An article in Boston Business Journal reveals that companies with Facebook fan pages have become desperate to collect ‘likes’. To make people ‘like’ their pages, companies offer various attractive offers, such as freebies and discounts on various products. As an example, the article highlighted a contact-lens company that declared that if users like their pages, they would acquire a pair of glasses for free.

This technique of forcing people to like a Facebook fan page by offering freebies is popularly known as Like-Gating. Many people believe that Like-Gating is a short-cut way of gaining customers, which may not be effective in the long run. Others, on the other hand, believe that it helps you to gain customers initially.

Which one is the right approach?

Arguments both for and against Like-Gating have logic. It is true that Like-Gating can create awareness about your company and help you to connect with your audience. However, it is also true that exclusive implementation of the Like-Gating approach will not help you to build a long-term relationship with your clients.

Therefore, the question is what approach should you opt for? However, before we answer it, we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Like-Gating.

Advantages of Like-Gating

The major benefit of Like-Gating is that it provides you with the opportunity to impress your target audience. It brings you closer to your clients, thus allowing you to connect with them directly.

Like-Gating offers customers latest news about your company. It leaves a memorable impression on their mind and allows them to remember your company. If you launch a new product or services, for example, you can share information about it via your Facebook fan page. This will encourage people to try out the new services or products.

Disadvantages of Like-Gating

Like-Gating does not allow you to build a long-term relationship with your clients. If you fail to fulfill customer expectations, chances are high that they will leave your page.

With Like-Gating, you may not earn undivided customer loyalty. Many people confess that they like a page to avail free offers. Once their goal is fulfilled, they move on to another company.

Which option would benefit me?

It is a known fact that to create a successful marketing campaign, you need to invest time and money. Like-Gating is a short-cut method. Of course, this does not mean that it is a wrong approach. If you have a SEO services company, for example, you can always opt for Like-Gating to create awareness about it.

However, you should understand the fact that Like-Gating is not enough. You need to publish interesting content and news regularly, to retain interest of your followers. Furthermore, you need to fulfill their expectations and answer their queries correctly. Additionally, you should provide people with an enriching experience by asking feedback, organizing contests, and creating polls.

Remember that once a person has liked your page, it marks the beginning of the real battle!

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