Many, many businesses that have yet to switch their business pages over to the timeline format are in for a rude awakening next Friday when they find them switched.
Facebook has opted to make the formerly optional timeline layout a mandatory one for all business pages in a move that appears to be fueled by a refocus of content over design. Now, instead of having the option of custom landing pages for businesses, the most recent content (Likes, Comments, etc.) will be shown at the top of their page just under their banner space and links. While on the surface it appears to just be a rearranging of space, it forces companies who were content to have a landing page to take a much more active role in updating with fresh content, keeping Facebook as a social network.
The good news for small business is that this brings the top much closer to the bottom in terms of the technological curve on Facebook. Those who didn’t have the resources before to create an intriguing landing page will no longer have to compete with those who do. That doesn’t mean that Facebook has done away with the custom app feature; you can still embed a custom page or app into your business page, it just can’t be your default landing page. This large change to the way marketing is handled on Facebook begs the question: Now that all businesses are working within clearly defined parameters, how does one stay creative on their landing page/ wall?
The following business pages have shown great ingenuity in staying both relevant in material while creating attractive timeline pages that have set them apart from the pack.
Starbucks
The coffee giant has established an attractive page that not only features color coordination within all of their links and banners, but in their posted pictures as well. The attractive banner is concise, attractive, and to the point: they are a coffee business, so they posted their coffee beans. To complement the picture, they specified whose coffee beans they were by making the Starbucks logo their icon. With a devoted team for generating new relevant content on a regular basis, the page has much to offer in the new format.
Coca-Cola
A good example of using links on your business page can be seen at the Coca-Cola Timeline. While there is no option as to what the first two links on your header must be (Photos and Like Counts), you can have any amount of links after that that you want, and Coke has implemented them well with links for events, user stories, limited promotions and even Coke Radio, all with the appropriate image branding.
Volkswagen International
While not yet in the Timeline Format, Volkswagen International has made an art of the Facebook post, keeping each post small, manageable, readable, and most importantly, reliant on feedback from the users who like them. The average Facebook user isn’t going to sit down and read a book from a business they’re following; rather, they would prefer to have instant gratification in the form of a photo, video, poll, something that wouldn’t take more than a few seconds of their time.
Again, this can come across as a little overwhelming. Facebook hadn’t changed in ways that impacted the format and view of the content in its first few years, but now it seems that there are regular mandatory updates to both business and personal pages alike. It may seem like an unnecessary task, but this day and age, social media is as necessary as having a logo or a store front. If you need help managing and updating your social media, give E-Moxie a call for a free consultation on how we can assist you in your social media needs!
this is pretty annoying being that I’ve designed 35+ custom fb apps for clients to use as landing pages. I hope there’s some flexibility here…