Facebook’s launch of Timeline for brands requires marketers to prioritize content strategy and engaging experiences more than ever. Gone are the days when accumulating "Likes" is an acceptable key performance indicator. Now companies must carefully develop editorial and engagement plans in order to use Facebook to build connected brands – or close relationships with audiences formed by being useful, usable, desirable, visible, and engaging.
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Tarah Feinberg, Head of Live Media Studio
Ashmi Elizabeth Dang, Engagement Planner
Gabriela Lazzaro, Engagement Planner
Lexi Scholes, Audience Manager
Nirmal Nijjar, Senior Media Manager
ICROSSING POV:
Facebook’s launch of Timeline for brands requires marketers to prioritize content strategy and engaging
experiences more than ever. Gone are the days when accumulating "Likes" is an acceptable key performance
indicator. Now companies must carefully develop editorial and engagement plans in order to use Facebook
to build connected brands – or close relationships with audiences formed by being useful, usable, desirable,
visible, and engaging.
This document contains key takeaways, updates, and several recommended next steps for marketers
regarding Facebook Timeline for brands. iCrossing's Live Media Studio will be testing the new features in
order to update our best practices documentation and optimize effectiveness for our clients.
THE CMO’S GUIDE TO THE NEW FACEBOOK
FACEBOOK TIMELINE FOR MARKETERS: BRANDS MUST BE PUBLISHERS NOW MORE THAN EVER
KEY TAKEAWAYS: HOW THE CHANGES AFFECTS MARKETERSAs of March 30, all Facebook Pages will migrate to the Timeline format – providing brands with the ability to creatively personalize
their Pages and greatly expand engagement through a diverse set of post types. With the update, Facebook has evolved into a
full-scale, social marketing platform with a greater focus on three key areas:
1. Expression: A Page’s visual branding and narrative
2. Reach: New ways to ensure greater, more meaningful engagement on the web and on mobile through Pinned Posts, Friend
Activity, Starred Content, Milestones and Backdating, Offers, and Open Graph applications
3. Response: Expanded Admin and new Message features
These changes are most reflected in the ability to brand the Page and curate posts on the highly visual Timeline, which is an
extremely powerful story-telling and strategic tool for marketers. It offers a richer, more diverse collection of content around
experiences, events, and topics that brands can capitalize on in highly engaging ways.
A DEEPER LOOK AT TIMELINE FOR BRANDSWith a greater focus on visuals in Timeline, there are many ways for brands to customize content, build audiences and engagement,
and connect with influencers on Facebook. The following are some key updates iCrossing’s Live Media Studio suggests that brands
pay particular attention to.
Cover PhotoThrough Cover Photo, brands can define who they are, what is important to them, and the message they are looking to share with
consumers. Unlike the logo in the Profile Picture, Cover Photo should be regularly updated with newer images and preferably in
creative ways, as it is an excellent opportunity for brands to engage their audience. It should be noted that per Facebook’s Terms
of Service, this section may not feature:
+ Contact information
+ Calls-to-action
+ Price or purchase information
+ References to Facebook features such as "Like" or "Share" (no arrows pointing to buttons)
Below are some examples of unique ways brands are using Cover Photo:
AT&T features a rotating mosaic of consumers’ photos.
The New York Times humanizes their brand, showcasing staff and headquarters.
+ Messages. A key new feature of Facebook is the ability for anyone to directly message the brand, and for the audience manager to privately respond to the individual. Audience managers can also easily keep track of conversations that have occurred within the social space.
+ Manage. With this option, Page administrators will be able to edit brand page content, see banned users, and get a snapshot of the Page activity with the option: "Use Activity Log."
+ Build Audience. Replacing the "Create a Facebook Ad" link that Facebook page administrators often came across, Timeline now has a "Build Audience" tab on the Admin Panel, which allows for the quick creation of a non-premium ad unit. Taking into consideration the greater emphasis the platform now places on paid media, audience managers can quickly create Sponsored Stories based on content that is highly-engaging at that moment. Brands now have a greater opportunity to leverage earned and bought media in real-time.
+ Referrals. A new component in the Insights Dashboard is the ability to view mobile traffic referrals. Considering Facebook’s 200 million+ mobile users, access to this data – which includes mobile demographics and the types of handheld devices used to reach the site – will benefit brands looking for detailed analytics. Line graphs of mobile traffic sources will include referrals from:
— Feed and Timeline – via clicks directly from a user’s Feed, as well as his or her Timeline
— Notifications – via requests sent on mobile web, iOS and Android
— Bookmarks – clicks to a brand’s Facebook app via Bookmarks. Facebook members will instantly see Bookmarks once logged into the app (note that Bookmarks will sync across mobile and desktop so that the most frequently used apps are easily accessible on the site)
— Search – indicates the number of clicks to a brand’s app via direct search
— Unknown – redirected referrals to a brand’s app
+ Admin Levels. Beginning in April, Facebook will rollout five levels of Page Admin access (more information is pending).
Milestones
Similar to personal profiles, which begin on a person’s date of birth, Timeline for Pages can begin on an organization’s founding
date. Brands also have the ability to fill out Timeline as far back as the year 1000 A.D. and to tell the brand story by backdating
content for achievements and important events from the past. The iCrossing Live Media Studio recommends the heavy use of
multimedia such as images and videos, which will expand the visual aesthetic of the page, drawing greater engagement and
THE BROADER IMPLICATIONS OF FACEBOOK TIMELINE FOR BRANDSFocusing a brand’s efforts on greater engagement, will affect search engine optimization via the ripple effect. Here are three areas
how we believe SEO will be affected:
Brand SearchesWith the increase in awareness around the history of a brand, we also expect an increase in “brand history” related searches.
Discovering key milestones of a brand of interest will drive a content searcher either directly to Facebook for more information or to
search engines to discover more about the topic.
Brands need to ensure they own this search space by creating relevant brand history hubs on their own sites, as well as having up-
to-date content on sites such as YouTube and Wikipedia. These types of queries should also be reviewed for any type of negative
brand sentiment, which may require further brand management within the search results.
Social SignalsAs new content appears on a brand’s main website, increased engagement on Facebook allows for the greater likelihood that this
new content will be shared on audience Timelines. That sharing, in turn, will send stronger signals to search engines to rank this
content higher for related search terms through these increased social signals (Likes, shares, etc.).
Query FreshnessWhen Google identifies a hot trending topic, it then prioritizes
its search rankings based on what is deemed most relevant,
fresh and popular at that time, rather than more traditional
ranking signals.
If a brand produces content around a trending topic (e.g. an
event or breaking news), then increased sharing of that content
via Facebook, will in turn increase its visibility in search engine
InfluencersiCrossing highly recommends brands make better use of Facebook to understand who their advocates are and to actively cultivate
those relationships. For example, the new Facebook admin panel makes it possible for brands to identify influencers more directly
and serve those influencers exclusive content, including cross-links. By having influencers cross-link to their sites, brands can
gain further authority (whether via traditional links or social signals) within search engines, and can simultaneously improve brand
visibility for relevant keywords and search terms.
NEXT STEPS: TESTING AND LEARNINGCreativity Tells The StoryThe new Facebook Timeline allows brands an abundance of new opportunities to refresh their engagement strategy. Before diving
into the new format, we offer brand managers a few next steps for a smooth transition.
The actual Timeline stream should focus on content that is visually engaging, easy-to-consume, and highly-shareable. Here are a
few ways to take advantage of the new visual changes:
+ Use the milestone feature to mark important events in your brand’s history
+ Emphasize your brand’s story with compelling images
+ Curate the Timeline with backdated stories to give it a time-capsule-like feel
+ Pin and star engaging content; promote product launches, contests, photos, offers and announcements
Fluid Content CalendarAccording to Facebook, content from brand pages has an average organic reach of 16 percent of the total fan base. Therefore,
cutting through the noise to get to someone’s news feed can be challenging with the launch of reach generator premium ads.
Brands should regularly create highly-engaging content, while continuously testing and optimizing it. Consequently, brands must
have a clear and fluid calendar that can be edited at a moment’s notice to incorporate content that is engaging and reaches their
target audience.
Public Insights: Test and LearnFor brands, the new public Insights are important in several ways. First, they will make it more difficult for brands to appear successful
through paid media campaigns and contests, as "Likes" will no longer be the sole visible measurement of engagement. Second,
they are also a good way for brands to understand how their competitors are performing. Brands should use this opportunity to
create benchmarks and continue testing new types of content to measure success against their competition.
Additionally, the metrics will allow audience managers to identify content that’s worth pinning, starring, or using as a sponsored
story. Consequently, brands have the ability to maximize engagement, reach, and understand what content types get amplified in
the news feed.
Final ThoughtsThe iCrossing Live Media Studio will work with brands to evolve their content strategy and create a content calendar that emphasizes
a test-and-learn approach to ensure immediate and prolonged success in the new Timeline format.
STAY CONNECTEDFind out more at www.icrossing.com
Call us toll-free at 866.620.3780
Follow us on twitter @icrossing and @thecontentlab