Not everyone is happy over the Timeline switch. In fact most people are unhappy with this new change. I can see so many people grumbling about the new Timeline feature in Facebook, but the reality is that this new and innovative layout presents many opportunities to companies if they know how to merchandise their products. Besides, like it or not, timeline is here to stay. So might as well get used to it and learn how to use it for your company’s benefit.

Here are some reasons why timeline for Facebook brand page is actually a good idea:

1. It motivates active conversation and fresh content

The new timeline lets Facebook for business pages look like personal pages. This means that Facebook pages now can’t use a landing ‘default tab’ for new visitors. While the default tab was used to collect more likes, it was also a wall that made businesspeople lazy and they didn’t add fresh content. The new layout encourages them to add fresh and relative content, which drives more traffic. It also helps to increase Facebook likes.

The new layout lets you build exposure for the storefront by posting new content every day. You can pin a post at the top of your timeline for 7 days. If you are a smart seller, you can create a posting plan for every day to develop continuous awareness among your fans. And even better, you can look for ways to encourage some comments on your posts by creating polls and asking questions. You can even publish content that provokes response.

2. It offers a rich canvas for expression

The new Facebook page with timeline offers sellers more real estate. They can now add a large image to showcase their products and brand. The ideal timeline cover dimensions are 850px X 315px. And you might want to create a lot of them so that you can rotate them around.

Your business apps will also be more visible on the new page. The old tabs that were present on the left side earlier are now visible using 111px X 74px icons that can be placed under the timeline cover. You can even create custom icons.

The new canvas for applications for the page is also displayed in a larger area. All profile information that was on the left of the page is now on the top, so that sellers can get a better experience in handling their data and looking at their stats. This means a better seller experience.

3. It gives more engagement tools and insights

The old Facebook did not give real time data. So if you wanted to see your analytics for a certain post, it could take two days for that. Now that there are new insights, you can track how a single post is doing within almost 10 minutes of publishing it. This allows them to immediately tweak the posts, depending upon how these posts are performing. This will enable you to amplify the reach of your posts by turning the most famous posts into sponsored stories or premium ads.

Some enhanced and new metrics are:

• People talking: This metric shows the number of people who have engaged to your page in any way. They might have liked your page or commented on a post. You can use this metric to find out how you are appealing to your fans.
• Friends of fans: This number shows how many friends your fans have. This number largely affects your page influence. You can use this metric to find out how much visibility your page has across all Facebook users.

Do you like the timeline? If you hated it earlier, did your views change after reading this post? Let us know. Keep reading for some marketing strategies in our next page, “How to Use Facebook to Promote your Business“

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