This time it's no different, since the moment we saw that 'Coming Soon: New Facebook Pages' box on top of our E-junkie page, we've been following this story very closely and have come to a conclusion that this change has a good side, as well as a disappointing side; it is safe to say that this change might be more inclined towards being a good change. Mostly for those brands who believe in building their presence through fan engagement rather than obnoxious promotional practices.
From 30th March 2012, every business/brand page on Facebook will be converted into a timeline, here's what you can expect from it:
Bad News
Landing Tabs Will No Longer Exist
This will perhaps be the biggest disappointment among page owners who have spent considerable amount of effort in creating a decent landing page. Marketers will no longer be able to offer discounts, subscription offers, contest entries or sign-ups to non-fans landing on their page for the first time. But then if you come to think of it, this change mostly means that Facebook pages will now be 'user-experience' oriented. And one can always try to get creative with the page cover!
Users Might Not Like It
We all know how much we all like to crib when Facebook introduces something new, specially in its design. And it is possible that your fans who are used to a simple wall might not like this change. They will talk about it, they will comment about it and get irritated initially but in time the 'old version' will soon be forgotten and every thing will come back to normal.
Good News
There are lot of new features that will excite a page administrator, I will point out the major ones; my favorite being the messages feature for pages.
Message Brand Pages
I've always wanted to send private messages to many brand pages out there, mostly because there are certain things that I wouldn't like to say publicly on their wall, for all their fans, potential customers and competitors to see. People always like to connect on a personal level with a brand they like, therefore interacting with them from behind-the-scenes will be a welcome change for both page administrators and fans.
Pin Your Favorite Post
Pinning is increasingly becoming a vogue these days, and Facebook has very timely introduced this feature. Page administrators can now pin their most popular post or the post they would like to display prominently on their page. They can simply hover over a story and click on the 'pencil' button on the top right of the box, from where you can select 'pin to top'.
Friend Activity
Facebook has made sure that this design focuses on friends' activity on a particular page. Whenever a fan visits a page, he/she will be able to see the count of his/her friends present on that page on top right of the timeline. Fans will also be able to see their friends' recent activity on that page, which will only increase engagement.
Swanky Admin Panel
Administrators of a page will be greeted with a shiny admin panel, which is one of the most important sections for any one who owns a page. Once you click on 'Admin Panel', a box will be displayed with all the recent notifications, latest messages, new fans and insights (talking about this & reach). Through 'Manage' button, one will be able edit page, use activity log and also see banned users on that page. From 'Build Audience' button, admins can invite email contacts, friends, share page and create an Ad.
Besides these major features, I am sure there is a lot more that one will be able to do with the latest timeline; which can only be learnt by experience. Only after working with the timeline, will we be able to make the most out of it. But I will say this, that initially this change might irk page owners and their fans, but with time we will learn to appreciate the latest changes because there is a lot of potential for creativity in there, both in terms of engagement and looks.
In the meanwhile have a look at this introductory video by Facebook, and don't forget to share your views in the comment section below:
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