Big news out of Facebook headquarters: Timeline pages for brands will arrive later this month. As with other Facebook features, Timeline brand pages will be released as a beta to a select group of users, and then will be more widely distributed in the coming weeks.
Since Facebook unveiled Timeline for personal pages, we’ve been waiting for the same capability and layout to be available for brands—in fact, we have a number of clients for whom we’ve held off on developing custom pages for this very reason.
According to AdAge, Timeline for brands won’t be an exact copy of what you already see on personal pages. Tabs or apps that currently appear on a page’s sidebar may instead show as boxes on a brand’s timeline. Plus, brands will likely be able to add past events that don’t necessarily tie into the date on which the brand joined Facebook, i.e. a company’s founding or other historic milestone.
Aside from aesthetic changes, Timeline is expected to change the way brands approach their Facebook marketing strategies. The new format will likely act as a catalyst for brands to create custom apps that build on Facebook’s new slew of social applications. After all, since Timeline is a sophisticated evolution of the Facebook experience, it’s only natural that user actions move past the simple and usually ambiguous “like” in order to capture a more detailed snapshot of a user’s Facebook interactions.
Although Timeline for brands will be available in a gradual release, the heads-up from Facebook means that businesses and brands know what changes to expect and can plan their development strategies accordingly. And take it from us—the new capabilities that come with Timeline are something your business will want to maximize instead of merely slapping a cover photo on your existing page and calling it a day.
Have you given any thought to your brand’s Timeline strategy? We’d love to hear your initial thoughts on the newly announced functionality.
Image via Facebook
