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Facebook introduced a long-expected development on Wednesday: Timeline for Pages -- that is, Timeline for brands. It is similar in look and feel and function to the feature that was pushed out to user profiles last fall. However, the implications of Timeline for Pages are much greater for brands, both in outreach to customers and in terms of the additional resources that must be now devoted to Facebook. The changes will automatically roll out on March 30, but brands can upgrade now. Many already have.
Yes, I think it does take more time to manage a Timeline page than any other style of page, but the Timeline is also a significant tool for brands to achieve their goals of trying to use Facebook to make actual sales. The bigger profile pictures are a great way for brands to tell their story creatively, so I think they'll invest the effort if they've already gone this far with promoting their Facebook page. The Timeline is a success as a concept but the implementation is flawed. First of all, from a design perspective, putting a linear concept (time) into two columns is completely flawed. Make the Timeline one axis and stick to it. But from the perspective of having profiles with much bigger pictures, I think that's a resounding success. People are able to spice up their profiles without going to MySpace level extremes of crazy HTML and flash and sparkly stuff everywhere. Businesses like it because they can throw up some cool bigger picture that allow them to tell their story much better. Between Facebook ads directly or the types of services listed at http://www.buyfacebookfansreviews.com there's plenty of ways for businesses to get traffic on Facebook. But the missing part of the equation, and one that Facebook isn't really designed for, is to find ways for users to convert into sales. A huge Timeline picture that allows creative brands a way to tell their story is something that should have a positive impact. I think the concept of the Timeline is killer for users and brands alike, just think that the major problem is to try and organize what should be in one axis in two columns which is disorienting.
