Graphic D-Signs, Inc. - Small Business Advertising Agency? - NJ ...

By Dan Antonelli / President & Creative Director, NJ Advertising Advertising Agency Graphic D-Signs, Inc.

If you are reading this blog, then chances are you landed here via Facebook. And if you landed here via Facebook, then chances are that you, or your business -- or both -- have a Facebook Profile. In case you haven't noticed, the folks at Facebook like to make changes to their virtual landscape that keep us all on our toes. The latest and greatest "upgrade" is the Timeline.?This once optional user interface, Timeline, will become a mandatory component of every individual and business profile on March 31, 2012. So, what does that mean for your company?

There are several key components of Timeline that are different than the current profile page. While you may not love them, they are the future of Facebook?so it is important to embrace these changes instead of fight them.?We decided to highlight some of the major differences here, to help you navigate through the new Facebook landscape:

1. Administrator Access: The Timeline allows you to assign up to five different degrees of access for page administrators and gain access to real-time analytics surrounding popular activity metrics.?
2. Cover Photo: Possibly the most noticeable change, the cover photo displays across the top of a page's timeline...and it's sizably larger than the current profile picture allowed.?The cover image can be used to visually tell your brand's story by showcasing photos or unique selling points of your products or the people who use them. But, it cannot be a billboard for your business; that means it cannot include price or purchase information, or calls to action or display your web address, email or other contact information. It also cannot urge people to ?Like? or ?Share? your page.?
3. Custom Tabs: These spaces will automatically display several items, like a brand?s photos and its number of ?likes.? However, they can also be customized. You can have large icons linking to your custom tabs, like Social Campaigns, at the top of your timeline -- giving them more visibility. If your business has apps or coupons, this is a prominent way to display them.
4. Optional Message Button: A?private messaging option allows your fans and customers to communicate with your business in a one-on-one environment. This feature gives customers the power to voice any complaints or negative feedback in private, and out of the "public Facebook" eye. Private messaging gives your business the opportunity to identify any weaknesses with your service or product and allows you to defuse the situation in real time with a solution. Customers want to be heard so this provides them with that platform.?
5. Pinning:?By now, most of us have heard of Pinterest. In a similar fashion, the new, Pinning function allows company's to keep a particular promotion or offer at the forefront of their page for a full week. So, while you continue to populate your page with daily information and status updates, you can also keep timely messages "sticky" at the top, where they won't get lost.?

What will the powers at Facebook dream up next? That remains to be seen. For now, it's up to all of using Facebook as a marketing tool, to roll with the changes. Ten years ago, the word Facebook was unheard of and now we can't imagine life without it. So, they must be doing something right. Let's follow suit, and make Timeline work for all of us.

Dan Antonelli is the President and Creative Director of Graphic D-Signs, Inc, a NJ Advertising Agency specializing in small business advertising, marketing, and brand development in New Jersey and across the country.

Source: http://graphicd-signs.blogspot.com/2012/03/how-facebook-timeline-is-evolutionizing.html

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