The Social Path

Is this the future of Facebook business pages?

Recently, Facebook debuted a new "Timeline" approach to user profiles, which many early adopters have already started using for fun and experimentation. But here's the real question: If the timeline format kicks in for all users, will business pages be far behind?

If the past is any indication, Facebook is fond of uniformity. New formatting changes typically apply to users first, then gradually roll out to businesses. We're even seeing that this week, as Facebook quietly enabled larger photos and galleries on business pages, about two weeks after giving them to users.

Here's an example of the photo change, which our client pages just received this morning:

With such features already being activated for business, it's clearly worth discussing the biggest user change in the works: Timeline.

The new user profile format, currently in beta, uses the full width of your screen to display your updates, photos and conversations in chronological order, with a timeline running down the middle and a related navigation by year off to the far right.

The goal is to turn your profile into a sort of real-time autobiography. You can even go back and add events or comments to the past. Here's a nice video overview from Facebook:

It's like public journaling. Or better yet, it's more like public scrapbooking, with pictures, video, links and coversation. It seems like a lot to deal with, especially when I think about filling in the gaps from years 1986 to 2005. But then again, I once swore I would never upload an photo album to Facebook. Well, 23 albums later, you can label me a liar.

So is Timeline coming to a business page near you? Our colleague Will Flowers mocked up the Luckie timeline you see at the top of this post, and we'd say it looks about right. But there are still several waypoints between here and there.

First Timeline will obviously have to come out of beta, which it is almost certain to do. This beta period was essentially just created for developers to play around with the new format and see how their apps will or won't work within the new environment.

But then there's the question of whether Timeline is the right format for a business. Does a company need a scrapbook? An autobiography? Most consumers, who just want coupons, exclusives and freebies, would probably say no.

But Timeline does show a dramatic shift in how a Facebook page can be formatted. It's modular. And modular means it can be customized. A modular layout for pages could mean an end to tab applications, or at least a complete overhaul of how tabs are used.

For now, we'll keep experimenting and watching as new features continue to evolve. We're curious to hear your predictions, so please be sure to share them in the comments.

Kammie Avant is a social media planner for Luckie & Company. You can contact her by e-mail or follow @KammieAvant on Twitter.

How Facebook has made it easier for critics to bash you, and why that might not be such a bad thing.

If you work at a business that has its share of critics, I hope you’re sitting down, because I’ve got some bad news. (The good news being, not many people read this blog standing up in the first place.)

Just as a recent survey found negative comments about products are becoming more powerful online, Facebook has decided to allow anyone to comment on your business's Page without becoming a fan. What a fantastic combination.

As you probably know, commenting on Facebook pages has traditionally been limited to those who first “Like” the page. Some businesses have felt that this creates a mental barrier for critics who don’t want to be seen “Liking” the evil corporate oppressor.

Admittedly, it’s a short hurdle for activists to leap over, but I was still a bit disappointed to see that Facebook recently (and quietly) removed it. Now anyone can comment on a page regardless of whether they’ve Liked it first.

And criticism appears to be more potent than ever. As you can see in the eMarketer chart below, negative information about products is affecting purchase decisions quite a bit more in 2011 than it did in 2010.

So should we all panic? Yes. Yes we should.

No, I’m just kidding. Of course the news isn’t all bad. In fact, you don’t have to try too hard to put a silver lining on this thunderhead.

Two reasons to remain optimistic:

1. Positive comments continue to outweigh the negative when it comes to affecting purchase decisions. You can see it right there in the same chart. People put a lot of stock in customer praise, perhaps because it’s in such short supply these days.

2. Facebook’s change actually opens you up to more positive comments, too. Not everyone on Facebook is a “joiner,” and many people have an understandable amount of Like fatigue when it comes to brand pages. We take it for granted that Twitter has long allowed businesses and consumers to chat back and forth without any sort of subscription being required.

Now businesses on Facebook have a chance to hear from casual customers who are neither superfans nor megacritics, but still have something important to say. And as with anywhere else on the social Web, if you take the time to respond, you might pull off the greatest trick of all: turning a one-time visitor into a customer for life.

David Griner is the Director of Digital Content for Luckie and Company and contributing editor for Adweek’s blog, AdFreak.com. You can reach him by e-mail or on Twitter.

Are daily deals sweet or sour for business? We look at the numbers.

One of the hottest debates in digital marketing right now is the effectiveness of daily deals such as Groupon and Living Social, which use 50% discounts to create buzz and business for clients.

These and their many competitors claim to generate hundreds or even thousands of new customers with minimal effort, but critics say such deals can often do more harm than good by stretching businesses beyond their abilities to offer quality service.

Here's how the typical pros and cons shake out.

Upsides of daily deals:

• Influx of new customers
• Boost in awareness
• High potential for word of mouth and repeat business

Downsides of daily deals:

• Coupon service can take 50% of earnings
• Massive discounting (usually 50% off) can hurt businesses with low profit margins
• Few businesses are truly prepared for so many customers in such a short time
• Backlash from poor customer service

So who's right, the supporters or the critics? The answer is far from clear, but a few new sets of data can at least help business owners make an educated decision.

Sweet success: Join us for a panel discussion on social media achievements.

For all the talk of how social media is revolutionizing the business world, it can still be surprisingly hard to find good case studies of success.

I hope you can join me next week as I discuss how social media, specifically Facebook, has been a gem for our client, McAlister's Deli. Our Tea Town USA promotion generated 60 million impressions, 68,000 Facebook fans, and, of course, endless gallons of delicious sweet tea.

The Alabama Social Media Association will present a Social Media Success Panel Thursday, Sept. 29 at the Hill Event Center at the Alabama Theatre. I'll be joined by Birmingham's brightest social media experts who have used those tools to achieve great results. Networking begins at 11:15 a.m., and the discussion begins at noon.

In the meantime, I'll be joining AlSocMe Executive Director Stephanie Hutcheson Tuesday, Sept. 27 on ABC 33/40's Talk of Alabama. We'll be chatting about social media with Maggie Poteau around 9 a.m.

Be sure to tune in on Monday, and join us Thursday for Social Media Success.

Edward Bowser is Community Manager at Luckie & Company. You can contact him by email or follow him on Twitter.