Today was Facebook Marketing Conference in New York. An incredible collection of marketers from brands, agencies, developers and platforms filled the American Museum of Natural History to share inspiring stories of success on Facebook, and hear the latest updates- a stirring set of new offerings and features that they hope will make “Marketing on Facebook feel like the right of Facebook,” in the words of Mike Hoefflinger, Facebook Director of Global Business Marketing. (He also called Timeline a “big fat storytelling canvas” and showed some tremendous examples, from Starbucks and Walmart to Red Bull and Kia.)
It was awesome. It was inspiring. It was a tremendous reminder that Facebook continues to serve as the most comprehensive social destination for brand and audience interaction- and that Timeline is the new “Mission Control for your Company.”
But what does it mean for you?
Above all, it means that Branding and Promotions are alive and well on Facebook. There are new features to adapt to, and new offerings to help you reach more people. But the fundamentals- Facebook as a channel for engaging directly with your customers, giving them offers, gathering their impressions of your brand through user-generated content- haven’t changed.
Please join us for Votigo’s Facebook Marketing Update Webinar, Monday, March 5, at 1pm EST. Sign-up here.
Summary:You can still engage your audience on Facebook by creating and running promotions. All Votigo-powered promotions will work as you designed them. New features make it even easier to direct your audience to promotions and apps. And Like-Gating is still an effective, available feature for engaging audiences who visit your timeline page.
What Changed: Facebook announced that in 30 days, all brand Pages will be transitioned to the new Timeline, or as Facebook calls it, “Mission Control for your Business.” You can begin setting up your Timeline immediately.
What It Means: As Preferred Developers, Votigo has anticipated this change and taken all efforts to ensure that our Platform, and all live and created promotions, will perform as you designed them. We’ll continue to track new Facebook Timeline developments to ensure that your campaigns are seamless. More importantly, your Timeline will strengthen your connection to your audience.
What Changed: Facebook is focused on Storytelling (as opposed to Advertising); in fact, they call Timeline “a big, fat, storytelling canvas.” The new Timeline view emphasizes your brand’s visual imagery (a Cover Photo of product and customers), milestones in your company’s history, and direct engagement with your followers (through the new Message feature.)
What It Means: Promotions and other apps definitelycontinue to be a big part of Faecbook brand marketing; in fact, they may be more important than ever for engaging your audience, drawing them to your new Timeline page, and creating a long-term relationship.
What Changed: There is no longer a default landing tab setting for users to hit a specific tab or app on your Page; they will visit your Timeline first. The tabs are now more visual, with photo icons, just below the Cover Photo.
What It Means:Two new, important features make it simple to direct visitors to your tabs. First, you can highlight posts on your Timeline. (Hover over the upper right corner of a published post and click on the star icon to “Highlight” a post.) And you can upload a Custom Tab Image. (Click “Admin Panel” on Timeline; click on the arrow next to the tabs below the Cover Photo; Hover over the pencil for any Apps you want to change, and click “Edit Settings.”)
So launch a promotion. Write a post about your Promotion, and give it a unique image to draw visitors to it. Many examples and case studies at fMC showcased user-generated photos and videos, and the biggest takeaway might be that, while some features have changed, the opportunity to engage your audience on Facebook has not.
Please Contact our Client Services team to talk about Full-Service promotions. Visit support.votigo.com for additional questions. Or log-in now to start building your next promotion.
