Facebook's Timeline, which is designed to give users the opportunity to trace their entire history on the social network as well as share new experiences as they happen, has finally launched. Timeline brings forth a slew of new opportunities for brands to learn more about their consumers and also reach a bigger audience.
When CEO Mark Zuckerberg first announced Timeline in September 2011 at the F8 Conference, he said the interface is aimed at making it easier to get a full picture of a person by seeing more about them than just their recent profile updates. This will also enable brands to get a better understanding of who their customers are and what they like—potentially invaluable data when it comes to building targeted engagement campaigns.
In addition, Timeline’s compatibility with third-party apps will enable direct engagement between brands and consumers. Ever since the feature was announced, app and game developers have been building social applications that can be integrated with the platform. These include video, music, fitness, sports, food and travel apps that document and publish a user’s activity (watching a video, playing a song, etc.) onto his or her personalized page. This opens up new opportunities for not only direct engagement, but also the chance to reach a wider audience. Simply put, if a Facebook user watches a video from your brand, his friends will also be able to view it—without the user needing to actively post or recommend it. It’s instant—and trusted—recommendations.
User profiles will automatically receive the Timeline profile update on Dec. 22. If you would like to access it before then, click “Get Timeline” here.