An example showing recommended changes for cover image, tabs and apps

As previously notified on Smart Insights, in March Facebook announced there would be a major update to its Facebook brand pages. It has now confirmed that by 6 June all Facebook brand Pages (note brand Pages, not personal Profiles which changed a while ago now) will have a new look. A number of Pages have already been invited to switch on the new timeline design and I've been having a good poke around to share what I've found. As always I'm using the Musicademy Page to illustrate the changes.

Overview of changes

Firstly, whilst it does look quite different, there isn't any majorly different functionality. Facebook has simply moved things around a bit. But inevitably there are some implications for things such as cover image, tabs and apps. The first thing you'll notice is that there is now a single column for posts and that…

Plus a great Facebook UGC idea

I wrote previously about a useful tool that enables you to link up social conversations from Facebook and Twitter with a blog post that then turns your blog into the engagement hub pulling in comments made on the other platforms. As I explained before, our usual strategy is to post a nice meaty article on the blog and then create a link to it on Facebook. Now I'd rather have people on the blog than our Facebook Page any day (it's owned rather than earned media and means we stand a better chance of monetising the content too) but the majority of users really like Facebook as the conversation platform so inevitably that's where most of the comments surface. We also create a lot of content that tends to be "Facebook only". Some of the meme-type content, quick pictures and status updates just wouldn't sit properly…

Lookalikes can now include site visitors tracked with Facebook Conversion or Custom audiences for website pixels

Targeted advertising on Facebook through 'Lookalikes has been available for some time as Marie Page explained  in her blog in March 2013. This alert is to let you know that Facebook have recently been announcing more enhancements to this advertising technique so that it allows companies to connect with Facebook members who fit the profile of their website visitors.

So what's new this time? Facebook have taken this one step further, to connect advertisers to 'lookalike Facebook members' who visit their website, use their mobile apps or are connected to their Facebook page.

How does it work?

To target in this way can now embed the conversion pixel tool in your website which sends data back to Facebook about your visitors, and this only works with Facebook. The advertiser can…

A larger ad format aimed at increasing ad response

Importance: [rating=5] Recommended link: New Facebook Ad Format in the right-hand column Facebook have launched a new sponsored ad design in the coming, with more visual designs, to increase engagement for Advertisers. The ads will appear in the right hand column for more prominence of ads and videos making them consistent with newsfeed ads:

 What's the buzz about the new Facebook changes?

According to Facebook, these are the reasons behind the improvements: Improved clickthrough rates?  Facebook is looking to increase its CPC revenue and increase competition between advertisers with this new format. So Advertisers will have a greater opportunity to get their message across. Some tests have seen…

How to review and improve the engagement of your Facebook fans and impact on your business

As the largest global social networking site, Facebook opens up a huge opportunity to engage with your customers and increase affinity with your brand. Engagement is the key indicator of a successful Facebook page, with high levels meaning that you are posting content that your fans find both relevant and interesting. More engaged fans are more likely to be converted into paying customers. The question is, how do you measure how engaged your fans are and what are the best tools around that can help you measure engagement on Facebook? Follow this step-by-step process to start measuring how engaged your Facebook fans are.

1. Start off – Define your KPIs

To make sure you have targets to work towards, set out some KPIs that you can use to measure your progress against. There are many metrics available online, for example:

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Also adds Pages to Watch feature to enable competitor review

Importance: [rating=5] Recommended link: Facebook - New Brand Page Layout change 26th March update: The new layout still hasn't rolled out for us yet, but Facebook has posted a blog answering some FAQ about the new brand page layout. This suggests that apps will be in left hand column so may be more prominent than the previous grabs below suggested, so maybe good news. Is anyone seeing the new version yet? This is big news since most brands now have a Facebook page which is a primary way of engaging with prospects and customers. Facebook have announced it will be changing the layout of the Facebook Brand Pages starting this week. Keep an eye out this week, as it is rolled out. So what will it give us and look…

Combining conversations from different platforms

It started with a moan over dinner. I was chatting with sometime Smart Insights blogger Yusuf Bhana about how well things were going on the Musicademy Facebook Page but how frustrating it was that we end up hosting one (somewhat limited) conversation about a blog post on the blog and then another (altogether more animated) conversation about that same blog post on the Facebook Page.

"My philosophy has always been to host conversations in the places where your community want to have them and over the years as Facebook has become such a mainstream place for content marketing for many consumer brands, inevitably a lot of the buzz we create online has moved there, away from the blog".

Centring your content sharing and discussion on Facebook has advantages in terms of virality (albeit organic reach right now is shockingly poor do to yet another algorithm change…

A step-by-step guide to integrating Facebook with an online store

You will know that worldwide, Facebook is the largest online social network, there are over 1.5 billion active Facebook users. This data from Global Web Index on active social media network platform active usage  shows the continued dominance of Facebook. How can retailers best take advantage of all these Facebook interactions? This post looks at Facebook fan engagement for e-commerce websites specifically - I hope the examples I show will give you some new ideas.  The Smart Insights Guide to Facebook marketing has more details and guidance with retail examples too. We will explore how to structure your page and what types of status updates to choose in order to gain the most relevant and loyal audience of your future customers. You will also find out what applications work best. 1. First…

Successfully combining paid advertising and organic content on Facebook in 2014

Marketing professionals all around the world, whether online or offline will know that the marketing environment can change significantly at any given time. Social media is a notoriously flexible and changeable medium, as users and owners try to figure out how to best optimise the sites. Just recently we have seen Facebook introduce a new brand page layout. The latest change in the world of social media is one that was perhaps inevitable from the conception of social networking but has now set the bar for the future of social media marketing. In December 2013, Facebook released a document called 'Generating business results on Facebook.' In this document the company advise that they 'expect organic distribution of an individual page’s posts to gradually decline over time as we continually work to make sure people have a meaningful experience on…

Techniques to increase Facebook 'Likes'

Boosting engagement across different social media networks is a concern for many marketers today, even though the commercial objectives may vary for different types of brand. In Facebook the aim will be to increase 'Likes' or new Fans though ultimately leading to improved brand awareness or increasing sales from new or existing customers.

The success of a Facebook update to achieve these goals can depend on many factors, including time of postings, content. This infographic from KISSmetrics reminds us of this. Remember that, as for all marketing channels, 'testing' is key as the sector and audiences vary across businesses.

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