As a casual facebook user, I feel the recent timeline changes are not a welcome sight—in fact I hate it! It’s one of the most debated issues among people today (pretty sad). It’s drawn online protests and immense frustration. And once you’ve formed an opinion about it, it’s hard to change your mind. The new interface is confusing and starting to make the social media giant look like MySpace. Personally I liked the simplicity of the old pages; I could get right to the posts in an easy to follow order.
After my initial dislike for the changes, I tried to be a “glass half full” kind of guy and look at the positives. The first thing that came to mind is how business friendly the changes could be if you used some creativity. Since the timeline features larger “wall” photos and a huge cover photo in addition to a profile picture, and it emphasizes major events, why not embrace this as a tool to promote car dealership events or sales? The possibilities are limited only by your creativity.
Timeline has plenty of naysayers, who say they think the new layout is confusing and reveals too much personal information (hand raised). But plenty of companies are taking advantage of those features. The last time facebook redesigned its profiles to include more photos, artists got creative, and they did it again with Timeline. There are some companies that have embraced the timeline to bolster a marketing campaign that is already in place, and the results are just short of genius.
The Most Interesting Man in the World is a very successful marketing campaign for the Dos Equis brand of beer that has embraced facebook timeline. Dos Equis used facebook to fill in the fictitious history of “The Most Interesting Man in the World “a man rich in stories and experiences while poking fun at pop culture.
In 1977— He starts a disco inferno that consumes seven city blocks.
In 1982— He rescues 35 people from a fondue party.
In 1989— He casually remarks that Berlin might want to rethink its feng shui. Two days later, the Berlin Wall is torn down.
While this certainly works for The Most Interesting Man in the World, it may not work for your dealership, but with a little creativity, you can come up with some great ways to use the timeline to promote your dealership. Whatever your opinion of the changes, you’re sure to appreciate the imagination and originality of the some Facebook users.
The Facebook makeover has affected business and personal pages alike. So if you were not prepared, your dealership’s previously-optimized profile page probably looked stale and empty. Facebook has offered you a gift – in the form of a giant customizable banner at the top of your Timeline. This new 852 pixels x 315 pixels real estate allows you to turn your business page into a billboard for your brand. Don’t waste this visually striking feature by choosing just one cover photo – post new ones at regular intervals to keep your visitors interested. Take a look at some of the creative facebook timeline covers in the gallery; they are certain to inspire you to think outside the box.
—stay creative, my friends!
