Following Change on Facebook – Profound Platform Evolution! What’s New! What it Means for Users!
What it Means for Brands!
What We’re Watching!
Predictions!
Timeline!
Profiles evolve to scrapbooks. Users will shift from reporting (posts about what’s happening now) to storytelling (curating the content of their lives – past, present, and future).!
New dynamic for brands on Facebook. Shift from content creators to experience architects. Develop experiences that provide value to users, help them enhance their Timelines, communicate with brands.!
Learnings and emerging best practices for Apps in Timelines from launch partners (Spotify, Netflix, etc).! ! Potential for increased conversation with consumers due to “socialized Apps.” Where is this conversation taking place? What does it sound like?!
Once users are familiar with Timeline, look for a version of it to be released for brand Pages – further transforming how brands utilize Facebook.!
Ticker!
Allows users to instantly see what their friends and Liked brands are doing. “Real time” stream of content in Ticker may overwhelm some; others may stay on-site longer, captivated by endless flow of updates. Leaves the News Feed as repository for “old” content in full form. !
Total reliance on Page posts is a thing of the past. Ticker is a small space. Brands compete for user attention within a steady stream of posts from friends, Apps, and other brands that disappear quickly from view. ! ! Understand user behavior patterns and deliver value to earn space in Tickers, News Feeds, and Timelines. !
How consumers actually use the Ticker.! ! Performance of abbreviated Sponsored Stories that appear in the Ticker.! ! Rules and patterns determining whether brand content populates the Ticker vs. News Feed.!
Emergence of new ad units that are similar to Sponsored Stories.! ! Incorporation of Ticker into Facebook’s Mobile App.!
Gestures (aka Verbs)!
Express real-world actions online, not just their affinity for things (Like).! ! No longer need to Like a brand to engage with it.!
Initial Gestures are universal: Watched, Listened, and Read. These can be incorporated into Apps or buttons. ! ! Brands cannot own Gestures, but should evaluate which ones, if any, are relevant and investigate interaction patterns that can populate the News Feed.!
The rollout of additional universal Gestures and opportunities to develop custom Verbs.! ! Potential for increased engagement between consumers and brands when Like barrier is removed.!
Brands that incorporate Gestures that are more relevant to their purpose/product/ service should see higher engagement than with previous Like function.!
Apps!
Apps help users make their Timelines more interesting, enabling them to share and discover with friends.!
Raises bar for brand presence on Facebook. Brands need to embrace the change and reevaluate their approach. ! ! It’s not about number of Likes; it’s about engagement. Requires a user-centric approach – allowing for participation (be social by design) and having a clear purpose.!
Shifts in engagement with brand Pages.! ! New Gestures released for Apps and opportunities to create your own Verbs in the future.! ! How many Apps the average users actively maintain.!
Similar to the mobile app market, there will be strong competition and competitors will extend beyond those in your industry. ! ! Opportunities will arise for brands to partner with media/entertainment Apps or with other brands vs. building a proprietary App.!
OpenGraph! !
Frictionless experiences and one-time permissions take the work out of sharing. ! ! News Feeds and Tickers inundated with posts, or users inadvertently share things they might not want to share. !
Opportunities to amplify engagements with your brand that occur outside of Facebook (purchases, reviews, etc.). OpenGraph integration can complement Apps or be an alternative to developing an App.!
What Facebook will do with all this behavioral data.! ! Whether lightweight engagements are viewed as noise or items of interest.!
Privacy will become more of an issue.! ! Facebook may incorporate some element of curation back into sharing.! !
Following Change on Facebook, Vol 1, Issue 6 October 2011 © Leo Burnett | Contact: Marina Molenda 312-220-5465 / twitter.com/marina81!