This is my new Facebook profile, complete with timeline and cover photo.

 

Whether you are a student, professional, adult, or senior citizen, you are probably on Facebook. According to iStrategyLabs, there were over 13 million users on Facebook between the ages of 13 and 17 in January of 2011. Since Facebook officially rolled out their new timeline last Monday, there are many different opinions on how Facebook users will perceive the changes.

Some of you may be wondering, “What is timeline, exactly?” Timeline is the newest layout for your Facebook profile page. The changes to it include a cover photo that appears at the top of your screen behind your main profile picture – almost like the header of a blog.  The main feature is the actual timeline which is just what it sounds like – a timeline showing your posts, your likes, your pictures, and anything else that you want to share with your Facebook friends. An example of the updated timeline is below.

Screenshot of my timeline on Facebook

What does the new layout mean for marketers? Some will argue that this change isn’t a big deal while others, myself included, see it as a great opportunity. Facebook, as we have always known it, is an easy way to see businesses and simply “Like” them. With the new timeline feature, everything that you “Like” is suddenly more visible than before to all of your friends. It comes up in your newsfeed, it shows up on your timeline, and now everyone knows what you “Like”. It’s like word-of-mouth marketing without even speaking! It couldn’t get easier.

So how can a marketer capitalize on this new feature? The new Facebook is directed towards a new target market: teenagers. The timeline is a great new feature for teenagers that have grown up using Facebook. It lets them see a timeline of their lives, and more importantly, their friends’ lives on a social network. They can look at pictures from the past to the present. Marketers now have the best thing they could ever ask for – the ability to create lifelong clients. In every marketing class you learn that if you grab a customer early in life they will likely stick with your brand. If a marketer is able to grab a kid at a young age they will most likely be able to keep them for the majority of their lives.

The timeline feature gives a company the ability to express themselves and express their brand message on Facebook more than ever. They can set a background picture as well as a separate profile picture just like people can. It also allows for an easier way to communicate and be aesthetically pleasing for more the more tech-savvy younger generations. Brands can also share videos, blog posts, featured products, and their back story more easily.  Since Facebook’s popularity is only expanding, especially for teens, this new Facebook is a marketer‘s dream. If you want to market to a young audience, Facebook is a great medium to do so.

How will your company use the new Facebook to market to a younger crowd? Please leave your comments in the section below!

-Tim Lepore, Internal Marketing Intern at 451 Marketing