In February of 2012, Facebook made Timeline mandatory for all business pages. The business community became very upset. Before Timeline, companies were able to specify what visitors to their page would see – their “Landing Tab”. Once Timeline became a reality, every visitor to your Facebook Page was greeted with the Timeline. Businesses could no longer control the content seen by their fans. Businesses felt that using Timeline would result in a loss in engagement.
So, did it happen?
There is no clear answer, as of yet.
In March, Simply Measured conducted a study indicated that brands were getting an average of 46% more engagement with the new 
Timeline. Great, except that they only looked at 15 Facebook brand pages. And these were some major brands, including Livestrong, Toyota, Red Bull, Sears, Walmart, Ford, and Old Spice. There wasn’t a single small business in the mix. In their study, they found an average increase of 46% for engagement per post and an average increase in fan engagement overall of 14%.
Did engagement rise? Maybe. But what about the use of the new “apps” within Facebook, which replaced the custom tabs we were all accustomed to?
In July, PageLever provided Mashable data indicated that tab engagement had dropped off 53% since brand pages began adopting the new Timeline. And this was after looking at approximately 500 fan pages with over 10,000 fans each. So, why this sudden drop-off? According to PageLever, it was due to 2 factors: 1. Brands can no longer set a custom landing tab; and 2. Tabs are less visible in the new timeline layout.
So, is page engagement down?
Not according to a new study, just released by ShortStack, a self-service Facebook app platform, which indicates that fan engagement is nearly back to its pre-Timeline level. This time, ShortStack looked at over 30,000 Facebook pages with over 400 million Likes, and noticed that even though engagement numbers had lowered during March and April, they were beginning to rise, and were meeting levels attained before the switch to Timeline.
Why? One can only guess, and mine is simple. We are becoming more comfortable with Timeline, and are more able to interact with brands pages now that time has passed.
What do you think? Are you seeing more or less engagement on your Facebook pages? What about with your custom apps? Have you abandoned them? Will you try again? Let’s discuss it in the comments, below.
Sources:
- ShortStack Reports Facebook Fan Engagement on the Rise Since Introduction of Timeline
- Facebook Tab Engagement Down 53% Since Timeline Launch
- Facebook Timeline Provides 46% Lift in Brand Page Engagement [Study]
- Timeline for Pages – It’s Happening
About Craig Yaris
Craig E. Yaris is the owner of EsquireTech Solutions, which helps small business get found on the social web, whether through Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, he can both teach you the effective use of any social network or act as your social media manager, enabling you to reach your clients where they are and when they want to hear from you. He can teach your organization the social media best practices that can help you use the tools of today to cost-effectively increase your bottom line. EsquireTech Solutions brings the social web to your business. Visit EsquireTech Solutions or call 516-495-9107 .
