Just as happened around a year ago exactly when Facebook moved to the current layout, there will shortly be another significant change to the way in which Facebook users interact with brand pages.
It is introducing the new Timeline layout for pages that many users have been switched to in recent months. As with a lot of Facebook changes, there was an initial backlash of dislike from Timeline users, then acceptance. It will most likely be the same for the new page layout.
We’ve gathered our thoughts below on how this will impact Hotel & Tourism businesses and what you need to know. Please take a moment to leave a comment at the end.
Have you got your imagery “covered”?
One of the main changes is the introduction of the new cover photo at the top of the brand page – a bit like a main image banner on a website it offers a great chance to showcase the brand. This could be great for hotels and tourism businesses in iconic locations who can use the imagery to help promote their brand.
Contact Us
The new look is definitely more visually appealing and also includes the ability to contact the page owner directly. This is exciting, as it leads to the potential for enhanced customer service via Facebook: only the user can contact the brand and not vice-versa, thus reducing the potential for spamming the community.
But there may also be the opportunity for brands to use the new layout to enhance revenue, for example, if brands choose to offer their own flash sale then the community could contact the page directly to participate, provide their contact details and be directed to an off-page URL for booking.
Things and Arrows
However, there are also a couple of potential downsides to this; firstly page owners will no longer be able to direct followers to a custom landing page, nor will they be able to use arrows, text or other calls to action that encourages liking and interaction.
This has been a very popular method for branding the current layout and also encouraging engagement, so there may be a few casualties along the way as brands get to grips with updating their page in the new format. This wouldn’t be good for brand reputation or customer trust, so it is important that businesses are prepared in advance.
Its still all about the content
But probably most significantly, the new layout may remain irrelevant anyway since the vast majority of actual engagement with the brand happens in the users feed. We manage more than 30 hotel and tourism pages on behalf of our clients and we find consistently that the level of interaction on the branded page itself hovers around 1-2%.
Therefore, it is still all about the content and the message that the brand communicates. If that is weak then it will get lost in the users feed (or worse, in the ticker) and the job of directing the community to the lovely new timeline page will be a bit like pushing water up a hill.
Email the team to discuss further or call 0141 342 4335
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