11 Ideas to Kickstart a Brand's Facebook Timeline

Today’s Follow Friday guest post is from Mike Schaffer, blogger and director of social media for iostudio. In addition to being a sharp guy, Mike is also a sports fan, pop culture fanatic, and according to his Twitter bio “always striving for awesome.” Who wouldn’t want to be friends with someone like that?! If you’re not sure what to do with your company’s Facebook Timeline, read on for some ideas that will get the creative juices flowing …

By now, you’ve heard about Facebook implementing Timeline for Brand Pages.  And if you manage a page or three, you’ve probably played around with it a bit – or even published the new format. Cover photos, new app placement, it’s all pretty cool stuff.

But here is the biggest change: Under Timeline, the past is as important as the present.

Social media marketing, to this point, has always been about the now. But with Timeline’s functionality, brands can develop their history, retroactively filling in every major milestone they’ve ever had.

In a word: Whoa. (For prime effect, say that like Joey Lawrence in “Blossom.”)

Just a few weeks ago, Facebook’s value proposition was connecting people and companies based on who they are and what they like. Now, though, Facebook owns the past and the present. And you can be assured owning the future is not far behind. Populating the actual Timeline itself can be labor-intensive – like building a museum of your company. But doing so will add huge value to your brand’s Facebook presence.

Let’s Get Started …

1. Launch Date. One of the most interesting facts about a brand is when it all began.
2. Logo Updates. When did you change? Show the old and the new. To create a rich visual history of your brand.
3. Key Personnel. Insert dates when key leaders joined the company.
4. Old Advertisements. Warning, though: A trusted source within the industry told me that brands can’t post their former celebrity-driven ads on Facebook unless the contract permits it
5. Corporate Responsibility Initiatives. Do you staff an annual Habitat for Humanity build? Or collect canned goods for a local homeless shelter each year? Archive your charitable work on your Timeline!
6. Grand Openings. Do you have multiple locations? Log each office or location’s grand opening date, complete with a quote for leadership, or, better yet, a ribbon-cutting photo.
7. Business Wins. Chronicle major business milestones in your company’s history, from new clients to stock surges.
8. Favorite Projects. What are the projects/products you are most proud of? Or the ones that paved the way for your biggest successes? Example: Nobody misses the Apple IIe, but it was a major step that led to MacBooks.
9. The First Dollar. How many thousands of establishment have the first dollar they ever made framed on the wall? To see how far you’ve come, commemorate that moment early on your Timeline.
10. Inspiration. What fuels your machine? Movies, music, books, TV shows, sports – don’t forget to add some of the things that helped define your brand over the years. These items can help you translate your brand to outsiders.
11. Media Hits. Make sure to include key media mentions – be it links, photos or videos – to see how the public responded to your company over the years.

What else do you want to see brands display on their Timelines?

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