Facebook has rolled out its Timeline feature for brand pages, and is offering more options than ever for brands to connect with their fans within the social network. However, there are implications for pharma that marketers must be aware of.

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Highlights The New Facebook Timeline
 Facebook is rolling out changes Format: Implications for
to brand pages with functions
and a new interface that match
Pharma Marketing
Lian Han, Sara Collis
the personal profile Timeline Digital Integration & Innovation
format April 5, 2012
 In addition to a new layout, Summary
Facebook has also added As a continuation of its Timeline rollout, which hit
buttons to highlight media posts, personal profiles earlier this year, Facebook is now
launching similar features and layouts for brand pages.
a robust back‐end management
In addition to new sharing features, a more detailed
and tracking screen and
tracking administrative panel and the option for a large
integration with Facebook cover photo, the date‐oriented timeline format will allow
Premium Ads brands to create a more vivid and chronologically
oriented experience.
 Most changes will allow brands
to be more engaging and However, while these changes improve creative
creative with their Facebook application and consumer engagement, they generate
presence new regulatory considerations as well. Many of the
changes require additional oversight, management and
 However, some changes will monitoring in order to maintain FDA compliance.
have specific implications for
Key Information
pharma, such as the ability for
A number of functional and display changes will be
consumers to directly message released as part of the new Timeline format:
brands on Facebook
Timeline Interface: Timeline is a layout style that
 Careful consideration of FDA Facebook began to roll out for personal profiles at the
compliance should be applied in beginning of this year. The Timeline format places an
regards to these changes emphasis on dates and their relation to postings, media
and links. This allows for faster browsing through posting
histories and creates a more date‐based, time‐relevant
experience, rather than just a list of past activities and
posts. These changes are now rolling out to brand pages,
as expected.
Cover Photo: Brand pages will now have a cover photo,
which is a larger unit at the top of each brand page.

2. Facebook App Tabs: Apps are now listed in a horizontal row underneath the cover picture. Up
to 12 apps can be included under the brand page, and the order can be changed. Some apps
don’t have images, but can be changed through the edit settings of each app screen.
Pinning/Highlighting a Post: There are now two options, pinning and highlighting, that help
brands to advertise news and statuses. Both of these functionalities can be accessed through
the top right corner of each posting. Pinning an update keeps the update at the top of the fan
page/wall for 7 days. Pinned updates show a yellow flag in the top right corner. Highlighting an
update displays it in widescreen, spanning both columns of the brand page wall.
Administrative Panel: The administrative panel, the area where your brand team can toggle
permissions and notifications, is now located above the cover photo. There is also built‐in
functionality to toggle between hiding the panel and showing it in full. The admin panel
dashboard displays notifications, recent Likes, a snapshot of your page’s insights, any messages
you have waiting to read and a menu that includes options to manage your page, build your
audience and create an ad. Facebook personal users can now send private messages to the
brand page directly by clicking the messages button in the bottom right corner of the cover
photo. This feature can be turned off through the Manage Permissions section. In the past, the
first page that fans would see when visiting a brand page would be a welcome page/tab.
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Back‐end Tracking/Analytics: Facebook has added more adaptability to its analytics
functionality by introducing an insights column that offers information on who is discussing the
brand and when these discussions are taking place in relation to content postings. A purple bar
shows how many times you post content per day, and the green and blue bars show how those
posts are affecting your target audience.
Direct Messages: In an effort to migrate personal profile changes to brand pages, direct
messages can now be sent between personal users and brands. These direct messages are
private and function exactly like direct messages currently do for person‐to‐person contact. This
new change will allow brands to communicate with fans on an extremely personal level and
help to answer private questions and carry on a closed dialogue.
Implications and Action Items
Timeline brand pages present a host of new opportunities and challenges. The new changes
increase the connectivity between individual users and brands, which in turn makes knowing
your audience, setting a content calendar and monitoring feedback more important, and more
accessible, than ever. However, along with the benefits come some areas of difficulty for
pharma marketers—some changes have immediate FDA compliance implications and need to
be closely monitored and addressed accordingly.
Timeline Format: The Timeline format shows a chronology of all content that has been posted
to the brand page. Marketing teams should go back and assess if previously posted content is
still compliant with FDA regulations, especially in regards to commenting, open fields and
feedback that seeks to address adverse effects or off‐topic information. Check for fair balance
on older media and delete or modify media that is in violation of FDA guidelines.
Visual Sharing: The new brand page layout lends itself well to visual storytelling. Pictures,
videos and links can be pinned or highlighted to drawn attention to various news items and
posted content. Similar to the best practices regarding Facebook’s new Premium Ads, be sure
to carefully monitor social activity and comments on media. Be sure that users know the legal
limitations and implications of actions on the brand page and explicitly state that comments
can be deleted based on the brand’s discretion. As always, consider using unbranded content
for pinning and highlighting specific items to avoid off‐label allusions or fair balance issues.
Facebook Premium Ads: Coinciding with the new brand page revamp, Facebook has rolled out
“Premium Ads” that provide marketers with opportunity to turn posted content into a clickable
advertisement. The new Premium Ads are highly social and allow users to “Like” and comment
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directly on the ad. These interactions will show up on friends’ newsfeeds and also the
advertiser’s brand page. This implication requires careful consideration of posted content from
the brand perspective, as that content will be recycled and repurposed as potential ads in the
future. (For more information on the new Facebook Premium Ads offerings, contact an account
manager or digital strategist to receive a copy of our Premium Ads POV to supplement this
document.)
Tracking and Analytics: With the addition of a robust admin panel, Facebook has significantly
deepened brands’ capabilities of tracking their Facebook activity. In a pharma context, due to
the need for approval on all posted materials, the tracking and analytics functions can’t always
be used to make real‐time decisions, due to the lengthy regulatory process. However, there is
an opportunity to use this data to optimize overarching content strategies across a longer
period of time. Instead of capitalizing on popular content, look at the overall trajectory of
views, generated conversations and reach to explore and devise more incisive editorial and
timing calendars.
Private Messages: Private messages to brand pages are perhaps the biggest legal consideration
when managing your new brand page. Be sure to develop contingency and moderation plans
that will answer all private messages without broaching off‐label suggestions and adverse
events, and react swiftly and effectively to halt or divert conservations that are not compliant
with FDA regulations. This new one‐on‐one communication channel should be treated with the
same sensitivity and consideration for fair balance as traditional direct communication.
Remember, this function can be turned off in the admin panel.
Conclusion
By rolling Timeline out to pages, Facebook is now hoping to align the brand experience with the
traditional Facebook personal experience. What this means is not only a parallel interface, but
branded content and ads will show up in news feeds and be publicized on personal profiles.
This will make posted media much more personable, shareable and adaptive as original
content. Researching your Facebook audience, monitoring sharing, and developing a content
strategy should be the first steps in managing this interface transition. Deciding when and what
to post now has deeper implications as Facebook is also poised to roll out Premium Ads, which
will pull content directly from a brand page. From a functionality standpoint, be aware of the
new features, settings and offerings and work with your editorial and regulatory review team to
backdate and fix any outstanding issues of compliance. As brand page content is becoming
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more accessible and shareable, take advantage of these opportunities to heavily promote social
content while being sure to stay within FDA Guidelines.
Sources:
http://www.elirose.com/2012/03/facebook‐fan‐page‐timeline‐changes/
https://mashable.com/2012/03/20/facebook‐admin‐panel/
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/170905/get‐ready‐brands‐facebook‐is‐switching‐it‐up.html
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