Facebook Page Changes Today

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This was supposed to post tomorrow, March 30, which is actually the day the change takes place.  I had my posting scheduling off by one day, though, so you’re actually getting this a day early.  😦 )

Changing your Facebook Page to the new timeline view is no longer a choice.  As of today, all pages should be using the new view.  Some features have gone bye bye and some new ones are now available. 

I switched over my page for Painted Black a while ago and so far my only complaint is that when someone besides me posts to the page, it gets condensed into a little window with everyone else’s and does not display prominently at all.  See the image to the right which I copied from New Libri’s site.

I posted to the help line as did several others asking if there is any way to fix this but so far I’ve not seen a response.

Here are a few links to tell you more about what to expect.

Here is Facebook’s official Help page about the new view.  I would start here if you’re trying to understand how to make the most of your new page.

https://www.facebook.com/help/?page=203955942973503

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Here’s an article about how the new changes might affect how you use it for promotion.

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/8-new-facebook-page-changes-what-you-need-to-know/

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If you use your Facebook page to track how much traffic you’re getting, here is a cautionary article about how the new view might affect your numbers.

http://www.allfacebook.com/insights-change-2012-03

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Here are some links to articles on what the changes mean to you specifically as an author. 

http://blog.bookbaby.com/2012/03/how-to-set-up-facebook-timeline-for-authors/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/penny-c-sansevieri/how-to-market-your-fan-pa_b_1379458.html?ref=facebook

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There’s even a Facebook Page set up as a place to vent your complaints about the Facebook Page.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Complaints-About-Facebook/123669417667759

Hungry for Promotion Ideas?

A Facebook friend posted a link to the article below with the remark that writers could learn a few tricks from the marketing strategy used by the producers of the movie The Hunger Games.  Especially if you’re working on a shoestring budget.  I think he might have a point.  Read below and if you click on the link to the whole article, go to page two to see some specific examples of how they used social media to their advantage.

While some studios have halted once-standard marketing steps like newspaper ads, Lionsgate used all the usual old-media tricks — giving away 80,000 posters, securing almost 50 magazine cover stories, advertising on 3,000 billboards and bus shelters.

But the campaign’s centerpiece has been a phased, yearlong digital effort built around the content platforms cherished by young audiences: near-constant use of Facebook and Twitter, a YouTube channel, a Tumblr blog, iPhone games and live Yahoo streaming from the premiere.

By carefully lighting online kindling (releasing a fiery logo to movie blogs) and controlling the Internet burn over the course of months (a Facebook contest here, a Twitter scavenger hunt there), Lionsgate’s chief marketing officer, Tim Palen, appears to have created a box office inferno.

via How ‘Hunger Games’ Built Up Must-See Fever – NYTimes.com.