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SMAR T MARKETIN G VISION On March 30, Facebook overhauled its business Pages to match the new Timeline format they unveiled for Profiles several months ago. So what do these changes mean for you salon Page? Well, a lot. It looks completely different. The new Timeline layout for Pages is very similar to the Timeline layout for personal Profiles. They contain a large photo at the top called a "cover photo" that you can use for additional branding. The main body is the actual Timeline, separated into two columns with a line down the middle (the timeline). The Timeline lets you share the story of your salon with your followers. You can outline the history of your com- pany and tag important milestones, such as new product launches and special events. The Timeline for Pages is Facebook's next step in helping companies humanize themselves and connect with customers. And that's really what social marketing is all about. Customers remain loyal to brands when they feel like they are part of their story. You can no longer set a default land- ing page. For the past couple years, having a customized default landing page was a must. It was usually a simple page with the purpose of getting visi- tors to like your page. The new Timeline Page format no longer allows you to set a default landing page. This means you're going to have to be intentional about the messages that are at 107 SMART TAN MAGAZINE [ SmartTan.com the top of your Timeline, since you'll want to control the first impression visitors get when visiting your page. You can now send and receive private messages with your users. Up until now, there was no way for your salon to send private messages to people that fol- low your page, but now you can. You can even receive private messages from your followers! So if a customer has a personal or spe- cific question, they can now send you a private message instead of posting it on your wall. More importantly, you can pri- vately respond. It's going to make it even easier to communicate one-on-one with your customers. You can now easily feature content. I talked about how you'll want to be inten- tional about the content at the top of your Timeline. You can now "pin" posts to the top of your Timeline. So if there's a certain picture, comment, video or other post that you want people to see immediately upon loading your Page, you can pin that to the top of your Timeline. While this doesn't really make up for the lack of a default landing page, it does help to control the initial impression of your Page. Tabs are no longer as visible. Before, you could add applications to your Page that would appear in the left panel as a list of links. You can still use applications, but they appear in small rectangular pan- els at the top of your Timeline. Only three are visible at once, so users have to select additional applications from a drop-down box. So there you have it. You'll either love it or hate it, but the reality is, you have to deal with it. Social media marketing is way too important these days to just ignore. We have to remember, it's still a very new medium and everyone is still figuring it all out. Facebook is what really changed the game to begin with, and they're doing what they think is best for them and their users. The bottom line – be flexible and don't get comfortable. As soon as you think you've got the perfect formula, some- one is sure to mix it up a bit. To keep up, you just have to be ready and willing to change with it! Chris Cummings is the Marketing and Communications Director for Smart Tan. When he isn't working, he enjoys spending time outdoors, going to concerts and travel- ing. He can be reached by email at ChrisC@ SmartTan.com.