With Timeline launched last week for pages many people are panicking. I’m doing a webinar later today on the topic “Are fan pages dead?” and I’m curious to hear what reasons you’re hearing from people that think fan pages are no longer useful. 

would love your input. 

When I say fan page I mean a Facebook business page. And yes many are saying fan pages are dead. And there are many that are freaking out because the changes mean a complete change in how they market.

Oh I don’t agree with the statement at all. To me fan pages are better than ever. Just different. 

@scottayers

interesting topic, scott. 
to me, marketing in the new world of social media was the “real” complete change to how we market, and a much bigger reason to “freak out” than the navigational changes on facebook. 
i’ve spent quite a bit of time reviewing them, and there are some really great enhancements… the “freak out” is most likely happening only because of the default landing page going away (but still very viable via other means). 

if we want to market in this new world of social media, we will need to “let go” of the thinking that these channels are “replacements” for more traditional forms of marketing – specifically that we are not in control of them (!) and understand that we can practice landing pages and conversion strategies to our hearts content on our own websites, blogs, e-commerce shops instead.
that being said, i’m guessing there will many many creative workarounds by marketers to make this new navigation work for them… and when it changes again down the road… which it undoubtedly will… freak out part 2! : )

would love to read your final article – can you post a link here when it’s posted?

There’s nothing to panic about. All it’s doing is forcing brands to be more interactive. Not a bad thing. The fact you can’t blatantly advertise on your cover photo is an opportunity, not a barrier.

Thanks Peg!

@ashleyhyde has very intelligent points she makes. Change is occurring so rapidly, and when people start making money on the “new way” of thinking, “Stop the World Now!” 

I also like  @pegsousa‘s post, because that encapsulates the force of change that is inevitable! It will become more costly to keep up (time, research and development) so there probably will be less profit until we catch up to the curve; but there should be higher end profits as fewer and fewer will be around at that point … IMHO.

@scottayres @annfurnivall

The timeline will be great for pages.  It brings on a wave of changes that will definitely benefit, not hurt, a business.   I dont see where all this fear and anxiety stems from. 

On the otherhand, I hate timeline for profile pages.  Besides the cover photo, I have plenty of gripes with it.  But to be fair, I usually scorn change at first and then grow accustom to it.

Tweet @GoOmnibeat

today showed me   nothing  had  changed much with my  fans.which  was a relief….  since it looks  pretty different  to me……. this morning  i put on  one  product photo,  big metal palm trees,  got  15 likes or  comments within    5  hrs….thats   pretty  good  for us….  …. 

i dont like the  double  columns  but  guess i  better  get used to it….

how about this?…..  the welcome page wont  take the place of the old landing  page,  rather it will shrink in  value and the visual  presentation of  the  whole page will be the important  thing, the new    landing page if  you like,,….

thats  how im  going to manage mine  for now…

@scottayres  Your right in some ways at first impressions when you switch from the old to new timeline it can be a little daunting and you are left to ask yourself what do I do with this now, where do I place that piece of information, and with the removal of the fangate some may think their fan page is dead…. Well, as app developers we have found that Facebook has really given more real-estate to work with, it has given greater opportunities to place more information on your page , and the ability to highlight your brand is just the beginning.
We have been asked to develop some great apps that will turn your page into a powerhouse that will bring your brand information to one place without leaving Facebook and as business owners that’s what we want, and that’s what our clients want for their fanbase, so keep an eye out for that because it will be something to look forward to, and as quoted by @fernandocortes the on the timeline you will have more options than ever to make your business shine.
Regards Alf