Timeline is Facebook’s profile page layout and is meant to improve engagement between Facebook users.

According to Mashable, Instagram is a free photo sharing program launched in October 2010 that allows users to take a photo, apply a digital filter to it, and then share it on a variety of social networking services.

Facebook’s photo taking abilities via smartphones aren’t nearly has good as Instagram’s, so it decided to buy the competition. Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion. Instagram had nearly 30 million users before it was bought by Facebook. To hear more about the acquisition and why it was made, watch this post.

Facebook’s new profile layout is very visual.  All users have a cover photo along with a profile picture.  In addition, users are able to highlight specific moments which they want to share with the world.

Even the worst photos can look good with Instagram.  Earlier today a friend and I went to see the Broadway production of American Idiot that was playing in Phoenix.  We were able to get second row seats and were very excited. So, along with our check-in on Facebook, we posted a photo (using our phones) of where we were sitting.

This was the photo using Instagram:

What otherwise would have been an ugly photo was made into a cool snapshot.  We were then able to brag to our Facebook friends about our awesome seats. Plus, the photo looked great on Timeline.

However, companies utilizing Facebook are having an entirely different reaction to the timeline feature. All brand pages were officially switched to the timeline feature on March 30, 2012 and engagement for many companies has increased ever since.

Simply Measured, a analytics company with a blog, studied 15 early adopters of the timeline feature and measured how the companies engagement statistics fared after they made the switch.  Nearly all of the companies experienced improvement.

I am not surprised by this and think timeline is very consumer friendly. Why?

• It is much easier to connect with an audience utilizing timeline. Companies can make posts large or small depending on the importance. Photos, polls and posts are much easier for a company to advertise because they are in control of how the content is release to the public.
• It allows for a company to define itself.  A cover photo allows a company to express its personality using creative methods.

A good example of a company correctly utilizing timeline is Southwest Airlines. They have all the qualities necessary to make a timeline page engagement friendly. It’s cover photo and profile picture describe the brand so you know exactly who they are and what they do.  The content on its Facebook page includes:

• Contests

• Internal community relations

• community engagement

There are people posting on Southwest Airline’s page engaging the company in a conversation.  When all the number add up, that’s what you want.  You want to be engaging your client and have a conversation.

The question is, how does one boost their SEO?

It all comes back to engagement and knowing your audience. What is your audience going to search for? What key words will they use?

This is a great blog post better explaining SEO and why it is so essential to companies success.

Creating dialogue and having an ongoing conversations on Facebook and Twitter greatly increases the chance of a having a great SEO. Why? Because consumers are talking about what they want to talk about.  When someone writes on a company’s Facebook wall, chances are they are going to mention a product or something related to the company.

Sprinkles Cupcakes does a great job manipulating its SEO.  Look at its google search results page, everything on the first page is related to the brand, and almost all of it is social media related.  This blog post better explains why social media is becoming essential to a company’s SEO.

Why I think Sprinkles is successful with its SEO is related to my last blog post.  Sprinkles does TONS of giveaways.  Usually, the company will Facebook or Tweet a “secret” code word that if the customer “whispers” at Sprinkles, he or she will receive a free cupcake!

Social media users will then retweet or share the freebie on their own accounts.

Sprinkles also has individual Facebook’s for each of their locations where it also does freebies and giveaways. This increases the companies SEO because it has yet another outlet where there is a conversation going on regarding the brand.

Social Engagement, as defined by a blog called Creativity Matters, is active involvement in the community and with other people, not for the sake of being involved, but to accomplish something of meaning and value for the community.  While this definition was not meant for social media purposes, it fits well because this is exactly what companies are trying to accomplish in the realm of social media.

Promotions and contests play a direct role in creating and maintaining a community.   Brian Solis offers great statistics about what consumers are looking for and why, when they are on social media sites.  In order to attract consumers, companies need to keep a few things in mind:

• Know your audience
• Know what you want from your audience
• Keep the conversation going

Meaghan Edelstien wrote a great article further defining these goals.

As a public relations student and an avid social media user, I am constantly analyzing how companies use promotions and contests via social media to enhance their images. Below are two examples of of promotions and contests using social media.  I personally implemented one and I thought the other was a great, recent example of what one company has done to promote its image.

For example, as an ASU student I play a very active role in student government.  In August, we went through a branding effort and had to rebuild our social community.  The way our PR team did this by giving out ASU football tickets on our Facebook and Twitter pages.  The contest worked well and we were able to engage students and promote ASU at the same time!

Here is a more drastic example with a more immediate result:

Sauce Pizza & Wine is a local chain located in Phoenix. They are part of a greater chain of restaurants called Fox Concept Restaurants.  Fox Concepts launched a Facebook page for Sauce on January 11th.  In return for “liking” its Facebook page, fans received a buy one get one free coupon. Since its launch a little over two weeks ago, over 540 people have “liked” Sauce.

As you can see, people are “sharing” and commenting on the coupon.  This engagement is shown on fans’ newsfeeds, so they are promoting the brand as well.

Social media websites allow a company to have one on one contact with the public.  The question is, with such a large audience, how do you engage the public and have a beneficial relationship?   I think there certain steps a company must take to create and maintain a rapport with its public.

• First, ask questions. What does the client want?  If the company has an idea in mind, ask the audience what they think!
• Secondly, a company needs to listen. If a customer doesn’t feel like they’re being heard, they’re more likely to move onto something else.  If a customer feels like their voice matters, they’re more likely to engage the company on a more regular basis.
• Thirdly, a company needs to update their accounts on a regular basis.  If a customer feels like a company isn’t putting in the effort, way why should they?
• Last, but perhaps the most important, know your audience.

James Horton’s article provides more information about the types of people companies want to engage and how to engage those audiences.  After all, engaging your audience means nothing if you’re not engaging the one you want.

For example, say I’m promoting a new product that targets an audience between the ages of 20 and 30.  If I have a page on Facebook and am asking questions about my product, I’m going to want people in that age demographic to respond.  If people outside that demographic respond, the information isn’t as valuable.  You need to update your information based on your audience and the audience you are trying to solicit.