Why Timeline is Your Friend

Of all the people I interact with on a daily basis who ask me countless questions about social media, blogs, and internet marketing, the most recent rant came from my mom of all people. She went off on the phone for 20 minutes telling me how she won't use Facebook once it changes over, she doesn't understand it, nor does she have the time to learn it.
I was slightly overwhelmed by her comments, wondering, "if I can't explain this effectively to my own mother, how on earth will I explain it to clients?"
My first anecdote is that no one likes change! Millions of people now use Facebook as a main form of communication. It has undoubtedly changed the way we communicate, and given us a more connected world. You can take that for what you will, but in this it has changed our marketing techniques drastically, even over the last six months.
Recent studies have shown that the new "timeline" has increased brand engagement by 46%. The small study done by the SEO company, Simply Measured, showed drops in status update engagement but higher interest in video and photos. This clearly has to do with the way timeline has been designed, making visual outlets a priority over text.
So mom, I'm really sorry Facebook is changing, but it's amazing news for companies looking to up their social media presence. Not so amazing for those of us who get little ego boosts every time someone hits the "like" button on our statuses. Maybe this is good news in the "friend" department. Your real friends will actually *gasp* pick up a phone and call you to find out what you have been up to instead of stalking your Facebook page.