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"About six weeks after the first brands began switching their Facebook Pages over to Timeline, some data is beginning to trickle out and it's not all good.\nFacebook has yet to offer any overall analysis of brand pages before and after the Timeline switchover, but Wildfire Interactive, a social media marketing firm, has studied 67 brands that adopted Timeline and has released those results exclusively to Mashable. The report looked at the brand pages' performance before and after the switch over a nine-week period.\nFirst, the good news: Likes are up an average of 22% per post and People Talking About This (PTAT) rose 25%. The bad news? Comments are down 6.5% per post and fan growth was \"slowed slightly\" for all brands on average, but brands with more than 1 million fans experienced twice the sluggishness of smaller brands. The company did not delineate the extent of that slowing. \nGenerally, bigger brands fared less well than their smaller counterparts. Likes per post on brands with 1 million-plus fans jumped 10.9% while PTAT was up 11.9% and comments per post fell 7.4%.\nWildfire CEO Victoria Ransom believes that comments are down with the Timeline redesign because \"it's much more difficult to see users' comments, both on a brand's wall and in the newsfeed.\" Adding to the issue, \"comments from other fans don't show up in brands' posts on users' newsfeeds and because Timeline is now so visual with so much real estate taken up by pictures and videos, comments are quickly collapsed. This encourages likes and shares more than comments,\" Ransom says.\nWildfire's analysis is the second it's done since Timeline launched. The first, which was released at the end of February and included just 43 brands, showed lower engagement with brands with 10 million or more fans, but the new numbers, which encompass a longer period, do not. Another researcher, Simply Measured, noted a 46% increase in post-Timeline brand engagement in late March, but had looked at a smaller sample of 15 brands.\nFacebook reps could not be reached for comment on the report. The company has a lot riding on Timeline, whose brand pages launch included an overhaul of the company's ad products. \n\n\nFacebook Timeline: A Powerful Tool for Brands\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n1. Cover photo potential\nHere, Coca Cola uses snazzy design to make a strong visual impression on visitors.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n2. Cover photos for teams\nManchester United uses its cover photo to reflect the inherent passion, camaraderie and joy of sports.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n3. Timeline leveraging history\nDating back to 1878, Manchester United can use Timeline to honor its rich history. This photo shows the club's league championship from 1908.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n4. Timeline for callouts \nHere, Manchester United leverages Timeline's strong visual elements by starring a specific current post, making it appear twice as wide.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n5. Coldplay cover photo\nColdplay's Timeline cover photo hints at the wealth of potential the new format holds for bands and other performers.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n6. Ben &amp; Jerry's cover photo\nBen &amp; Jerry's cover photo further illustrates Timeline's potential to make a strong first impression on Page visitors.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n7. Ben &amp; Jerry's Timeline\nBen &amp; Jerry's timeline itself showcases the new brand platform's strong visual elements.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n8. Ben &amp; Jerry's milestone\nHere, Ben &amp; Jerry's uses the new format to call out an important company milestone -- its introduction of several new flavors in 1999.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n9. Timeline makes Pages more social\nWhen you visit a Page, you see how many of your friends have liked the company, as well as friends' relevant public posts. Here, Ben &amp; Jerry's serves as an example.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n10. Different cover photos for different Pages\nRestaurants can leverage the new design by showing off what they serve. Here, Starbucks flaunts its coffee beans.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n11. How many of your friends like Starbucks? \nFurther evidence of how Pages are more social with Timeline.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n12. A local twist\nHere, the Page of Manhattan's Magnolia Bakery shows how, for local businesses only, a map appears in the row of apps below the cover photo.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n13. ESPN's cover photo\nESPN's cover photo is an intriguing shot from the set of its iconic Sportscenter show.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n14. Baby's first show\nHere, ESPN highlights its first Sportscenter broadcast with a doublewide photo in its timeline.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n15. Livestrong's cover photo\nLivestrong chooses to make its logo the central theme of its Page cover photo.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n16. Starring an important message\nLivestrong starred this post that provides resources for people under emotional duress as a result of cancer. Starring it calls extra attention to the post by making it twice as wide as others.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n17. A Livestrong milestone\nOrganizations similar to Livestrong can highlight specific milestones, such as the opening of new services. This post celebrates the debut of Livestrong's Cancer Navigation Center.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n18. Meet the admin panel\nTimeline introduces a new format for administrators of brand Pages, and one that should be simpler to use.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n19. Getting to know you\nThe admin panel features notifications, analytics, messages and, yes, a help menu to ease your transition to the new set-up.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/04/20/fan-growth-slowed-facebook-timeline/>