Facebook has recently announced some major changes to it’s features and layout that will mean some drastic changes for both the average Facebook user, as well as marketers. Currently, we’re waiting to see how big brands will grasp onto these changes and how these will revolutionize the internet (big claims!!).

Here is a summary of the changes and my thoughts on what it means to marketers:

Timeline:

A new kind of profile that shows your Facebook content & the content you interact with in chronological order (from birth). You can add and change this information as you please, and there are associated privacy controls with it. You can add major life events (having children, changing jobs, moving) to help build this out.  Timeline is currently being rolled out, you’ll start to see these live on personal profiles on September 30^th.

How this will affect us:

• Increased advertising targeting (e.g. possibility to know how many kids people have and their ages to market family specific deals via Facebook ads)
• Timeline layout is expected to apply to Business Pages in the future (allowing for historical information to be added) and a more robust/engaging page layout
• The timeline features various types of multimedia content – Places visited, photos taken, check-ins, tv shows and movies watched, etc. increasing the number of ways we can interact with our customers. Users can add brand applications to their timeline (e.g. add deals they’ve bought; venues they’ve visited Spotify shows when people listened to what song; cooks can add recipes and when they cooked them) – this will result in a new way for customers to share their real-life experiences.

Facebook Gestures:

Developers will now be able to add different verbs to their actions to give more context around the actions people take (e.g. Listen, Watch, Read and custom verbs based on the app’s context).  You can now verb any noun i.e. bought a deal or styled their hair.

How this will affect us:

• Users can use these verbs to add stories to their timelines
• Will add an additional layer to the way we interact with our fans/customers if/when we develop applications
• ‘Like’ will begin to have a smaller roll in marketing via Facebook as we move away from only giving an endorsement to a brand/offer.

Newsfeed Changes/Friends List Upgrade:

Facebook has changed the newsfeed layout to include a real-time ticker (to help create real-time conversation), ‘Top Stories’/’Recent Stories’ (allowing you to see the posts with the highest engagement, or the posts that occurred most recently), and an Unsubscribe feature (allowing you to unsubscribe from stories instead of Unfriending or Unliking).

It has also upgraded its Friend’s List feature (in the face of heavy competition from Google+) to include Smart Lists, the ability to share/consume specific content to lists, and the creation of ‘Close Friends’ and ‘Acquaintances’.  Facebook now gives you suggestions for who to include in what list, as well as lets you merge your current lists together. The Close Friends list includes a person’s posts more frequently, and the Acquaintances list only shows that person your major updates. There is also an optional ‘Subscribe’ button that allows you to follow someone’s updates without actually being their friend. This is similar to the ‘follow’ feature on Twitter.

How this will affect us:

• The unsubscribe/top stories feature will directly influence our community management efforts -  encouraging us to continue to create highly engaging content so that our posts have a better chance of becoming a ‘Top Story’
• Although the friends lists haven’t directly affected marketers yet, there are rumors that lists will be introduced to help classify/categorize brands
• The ticker can extend the life of your posts beyond 24 hours – if someone interacts with content on our page that is a week old, it can still be seen in real time on the ticker
• We can reply real time from the Ticker if you see that someone has engaged with our page

Have you seen any great marketing implementations of the new f8 changes?

So Jon Crowley and I are neck deep in a variety of amazing new projects here at OSL Marketing. We are seriously getting things done with some major clients (Pepsi, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Conagra, Scotiabank just to name a few) and are looking to grow our team!

We feel that working with people is the best way to learn what they’re about, and in the hunt for Coordinators, we’re going to hire interns! We’re looking for two super-connected, highly organized, incredibly intelligent but most of all - FUN - Digital Marketing Interns to join our team. This is an unpaid position, however we are all about growth and learning, and would like to use this position as a springboard for full-time paid position as Coordinator. Plus, the successful candidates will learn about digital marketing, advertising etc.

Below is the job description - if you’re interested, please send your Resume and Cover letter to tstrobel oslmarketing com. Make sure to include your Twitter handle!

Digital Marketing Intern

Founded 20 years ago, OSL is one of the most successful privately-held agencies in Canada. With offices in Montreal and Mississauga, OSL client portfolio includes many of Canada’s most recognizable brands. For its Digital Marketing team, OSL is currently looking for an Intern. The successful candidate will be responsible for supporting the Digital Marketing team in the day-to-day administration and implementation of specific client(s) projects and initiatives as directed by the Digital Facilitator. He / She must ensure that all programs/initiatives are tracked, completed and delivered in a timely and professional manner, consistent with OSL vision.

Daily Responsibilities include:

• Working with Digital Facilitator/VP Digital & Innovation
• Researching stats/information support client pitches, presentations, education
• Support all aspects of programs and initiatives including: Support in development of oral and written client presentations;  Managing client/project timelines; Working with Digital Facilitator to update project status reports
• Community Management: Create, Update, and Maintain content on social networking sites such as Facebook/Twitter in alignment with clients overall conversation strategy
• Administration: Attend/Organize meetings, take notes and managing calendars; Manage post-meeting follow ups; Preparing, printing, binding reports;  Document (presentations, templates, collateral) updates
• Reporting
• QA/Testing of digital programs

Qualifications:

• Recent graduate or current student in marketing, advertising, communications program in college or University
• Keen interest in digital marketing, new media and technology – social media, mobile marketing, online, etc.
• Active user of social media platforms, including but not limited to: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn – the successful applicant will have at least 300 Facebook friends and at least 200 followers on Twitter.
• Above average PowerPoint, Excel, Word skills
• Extremely bright and eager to learn in a fast-paced, FUN environment
• Highly organized and efficient
• Ability to work under pressure
• Enthusiastic and friendly personality
• Strong references
• Must have a laptop computer

Duration:
3 months (pending school requirements)

Compensation:
This is an unpaid internship, however successful interns are strong candidates for promotion to full-time employees.

We thank all interested candidates however only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Lately there’s been more and more buzz about search functionality on our favourite social networks (hello FaceFeed!), and I’ve heard many friends marvel at how they use Twitter as their primary means for finding out information.

Today, my lovely colleague at Vortex, Mikey Ulch, sent me an amazing link today - a link that I definitely should have known about before.

“Twitter on Steroids”, the Twitter Search Operators allow you to find just about everything you possible need to on Twitter…

How to maximize Twitter Search

One of the previous (probably perceived) disadvantages of Twitter is that it’s difficult to find people in certain locales - but now, using the “near:NYC within:15mi” search term, I can find those people that are tweeting around me.

Great stuff…

So it looks like we’ll all be donning our rubber boots and rain coats tomorrow for Pay It Backwards Day, which will make breaking a world record even more fun!

Starting at noon tomorrow, hundreds of Do Gooders will gather at the Second Cup (Queen & John, Toronto) to buy each other coffee, tea, and other delicious drinks while enjoying some fantastic street-side entertainment, in support of Sick Kids Hospital.

How does it work? It’s simple! Here’s a Step by Step Guide to Pay It Backwards Day (#pibTO):

Step One: Show up at Queen and John at 1pm (sharp).

Step Two: Register and get your PIB Bib (hehe) with your Do Gooder number.

Step Three: Proceed to the Pay It Backward line and enjoy:

• Music from Flow 93.5 live on location
• Basketball & Soccer freestyle tricks from Canada’s professional basketball trickster, Q-Mack and the Canadian Freestyle Soccer team

Step Four: Mix and mingle with some Pay It Backward celebrities:

• Michael Landsberg, the host of TSN’s Off The Record
• Erica Ehm one of Canada’s most recognized television personalities & host of the Yummy Mummy Club.

Step Five: Tell the person in front of you what you’ll be having - they’ll buy you your drink when they get to the counter!

Step Six: Ask the person behind you what they’re having - buy them their drink when you get to the counter!

Step Seven: Celebrate! You’ve just helped to break a world record - and the best part is 100% OF THE PROCEEDS WILL GO TO SICK KIDS HOSPITAL!!!!

Step Eight: Take some pictures, enjoy your drink, and give Darius Bashar (@dariusbashar) and the rest of the #pibTO team a hug of appreciation!

If that wasn’t enough of a reason to attend, the 100th, 200th, 300th, and 400th people in line will receive a $50 iTunes gift card! Just stand in line in the right spot.

I hope to see everyone there, supporting Sick Kids and participating in a historic act of kindness.  You can RSVP on Facebook here!

Visit www.dailychallenge.org for more ways you can get involved with the community, and continue showing the world that we really are Toronto the Good!!

I’m wondering who out there has joined/subscribed to MarketingProfs as a Premium Member/Subscriber. I thoroughly enjoy reading the daily e-mails (especially the Get to the Point! articles) but with cash tight these days I’m back and forth as to whether or not I should upgrade to a Premium member.

I’d love to hear your opinions/comments below on whether you’ve done it, if it’s worth it, and why.

I appreciate your help!