• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, September 23, 2011

Marketers and agencies are still sorting out the implications of Facebook's changes and upgrades. The full impact on brands will depend largely on how Facebook's 800 million users respond to the new set of enhancements. 

But one initial takeaway is that while the new features could create more opportunity for users to interact with brands and products, an increased volume and velocity of updates on Facebook could also make it harder to break through the clutter to reach consumers.

One of the main changes Facebook unveiled was the dramatic redesign of the profile page with the introduction of Timeline, a feature that provides a timeline view of all a user's significant life events and other activities with related photos, status updates or videos. It also places a heavy emphasis on interaction with the more personalized type of apps Facebook introduced Thursday.

The apps can request permission for users to add actions taken via titles, such as Nike+, FoodSpotting or FarmVille to be included on the Timeline. The goal for marketers then will be to find a way to generate activities that appear in the Timeline.

"Those actions will differ for various kinds of fans and consumers," noted a new report from digital agency 360i on the different Facebook upgrades. "One important way is to create meaningful applications that resonate with their users; such applications can gain prominence in the Timeline by connecting with the Open Graph."

The new breed of Facebook apps built with its updated Open Graph platform go beyond just "liking" something to tell friends they are "reading," "watching,' or "listening to" some type of content. In addition, brands will be able to create custom buttons within apps, such as "cooking," "trying on," "drinking," or any other relevant verb.

The more prominent role for apps implied by the changes could also bring about significant change to Facebook marketing more widely. "The key metric going forward will be closer to how many people added your content or application to their timeline rather than how many connections you have," said Mike Lazerow, CEO of social media marketing firm Buddy Media. "This is a radical shift to actions and engagement -- and away from reach and impressions."

The new Twitter-like Ticker feature added by Facebook for posting real-time updates is another place where app activity will appear. Because the new apps allow more specificity, the Nike+ app will not just say "Bob ran," but rather "Bob ran 4.3 miles with Nike+." That addition makes it worthwhile for brands to sustain a consistent stream of branded social actions.

  Along with debuting Ticker on the home page, Facebook also revamped the news feed, merging "top stories" and "recent stories" into a single stream with top stories gaining more prominence. The idea is to make the news feed more like a "personal newspaper," with the most important news on top, according to the company.

  The updated news feed and Ticker have already triggered a backlash among some users, and 360i suggests it's too early to tell whether they'll have a positive or negative impact on brands' Facebook pages. But it points out that content such as photos and wall posts that solicit responses to open-ended questions typically drives higher engagement levels.

One of the steps overshadowed by some of the bigger announcements last week was Facebook opening up wall posts and comments on brand pages to everyone, not just those who have "Liked" a page. "This opens up the opportunity to engage an expanded set of audiences," said Jordan Bitterman, a senior vice president at Digitas.

Nevertheless, the growing torrent of updates, comments and social sharing encouraged by the latest round of changes may not only overwhelm users, but make it harder for advertisers to maintain visibility. "Brands will have to be even more strategic, creative, and relevant to their fans to stand out," advised the 360i report.

An informal online poll on the "new Facebook" put up by CNet on Friday doesn't indicate strong support for the makeover. Only 12% (of 1,970 participants) agreed it was "Sizzling. I'm excited to customize Timeline," while 37% chose the response, "Screw this. I'm moving to Google+." 

But Bitterman said it would take more than a day or even weeks to figure out the long-term implications. "Most importantly, it will take time to determine how users will consume the various enhancements and how their adapted consumption and behavior will affect an optimal presence for marketers," he said.