• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, May 15, 2012

Let’s talk Timeline! -- Facebook's Timeline for Brands, which recently forced brands and agencies to change their approach to the Web’s top social platform.

It’s been a “big shift” for brands, according Patrick Chen, Manager of Social Product Strategy and Marketing Operations at Clickable -- "from an ad strategy to a content strategy." Now, said Chen, brands have to ask themselves how they can generate engaging content, and think about ad strategy later.

“Timeline did present a little bit of a challenge,” admitted Jill Dodge, Managing Director of Global Marketing at NASDAQ OMX. The goal now is making sure content is “super engaging.”

If nothing else, Timeline “looks better,” said Julie Fajgenbaum, Group Vice President of Brand Social at American Express OPEN. The platform is more “visually appealing,” and that’s better for brands, she said. Also, “We can sort of convey our message more clearly.”

As Fajgenbaum notes, however, not many consumers are coming to AmEx’s Facebook pages. They’re “liking” the brand’s pages -- and, as a result, seeing its message in their newsfeeds -- but rarely returning to the pages themselves.