In a recent study for Mashable, webcam eye-tracking company EyeTrackShop studied the viewing habits of Facebook users for brands’ new Timelines as opposed to their original pages. The study took 30 participants and tracked their eye movements in 10-second intervals from Good Morning America, Pepsi, The Dallas Cowboys, and “The Muppets”. In this revealing study, the most marked change was the focal point of the page gravitating from the Facebook wall to the cover photo. Viewers always looked at the cover photo first, which makes sense because it is the most prominent feature of the timeline. On average, the participants also spent the most time looking at the cover photo. Other interesting findings of the study were:
- Ads on Facebook Timeline are less visible than ads on Facebook Brand Pages.
- Viewers see Timeline content last.
- Information that was previously invisible (Likes, events, and apps) is now a focal point.
- Cover photos with faces attract the most attention.
Here is a sample photo from the study showing Good Morning America’s original page vs. its Timeline in a thermal view measuring frequency and time spent viewing:
As you can see, this further illustrates the point that the cover photo and top of the Timeline are by far the most viewed and therefore important aspects of a brand’s page as far as first impressions are concerned. You can view the full article and the rest of the photos in slideshow form here.