Facebook Eyetracking Study: How People View the New Profiles

December 30, 2011 Jillian Koeneman Eyetracking Study, Facebook Research, Freshlime digital marketing, Indiana Social Media, social media, Social Media Research, Twitter Research blog

In the last quarter of 2011 both Facebook and Twitter have dramatically changed how their profiles look.

While you may still be getting used to the changes, it’s important to know which profile elements are being given more real estate and emphasis so that you can maximize your marketing efforts in these areas.

Mashable asked research startup EyeTrackShop to compare visual statistics for Twitter, Facebook and MySpace profiles before and after major site redesigns.

The main takeaways from the study include:

• Facebook Timeline cover photos get noticed first. However, study participants still spent a longer time looking at the Facebook Timeline profile photo than the cover photo.
• Facebook ads get noticed more in Facebook Timeline. While 43% of participants noticed Facebook “sponsored stories” in the old profile format, 63% noticed the ads in the Timeline format. Participants spent the same amount of time on average looking at the ads in each profile.
• Profile information is easier to find in the new Twitter. While viewing the old profile, participants noticed tweets before they noticed profiles. While viewing the new version, that pattern was reversed.

To read the full study and review the slideshow results, visit the full article on Mashable.