Trending Social Media: Facebook’s Timeline Is a Marketing Asset

Here are your�social media�business updates for Tuesday:

Facebook’s Timeline Boosts Brand Names: While many Facebook users feel ambivalent about the new Timeline profile feature, marketers should feel nothing but excited for the change. According to a new study from social media analytics compiler Simply Measured, when timeline is applied to brand pages it drastically increases user engagement.

The study encompassed a three-week evaluation of brand pages after they adopted Timeline upon its Feb. 29 introduction. Findings provide evidence that the customizable, aesthetically driven layout fosters viewer interest. After adopting Timeline, brand pages experienced an average 46% jump in content engagement. Of all the brand names studied, Toyota (NYSE:TM) benefited exceptionally — with user engagement rising a solid 156% after its product page converted to the new format.

LinkedIn Opens Spanish Headquarters:�LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD), the world’s largest professional networking site, has just set up shop in Madrid. According to a Tuesday press release, the 150-million member networking site has established a foothold in Spain due to a national interest in professional networking. LinkedIn’s business model has so far proved durable among social networking sites, and it chose its new location due to the disproportionate use among Madrid’s professionals.

Britain Brandishes Legal Threat at Social Media Players: The U.K.�Parliament’s cross-party Joint Committee on Privacy Injunctions issued a stern warning to social media business, threatening legal action against social networking entities that fail to respect standing privacy laws, Bloomberg reports. The panel warned earlier today that there would be stricter enforcement of contempt-of-court actions against social media platforms that flout standing privacy regulations.

While there have been no motions toward concrete legal action at this point, lawmakers expressed harsh criticism over perceived disrespect for user privacy — citing Facebook, Twitter, and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) in particular.

Adam Patterson�is an Assistant Editor of InvestorPlace. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned�securities. For more on social media, check out our previous�Trending Social Media�stories.