Despite conflicting early reports, new data suggests that Facebook Timeline has had a positive effect on fan engagement.

Stringer monitored 130 of the UK’s biggest brands on Facebook, with almost 5,000 posts analyzed during two separate two-week periods in February and April. Its goal was to determine how Timeline has affected the way consumers interact with brands as well as brands’ posting patterns.

The company studied several factors, including the number of posts per day, the percentage of engaged users per Page, the shelf-life of each post, and the average number of Likes and comments a post received.

Although Sotrender found that Timeline didn’t have much of an effect on a majority of those factors, it did discover that posts have a longer shelf-life, and that engagement on individual posts has increased.

Prior to Timeline, fans made half of their comments in less than one hour. Now, a post receives half of its total comments or Likes within two and a half hours. The company added, “80 percent of all comments are made in circa eight hours and 30 minutes (two hours more than before Timeline).”

In terms of interactions, Timeline has led to a 13 percent growth in engagement on individual posts. Additionally, pre-Timeline, an average of 158 fans responded to posts. Now that number has gone up to 179.

We expect that more research will continue to be shared regarding Timeline’s influence, but for now, it seems to have some impact on your Page’s engagement levels. With an increased shelf-life, it’s important to continue spacing out your content as not to overwhelm your community.

[Via: The Next Web, Image credit: Mario Klingermann]