You’ve probably read your share of tutorials talking about the new Facebook Timeline changes and how to get the most from them. I’ve even added my own thoughts on the subject, but here’s the deal, not much has really changed.

Yes there are what amounts to cosmetic changes to your page that make sense and yes there are lots of people that still want to sell you products and apps and services to enhance your new page, but for most of you there’s still only one that that matters.

See, the thing that many people don’t understand is that few people actually go to your page to bounce around and see all that good stuff you’ve added. Most people interact with their friends and pages through the news feed only. Think about your own use, do you go visit every page of content for the things you like, share and comment on?

Of course not, you interact right there in your news feed and so does everyone else.

So, what does this really mean? There are some really basic things you should change on your pages, like placing a killer brand friendly cover image, but the real focus should be on upping your sharing of lots of great content directly on your wall. Make sure you share directly – share blog posts, videos, eBooks, images and great finds, and place as many as possible directly in your status updates without the use of a 3rd party tool.

Facebook loves to show what I would call direct content, stuff you place directly in your status updates, over that placed by apps like StumbleUpon, Buffer or Tweetdeck.

Bottom line – if you want more traffic, engagement and value out of Facebook, focus on the wall first and worry about the cool apps and Timeline changes second.