If Google is the ‘Yellow Pages’ of today’s world, then Facebook is the ‘White Pages’. It has become the biggest trend in the world today with its 200 million users, growing at a rate of 5 million per week.
Facebook has turned its Newsfeed into a stream of information flowing from each user’s network. If the Facebook user becomes a fan of a product or brand then this brand in essence is part of their network. This means that content is consumed on a many-to-one basis, as opposed to a one-to-many strategy that is more common of traditional media. Consumers create a stream of information that is their own, and that they find relevant to themselves on an individual basis.
Business cannot afford to ignore Facebook – Consider that the average Facebook user has 120 friends; imagine the result if this user encourages their network to engage with your brand, creating word of mouth referral that is credible and widespread.
Add to this - through 3rd party applications and systems - the ability to track friend-to-friend referrals, and to collect rich data on a real time basis and what you have is a powerful direct marketing and market research tool.
Rules of engagement
Businesses can interact with Facebook in any number of ways - from; amongst others; social competitions; applications; widgets and standard advertising banners to creating a Fan Page or Group. However before selecting a strategy to engage with users, the following should be considered:
- Identify objectives – sales, leads, conversions, brand building, etc.
- Outline a time-frame (short term, campaign based, or long term)
- Consider budget
- Creative concept
- Decide whether to leverage trusted referrals.
The most common initial engagement with Facebook has been the creation of a Fan Page or Group. Problems manifest when companies try this on their own and find that it does not work – that’s because there are a lot of added features, applications and rich content options that can be added, including custom applications that will pull in information from other content sources. The main issue is that consumers are not always passionate enough about a brand to become its Facebook fan. Businesses therefore have to keep there page relevant, simple, and perhaps add an incentive such as a competition.
The basic steps to follow in creating a Facebook Fan Page for a brand/company:
- You should already be a Facebook user – if not, sign up its free.
- Visit this link (http://www.facebook.com/pages/) and browse some of the more popular pages to try to understand what makes a page successful
- Then visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php and Facebook will take you through the step by step process.
Once the initial engagement has brought a user to the brand’s Fan Page, it is important that they opt in to receive communications from the brand – there’s no point in having a one-sided conversation. Thus over time, the brand starts to build up a database of users, and hopefully, will also segment this base in a richer manner than traditional methods might allow.
Other Media & negative sentiment
Integration of the Facebook platform with other media is a viable means of bringing the brand alive, as well as making the brand profile more interesting and attractive to the user. A movie or sound clip can appear on the fan page and be integrated into the campaign. A television or radio advert can promote the fan page of the product and in doing so create more interest and drive traffic.
Widgets, that can be embedded in Facebook Pages and across the web for example, enable and optimise common online tasks, such as research and basic transactions, as well as providing entertainment and unique content. A bank might develop a widget that allows the user to track shares, or the stock exchange on a minute by minute basis. The use of widgets can translate into relevant offers, cross-selling opportunities, and a real return on investment.
A concern for brands is the level of control they should have over the interactions and conversations in this space. Facebook does allow the Fan Page owner to delete entries (such as negative consumer comments about a brand, for example). But the more brands try to control a conversation in this manner, the more harm they are actually doing. Brands should grow with their consumers and will find if they listen and address negative comments, the brand will inevitably get stronger.
Measurement
Measuring the impact of a Facebook campaign will depend on a brand’s objectives. However, the traditional online measure of CTR (click through rates) needs to be transformed into CPC (cost per click), CPA (cost per acquisition) and CPS (cost per sale) metrics. These should be implemented at campaign launch.
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