Facebook brings Sponsored Stories to the marketing mix

Johannesburg, 27 January 2011 - Hot off the press. Popimedia sources from Facebook last night confirmed the availability of Sponsored Stories, an online version of the traditional word-of-mouth referral for products, services and brands

In positioning the benefits of Sponsored Stories, Facebook stated that: “The best form of recommendation is one you get from a friend. Sponsored Stories allow you to surface word-of-mouth recommendations about your brand that exist organically in the Facebook News Feed. Sponsored Stories are different from ads and including them in your Facebook Premium Ad campaign amplifies the actions your target audience takes with your Premium Ads”

But how does it work? 
Before Sponsored Stories, when your friend liked your page, interacted with your application or checked-in at a location, an update dynamically displayed in your friends’  News Feed which they may or may not see.  By including Sponsored Stories with your Facebook Ads campaign, this user’s friends can now see the story appear in the right-hand side.  Just like Premium Ads, Premium Sponsored Stories are served on a targeted user’s Home Page and Profile pages with 100% share of voice. 
Available immediately from Popimedia,  with Sponsored Stories, brands have the ability to promote these user experiences by leveraging trusted referrals.
Says Daniel Levy, CEO of Popimedia Innovations, “the Sponsored Stories feature amplifies a traditional Facebook Premium Ad campaign.  We are excited and ready to work with local and international brands, to grow their audience reach and extend the user experience they aim to create through their social media campaigns.”

Making a case for social media in small(er) businesses

Few small business owners and entrepreneurs have the bandwidth or the budget to launch a full scale marketing campaign. Combine this with a lack of the critical mass in terms of audience so frequently associated with the medium to large organisations / brands, and it almost seems hopeless to try and compete.

However, with the dawn of the digital age and the rise of social media platforms and opportunities, the sky has quite literally become the limit. It is no longer just about having the traditional above-the-line campaigns spanning across radio, TV and print, but about creating an online brand presence, about having a conversation, about listening and responding in real time to customers, potential customers and even potential detractors.

We believe that a truly successful social media strategy is one that is not based on talking to every man, but developing a specific and personal customer and audience experience.

There is no doubt that the current platform of choice for a two way, tailored communications experience online, is Facebook. And more specifically, the Facebook Fan Page as the first line of communication for an organisation.

Using Starbucks, as an example of a brand with one of the most successful Fan Pages, we have created a set of top tips and considerations, for maximising impact and delivering value, for a company of any size.

1. Know your brand personality – who are you, how do you engage, what is the ‘language’ and tone that you use when interacting and ensure that this resonates across all your audience interactions
2. Know your audience – who are you talking to, what makes them tick, what kind of information do they use and re-use, who do they talk to and about what
3. Don’t SPAM – instead of putting out marketing collateral, share content that is industry, topic and of audience interest and relevance
4. Make time – to post relevant information, to respond to comments and queries posted to your Fan Page and to really get under the skin of your audience
5. Listen – to the conversations not only on your Fan Page, but on other blogs, newsfeeds and Facebook Fan Pages and ensure that when you do respond, it isn’t mid-stream or out of context

Once you have these five elements buttoned down, Facebook has made it ridiculously easy to set up a Fan Page. Go to the Facebook login page, click on ‘Create a page for a celebrity, band or business’ and follow the step-by-step guide to setting up your page and gaining access to more than 500 million people around the world.

Your challenge – to sift through these more than 500 million people and make sure the right people become your ‘fans’.

And unlike traditional above-the-line advertising, which can sometimes feel like a bit of a hit and miss approach to reaching your target audience, Facebook advertising is audience customisable. By deploying a customised advertising campaign, you are able to eliminate what marketing and advertising folks call ‘wastage’, resulting in a more cost effective and tangible campaign.

Engage, interact and enjoy!