A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of presenting to the Circuit – an IT Networking Group based in Cincinnati.
I presented on Facebook Marketing – how to get more out of Facebook.
Most of the people in the room were on Facebook, but few were using it as a marketing tool. Facebook can be difficult for marketers – figuring out the right ways to interact with potential audiences can be tough. Facebook was created to facilitate social connections – not as a marketing platform.
Facebook is the #1 global social network and has over 300 million active users – 50% of whom logon to the site every day. The Facebook audience is both active and committed to the network.
Prior to engaging in marketing your brand or company on Facebook:
- Don’t be a dirty spammer. Be relevant. Use channels appropriately. Don’t annoy people.
- Real world networking principles apply. Don’t immediately sell people. Don’t get in their face. Like in the real world you will have no friends.
- Give your audience something of value. People do you the honor of following you. Repay them by giving them value. It doesn’t have to be financial value either.
- Know your target. Know who your target audience is. If you fan page is comprised of your family and friends it probably isn’t very effective. Come up with creative ways to engage with your target.
- Focus on business value, not activity. It is easy to get caught up with tracking your activity – # of posts, # of fans friends and followers, etc. The real question is what is the actual business value?
We then covered 4 key ways that brands can leverage Facebook as a part of their marketing strategy.
1. Create a Fan Page. This is the most popular way brands and companies are using Facebook.
- When you create a fan page build a content plan (what you will post when)
- Use photos and videos to engage – post yourself and encourage fans to post
- Provide valuable information
- Be a resource for questions
- Run a contest
- Integrate Facebook as a syndication and engagement platform for offline campaigns
- Use insights and analytics to track effectiveness and value
2. Create a Group – Create a group about something related to your product that people are interested in and passionate about. Also, participate in relevant groups to get your brand out there.
3. Create an Event – Facebook events can be a great way to engage with your audience. If you are having an event, creating a Facebook event increases your exposure and lets attendees see who else is going.
4. Facebook Ads – Facebook ads work best when they are targeted. Target your ads as specifically as possible and you can get great results.
Thanks, Krista. Those are some great guidelines and thoughts.
In January 2009, I set up both a fan page and a group for the Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services — mainly as a test. As of Dec. 1, the page has 285 fans; group, 111 members. (I’ll probably phase out the group as there as a lot of overlap.)
About a month ago, I did a fan page for my spiritual home — New Thought Unity Center. We already have 199 fans!
I’ve found it’s really important to try to feed relevant content to targeted audiences on a consistent basis — status updates, links, video, photos, events. But there’s an art to this, too. You don’t want to overwhelm people with too much of a good thing!
Once again, thanks for sharing. Sometimes, I feel like Facebook plays such a small part in our strategic communication efforts. But, as you mention,it’s the social media platform used by more people than any other — and they use it regularly.
PS: Sorry this was so long. I’m still processing what I’m learning about Facebook!