My Accountant Has Facebook!
In recent years Facebook has not only become a household name but has emerged as a critical component to any successful companies’ online marketing campaign. Becoming a Facebook fan or group member allows a unique opportunity for businesses to connect with potential customers where they spend most of their time…and for the most part it’s FREE! See an online retailer at it’s finest here.
These pages offer varied levels of engagement allowing customers to converse with other customers, find out simple business information (hours, location, etc), sales or promotions, and regular business or employee news. Status updates are an excellent way to express current events and discounts, with a subtle reminder to the Facebook “fan” that hey, we’re still here and we have this new item/opportunity/sale you might be interested in.
As Facebook adapts and constantly changes its usability, it consistently seems to go back to the version where a news feed is the main focus of the site. Businesses are creating their Facebook fan pages and groups, and while users are becoming a “fan” other users are seeing this frequently updated in their news feeds. “So and So Became a Fan of Washing Their Hair”, “John and Jane doe Became Fans of McDonald’s”, and so on. This news feed section has gone through versions where it’s appearance was hidden or non-existent, but today it’s back making it one of social media’s strongest (and FREE!) marketing tools. Additionally, Facebook offers cost effective advertising to gain that initial interest from users that a profile or fan page won’t do. These demographic and geo targeted ads are easily created and quite affective.
Facebook marketing although profitable and cheap has as any other media outlet can attest to, it’s snags. This fall Facebook put the kibosh to page status update giveaways requiring a third party application. A representative for Facebook said; “Promotions may only be administered on Facebook through a third-party application on the Facebook platform. For example, you cannot post a status update through a page and ask users to comment for a chance to win a prize, nor may you encourage users to fan your page by entering them into a promotion upon becoming a fan. However, upon receiving permission from us, you may administer your promotion through a third-party application to exists on a tap on your Facebook page or on an application canvas page.” An endless number of businesses and organizations have been using this effortless marketing tool to grow brand awareness and increase customer interest, but no longer as a giveaway gimmick. It’s a sure bet that if you haven’t noticed your favorite Facebook organizations lessening or discontinuing their promotional status updates, you will soon.
It might sound like this is a land of little opportunity for online marketers when in actuality the smart companies that understand the value of customer engagement and loyalty will prosper. Those companies relying solely on quick gimmicks, silly games, and one time promotions or giveaways will fall through the cracks. Keeping a strong, positive presence through Facebook and other social networking sites will keep you above the floorboards!
Comment by Mike Templeton:
When I heard about the promotion guidelines coming out from Facebook, but first thought was that it would kill a lot of the activity happening on many business pages, but your point about weeding out the gimmicks and “make a quick buck” crowd is actually something I hadn’t thought about.
It is true that the rules for promotions and giveaways have changed, but those that are serious about their efforts on Facebook (and in social media) will likely adapt to this new model. After all, they are there to better communicate with customers (among other things) - I don’t see the good companies turning tail and fleeing with the change of a few rules.
Hopefully these recent adjustments will improve the quality of content that businesses and organizations are promoting on Facebook and make the entire experience better for everyone involved.
Pingback by Managing Your Reputation | Blue Traffic:
[...] like wildfire. I’ve spoken of the importance of Facebook previously on this site and its efficient way at reaching a broad audience quickly. Myspace, Twitter, Wikipedia profiles, and LinkedIn are other great methods of professionally [...]