Launching your brand’s Facebook page can be scary. Was it truly the right move? Will it pay off? Will anyone “like” us? Will enough people “like” us? You have the ability to make all of those answers be “yes.”
If you’re asking these questions, I’m assuming you’ve already sold the value of Facebook to your organization or to your client. If not, then you might find recent research from Chadwick Martin Bailey (10 Quick Facts You Should Know About Consumer Behavior on Facebook) helpful. Some key insights:
- 34% of people interact with their favorite brands on Facebook (vs. 4% for Twitter)
- 56% of those under 35 interact with their favorite brands on Facebook
- 77% of fans interact with brands by reading posts, news feeds and offers posted by the brand
- Top five reasons for “liking” a brand on Facebook include being a customer (58%), to receive a discount and promotions (57%), to show support for the brand (41%), to get the latest info about the brand (31%) and to gain access to exclusive content (31%)
- 56% of fans say they’re more likely to recommend a brand to a friend after becoming a fan
- 51% of fans say they’re more likely to buy a product since becoming a fan
Once you’ve got your brand on Facebook, the real work begins. You will need creativity, patience, energy, organization, strategy, knowledge (of both Facebook and your brand), and passion. You’ve got all that, right? Great, then you’re already off to a good start. What else do you need? I’ve collected my top 13 tips for successfully managing your brand’s Facebook presence. In no particular order, I’ll share the first half today and the rest tomorrow.
1. Determine your approach
How do you want consumers to interact with your brand on Facebook? What do you want them to come to your Page for? Do you need one page for your entire brand or separate pages for various products? You can take an entertainment-style approach where it’s less about your brand and more about entertaining as a means of indirectly exposing consumers to your brand. See Skittles for an example. You could also take a customer service-style approach by encouraging fans to bring their feedback and questions to your Wall. See Dell for an example. The approach you take should fit what your brand is all about and what you’re trying to achieve by joining Facebook.
2. Inject personality
Your brand has a personality. So do the people that work for your brand. Do you want to talk to your consumers as your brand or do you want someone representing the brand talking to them? Think about it. Check Best Buy for an example of the latter.
3. Be conversational
Sounding robotic, forced, or “market-y” is a quick way to get tuned out and/or motivate your fans to click the dreaded, evil “Hide all” option in their news feed. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go to a Page’s post in your news feed and click the “X” in the right corner.
Post an update on Monday just asking how their weekend was. Respond to a fan’s comment on your wall with further inquiry. Heck, bring back the almighty exclamation point in your copy to show some excitement! You’re allowed! Just don’t put more than one at the end of a sentence. Or after a question mark. IMHO (aka, “In My Humble Opinion”—did I mention you should get to know the lingo too? If you don’t know “LOL,” be concerned.).
Keep in mind: While the maximum characters allowed in a Facebook post is 420, posts of 80 characters or less receive the highest amount of engagement. My advice: Keep to the inch and don’t take the whole mile.
4. Show Value, don’t shout
No, this does not mean exclude the exclamation point I just told you to include. An exclamation point no longer equals shouting—BUT WRITING IN ALL CAPS DOES. See what I mean? Basically, shouting is noisy. By “liking” your brand, fans deem you worthy of being in their newsfeed above or below their friends’ and family’s vacation photos, engagement announcements, baby arrivals, etc., so make sure your posts can be as valuable for them as all that other stuff.
Update them when something is coming up—when it launches, give them access first. Provide a unique tip or trick. Offer a sample or coupon. Communicate unique product benefits and claims. Upload pictures and videos.
5. Know your audience
You’ve got insight into your target audience, use it. Touch on their passion points within your posts. Do they like music? Talk about that. Do they love cooking or gardening? Talk about that. Do they love football? You get the picture.
6. Promote promotions
Whether it’s in-store or online and whether they’re loyal yet or not, consumers want to know when and how they can save on your products. Tell them. Word spreads and your brand gets exposure and awareness while selling some stuff too—sounds like a win-win to me. Don’t forget games, sweepstakes and charitable efforts count too!
Find this helpful? Read Part II of my post tomorrow. It includes some inspiration for your Facebook posts, how to capitalize on Facebook EdgeRank to get your posts in your fans’ news feeds and recommendations for how to engage on your Wall.
