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How to firm up your Facebook fan page strategy
By Justin Goldsborough | January 10th, 2010
Please join us to talk more Facebook strategy during #pr20chat, Tuesday night at 8 p.m. EST
When I started as a social media manager at Sprint in 2007, I remember my boss gave me several research reports to thumb through with a highlighter. I learned a lot about trends in social media from those reports, but I’ll never do research that way again…or at least only that way. Because no amount of research can provide the insight and perspective I get from just asking my Twittersphere.
Take Saturday morning for example…I’m getting ready to work on a Facebook fan page strategy for a client next week. I’ve got a point of view on what we should suggest, but I don’t think one person alone can ever consider all viable options. There’s strength in numbers :). So I posted the following question to find out what my tweeps would do. And as usual, I was amazed at the response and value of real-time research on Twitter.
So what did we talk about?
Facebook Fundamentals
I’m a sports nut. Just ask my wife :). So sports analogies make sense to me and I thought of another one this morning when the comments like the ones below answering my question began coming in.
Blocking and tackling. See man and ball. Use two hands when fielding a grounder. Those are the fundamentals we’re taught when we first pick up a football, basketball or baseball. And coaches will tell you a team can’t win or compete effectively if the players don’t have an understanding of the fundamentals.
When a brand sets up a Facebook fan page, there are a few basic things the company’s PR reps should be doing at a bare minimum to adequately represent the organization — 1) post consistently, 2) interact with fans who are adding comments, 3) talk with (two way), not at (one way), people. This evaluation may sound simple, but there are a number of companies using Facebook only to broadcast news or that have a fan page but don’t do anything with it. Anybody can build a fan page, but it’s up to us a PR pros to serve as coaches to our companies and clients when it comes to understanding the basics of engaging with fans.
Who’s got good fan page fundamentals?
- Via @mikepillarz: I’m impressed w/Northern Brewer’s intense engagement w/their niche. So many comments on *every* post
- Via @markvanbaale: Brands should interact with fans on FB fan page. Starting to do that more now with Theater League FB pages
- Via me: Southwest and Dunkin Donuts are always sharing stories and joining the conversation with fans. Smaller company example: Naked Pizza. Non-profit example: Make-A-Wish Foundation.
What brands do you think practice good Facebook fundamentals? Any fundamentals we left out that you think are important?
Custom tabs, FBML and apps
350 million. That would be a number large enough to rank 4th in the world in population if referring to a country and also the number of users on Facebook. So not only does it make sense for brands to practice the fundamentals of online conversation on Facebook, but many companies are also starting to see the value in creating a custom experience (tab) and using their Facebook presence to drive fans to content, apps, points of purchase, contests, etc. This content might be built specifically for Facebook or it might reside on the organization’s other social network presences or even the Web site, once the definite first stop for consumers searching to find a brand on the Internet. And doing something simple like making a custom tab the default tab on a fan page starts people off seeing the content the company wants them to see.
Custom tabs using Facebook’s version of html (FBML) allow companies to show off their creativity and engage with fans in a unique way, as my peers pointed out on Twitter today:
So who’s got custom tabs and apps worth showing off?
- Via @PRtini: I like what Honda’s doing on FB w/ the Everybody Loves Honda campaign. have no idea how much $$ it took to create that, but the concept is awesome. Wld love to see more orgs go that direction. (More on this custom app in a minute…because it IS awesome).
- Via @arikhanson: Check out Susan G Komen sometime. Great use of FBML and using FB strategically. As @30lines said, I like that Komen makes that tab their FB “home page.” Idea: Get people where they want them to go.
- Via @allanschoenberg: Redbull does a really good job. Check out their fan page
- Via @30lines: I like what vaynermedia is doing with their “Welcome” tab
- Via me: I’m also high on Kodak’s fan page, which takes you to a custom tab experience that offers fans exclusive deals, connectsfans who want to share creative projects and tips, outlines Kodak’s social Web presence and highlights some of the company’s hottest products — it IS ok to promote your product and try to drive sales via social media.
Now, back to what Honda is doing on its fan page. As @PRtini pointed out, Honda has created a custom app designed to build community around people who love Honda. Here’s how it works. Go to Honda’s fan page and the default tab is called “The Experiment.” Select if you love a Honda (and what make and model) or if you know someone who loves a Honda. Then “The Experiment” generates your Honda love connections for you, gives you a love factor rating, compares your rating to your friends’ ratings and then tells you how you can improve your rating — by sharing the love, of course!
Several smart things about this custom app, but here are three:
- There’s community around almost any product. Honda is becoming a part of that community and harnessing it for fans within Facebook. IOW, making it easy for users to connect with friends and Facebook users who also love Honda. Plus, Honda is IDing millions of brand fans in the process.
- Execs want ROI on social media, and they usually want it in numbers. The more than 3.7 million people connected by Honda love displayed on the app’s odometer is a great place to start.
- People are competitive. And Honda is taking advantage of that with it’s Honda love leaderboard that allows you to compare your Honda love to friends and Facebook users.
What companies have you seen differentiate themselves with custom tabs or apps? Drive sales? Companies that could use some help in this area?
The Conversation Continues
If all these valuable tips and perspectives were shared during an impromptu conversation of about 10 friends on Twitter, imagine what we could get if we continue the conversation with all of you; there’s so much more to talk about. So let’s plan to do that…Tuesday night at 8 p.m. EST when @PRtini (Heather Whaling) and I host are first #pr20chat (founder @BethHarte, who rocks and who I’m always learning from btw, is starting a new chat on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. EST — #IMCchat with @abarcelos).
One more POV before I go shared by my friend, #prstudchat co-founder Valerie Simon, that we should all remember when we start delving into all the cool custom things, and fundamentals, we can put on display for our clients on a Facebook fan page:
Well said, Valerie. That may be the most fundamental advice of all…advice that doesn’t just apply to fan pages, but to every social media strategy and tactic we suggest.
Look forward to continuing the conversation Tuesday night during #pr20chat or right here in the comments.
January 10th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
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January 12th, 2010 at 10:29 am
Justin, A fantastic post about the strategy for Facebook fan pages. Thank you for mentioning my tweet about Theater League. We are doing more with the fan pages and I love the interaction with fans. It makes it more personalized and makes social media what it is all about - being social!
January 15th, 2010 at 12:18 pm
Justin, I swear this is going to be my “go to” blog post whenever I need some Facebook tips. I’m working on a proposal now and your post was the first resource I visited. Thanks for summarizing the conversation
I’m sure I’ll be back many more times …
January 20th, 2010 at 4:58 am
@Mark Thanks. The Theater League is in good hands :).
@Heather Thanks for the kind words. It was the feedback from you and our other PR friends that provided the great perspectives for this post. So thank you.
Best,
Justin