Facebook Marketing – Getting the Most out of Facebook – The Circuit Cincinnati

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:

1. Don’t be a dirty spammer. Be relevant. Use channels appropriately. Don’t annoy people.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.

Any other thoughts or comments?

PubCon Las Vegas Presentation – Online Brand Management Issues

I had the pleasure of attending PubCon Las Vegas a few weeks ago.  Pubcon is a conference put on by webmasterworld covering internet marketing, affiliate marketing, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, social media, and pretty much anything to do with building a business online.

My presentation was on Online Brand Management.  I focused on why online brand management is important and how to respond to negativity in the social space (since this is an area that I usually get the most questions about).
See the presentation below.  Please share any thoughts/ideas or comments that you have – I’d love to hear them!

News: Most Popular Facebook Fan Pages

Ever curious which Facebook Fan Pages are the most popular?

Wonder no more – AllFacebook publishes a list of the most popular Facebook Fan Pages.  While it is easy to jump to conclusions from these numbers and congratulate the winners, there are a number of questions to be answered first.

Were the fans added organically? Many big brands run Facebook ads to acquire fans – getting a ton of fans through ads is not as valuable as fans who seek you out to join.

Are you driving value from your fans? Having a bunch of fans is great, but so what?  How are you engaging with your fans and continuing to drive value – for them, not you.  How do you provide value to your fans?

Anyone else have thoughts on this list?

10 Ways to get More from your Facebook Fan Page

We talk about Facebook a lot – it is the largest (over 300 million registered users) and quickest growing social networks.  Marketers are interested in Facebook not only because of the sheer size and growth, but because the user base is extremely active – 50% of Facebook users login every single day.

The Fan Page is one of the most popular ways to market brands online – but just creating a fan page isn’t enough.  You have to have a plan for your fan page to actually add value.  There are currently over 1.4 million Facebook Pages and they collect over 10 million fans every day.

Here are some tips to get more out of your Facebook Fan Page.

1. Create a content plan

Don’t just create a fan page and forget it.  Create a plan of what content you will add and how frequently you will add it.   Remember that your fan page updates show up in the newsfeeds of your fans.  This can be a great way to reach your fans with relevant content.  Create a content calendar that consists of multimedia (ie. links, text, photos and videos) to maximize your fan page and keep your fans engaged.  Remember – provide them with something interesting or useful – don’t just update for the sake of it.

2. Extend your Fanpage

There are a lot of different plugins for Facebook Fan Pages.  Plugins will allow you to do more with your fan page.  If you are active on other social networks (twitter, Flickr, Youtube) you can set your fanpage to automatically pull that content in.  To add to your Fan Page look in the administrator options under applications.  You can add things like polls, contests, and many other fun things to engage your fans.

3. It isn’t Just about Selling

While direct marketers will be tempted to use Facebook to drive sales immediately, Facebook often works best with an indirect sales pitch.  Rather than talking about your brand and product (which people may not care about), talk about the things related to your product that they are passionate about.

4. Provide Unique Value

The Dell Social Media for Small Business fan page is one of a number of fan pages from Dell.  This page is a resource on Social Media for Small Business Owners.  It features a guide to social media.  This Fan Page has almost 35,000 fans and a lot of activity on the wall and discussion forums.  By adding value you can engage with your fan base.

5. Refine with Analytics

One of the most powerful things about Facebook Fan Pages vs. Groups is that you have access to analytics.  Facebook analytics allow you to track information about your fan base including – interactions, demographics, engagement, etc.  Regularly looking at your analytics will help you to understand how engaged your fan base is.  You can also use this to refine over time based on what works and what doesn’t work.

6. Integrate with Multi-Media

The Coca-Cola Facebook fan page has almost 4 million fans who are extremely active.  The wall is full of Coke fans posting their own photos of coke.  There are over 3,500 photos posted by fans on the fan page.  By Coke fan page is engaging because it encourages fans to actively participate.

7. Run a Contest

The Tide fan page provides unique value to fans through coupons and contests.  When you become a fan you get a $1 off coupon for a Tide Stain Pen.  They also have weekly contests where you can win by uploading photos and engaging on Facebook or Twitter.  This drives value and engagement for fans.  The Tide Fan Page has over 100,ooo fans and hundreds of “likes” and “comments” – not bad for a laundry detergent…..

8. Get Found

Search engines are working to integrate Facebook into their search results.  By using keywords in your profile and status updates you can enhance your SEO efforts both on Facebook and in regular Search Engines.  Search Engine Optimization is often an unintended yet powerful result of effective social media marketing.

9. Integrate it with Other Campaigns

The Victoria’s Secret fan page integrated videos from a model casting into their Facebook Fan page.  The result?  They have over 2 million fans and their video about their model search has over 2400 likes and 200 comments.

They also use their fan page to promote their iphone app – the post on the iphone app has over 1400 likes and 80 comments.  The engagement (liking or commenting) is especially powerful since it shows up in the news stream of the fan.

10. Be a Resource for your Community

The Toyota Prius facebook page includes an “ask an Expert” section where users can ask experts questions about Prius.  The result?  They have over 45,000 fans and an active discussion board.  By being a valuable resource you can increase engagement with your fans.

Want to learn more?  One great resource to check out is this list of 100 Resources for Facebook Marketing, organized by subject area.

What fan pages do you like?  Which ones engage with you?

Presentation – Social Media for Real Estate Agents

Yesterday I had the honor and privilege of presenting social media to a group of Real Estate agents in Cincinnati.

I asked the Real Estate Agents how they currently market themselves and drive sales.  The answers?

• Business referral groups
• Networking
• Word-of-mouth
• Community events

Social Media is a powerful way for agents to engage in the same marketing activities online.  The basic tools and strategies are the same – the medium and the platform are the only difference.

This is powerful for agents because they already have the skills to be successful! Good real life networkers understand how to build relationships, how to communicate and how to network.  These are the same skills required for success in social media networking.

The presentation below shares some specific tips and examples for real estate agents to use LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to grow their businesses.

Please let me know if you have any additional thoughts or ideas.

Don’t Forget Traditional Digital Marketing – Pete Blackshaw at ad:tech NY

I primarily attended social media panels at ad:tech NY, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear one panelist (and friend) remind us of the power of some old fashioned, tried and true marketing techniques.

Pete Blackshaw, EVP of Digital Services at Neilson reminded us of some traditional online marketing tools that should not be forgotten in the gold-rush for social media.

His advice?

There is probably a lot of untapped value for brands to better leverage some of the more traditional digital marketing vehicles.

• Work your database - Working with your own database is critical.  These people are already interested in hearing from you.
• Brand Websites are one of the most trusted vehicles – (see the chart below).  People trust brand websites as an information source.  Don’t neglect your website.
• Engage through your website – Brands need to figure out how to better engage through their websites.  Brand websites are often underutilized and act as a commercial for the brand.  Think of ways to use it for engagement.
• Engage Advocates – Advocates are probably already checking out your website and on your email list.  These are your best tools to reach them.

What other non-social media online marketing tools do you think are being neglected by marketers?

How Brands can Listen from ad:tech NY

Social media was a hot topic at ad:tech NY last week, however the discussion moved beyond some of the basics (ie. how twitter works) to a holistic discussion on social media strategy and benefits.

One of the key insights from the panel on Social Analysis (we wrote about this panel yesterday also) was about the value of listening (yup – listening vs. plastering your brand messages across social networks).

Kent Schoen, Product Marketing for Facebook shared some interesting examples.

His key points:

• Brands should listen and respond through the appropriate channels
• There is room for both positive and negative feedback
• Positive brand advocates will be there to help and support you
• Facebook can be a great tool to empower and build community among advocates.

He provided an example of the Toyota Prius Community on Facebook.  The group ha a lot of discussion topics posted and features an “ask an expert” section where experts answer questions.  Perhaps one of the most interesting things about this community is that typically fans are answering each others questions – which demonstrates the true effectiveness of the community.

Is it effective?  Well, they have over 45,000 fans (although I don’t know if they acquired them via advertising), so it seems to be working.  Based on the activity level of the fan page I would say yes.

Jeff Fleischman, Chief Digital Officer, TIAA-CREF shared another interesting example.

Dave Carroll watched as United airlines workers mishandled his guitar.  The guitar was broken upon arrival and United refused to pay.  Dave was so frustrated that he wrote a song about it – which has had over 6 million views.

United then contacted him and offered to replace the guitar – his response?  Too little too late – and he wrote more songs about them.

The impact?  His song (called United Breaks Guitars) shows up at the top of video search results for United Airlines.

So, clearly a Fail Whale for United.  Hopefully they listened and learned from this experience.  Dave shouldn’t have had to write a song for them to care.  They should care to begin with.

Anyone else have examples or ideas on good or bad listening?

Influencers vs. Advocates from ad:tech NY

The panel on Social Analysis: Real Time Insights for your Brand at ad:tech NY shared some really interesting insights on how brands can benefit from listening to social media.

Bonin Bough, Global Social Media Director, PepsiCo brought up an interesting discussion on the difference between Influencers and Advocates when approaching your social media strategy.

When approaching social media we often get caught up with identifying and working with the influencers in our space (ie. the people with the biggest relevant audiences).  While working with influencers can be valuable, working with advocates can produce better results.

What is the Different between Influencers and Advocates?

Influencers are those who yield a lot of influence in your space.  They have a large audience that is relevant to your brand.  They are authoritative within your segment, talk regularly and have a large following.

Advocates are people who love your brand and share their love for your brand regularly.  Advocates may not have a large audience but they have a genuine personal interest in your brand and share that with their friends.

Why Work with Advocates vs. Influencers (especially if they have a smaller audience)?

Here is the thing – influencers probably don’t care about your product if they aren’t already talking about it.  You might try to get their awareness, and maybe you’ll even get them to write a post or two, but you’ll be getting standard press.  While they have a large audience, they don’t really care, and their posts and discussions about your brand will likely be factual and neutral (if you get any at all).

Advocates on the other had are already crazy in love with your brand.  They talk about your brand.  They love your brand.  They want others to know about your brand.

I was in the grocery store a few weeks ago trying to buy margarine.  Some lady beside me randomly started telling me about this Parkay Butter Spray and how awesome it was.  She is a brand advocate (and I actually bought it).  This is a real world example but it happens online all the time.

Want to know who your brand advocates are online?  Do a twitter search, blog search, a regular google search or check relevant discussion forums.

Find the people who already talk about you – they are your advocates.

Don’t have any?

Look at your existing customer base and try to inspire passion for your brand (this is a whole separate blog post – or series).

How to Activate Advocates

Bonin Bough suggests a few ways to activate your advocates:

• Give them access to digital assets (for their social networks)
• Give them special experiences
• Encourage them to talk to others
• Give them exclusive access

Some Examples

Makers Mark Ambassadors

This is an “exclusive” invite-only club for those wholove Makers Mark.  In return Ambassadors get:

+	Your name on a Maker’s Mark barrel.
+	An opportunity to purchase a bottle of Maker’s Mark from your batch.
+	Updates on the aging of your bourbon.
+	Advanced notice of rare, special-release bottles.
+	Opportunity to purchase Ambassadors-only Maker’s Mark merchandise.
+	Many other items that confirm your honorable status.

Lovesac

The people at Lovesac saw this post that I wrote where I declared my love for the lovesac.  They contacted me, said “hey – we see that you love our product – we’d like to send you one” and sent me one for free.  No strings attached.  I talked about it everywhere and got comments and questions on my blog, facebook and twitter.  They activated my passion and gave me something to talk about.

Why are advocates so effective?

2 Reasons:

1) It is Authentic

2) It is Passionate

Anyone else have ideas or examples of good advocate outreach programs?

Social Media Tips from PRSA Media Day

I had the pleasure to be a part of a Social Media Panel as a part of Cincinnati PRSA Media Day.  The panel included Jory Des Jardins, Co-Founder, President of Strategic Alliances, BlogHer; Jon Cronin, Director of Digital Marketing Strategy, DeVries and Michelle Lentz, Blogger, Write Technology.

First, I want to that the PRSA for inviting me to speak – it was a fabulous event with great speakers, engaged participants, and a great location.  The team did a fantastic job with this event.

I wanted to share a few of the key insights that we discussed on the panel.

How to work with bloggers

• Build relationships vs. trying mass outreach.  Bloggers respond best to personal outreach and plans that are really customized to meet their needs.
• Work with a small select group. Rather than trying to reach every blogger in your space, choose a small select group of bloggers to work with.  This will allow you to create a powerful, customized plan with a small and passionate group.
• Soft-sells work better. Most people won’t care about your product or brand and trying to directly engage them probably won’t work.  Instead play off of something that bloggers are passionate about that is related to your product.  GM works with the BlogHer network and provides cars for attendees to test-drive.  No questions asked, no sales pitch – just take the car for a spin.  This has resulted in a clear brand equity increase for GM as well as numerous mentions.
• Know the audience. You really have to know your audience.  For example, Campbells Soup wanted to work with food bloggers who are notoriously picky about the quality level of the products they use.  Rather than specifically talk about soup, Campbell’s included their products in food that was sampled.  The response was terrific as bloggers were shocked that Campbell’s products were a key ingredient in dishes they sampled.
• Bloggers will love you if you facilitate their activities. Rather than trying to push your product at bloggers, try to facilitate their activities.  Host parties or help them connect.  Verizon did this after PRSA Media Day where they hosted a blogger party that showcased their new phones and they let bloggers borrow them for a few days (for free!!!).

What is “The Next Big Thing”?

While admittedly, none of us are psychic or have a crystal ball, we all shared some perspective on trends to watch in the next few years.

• Location – Knowledge of location will make a huge impact on the digital space.  Whether it is facilitating social interactions, marketing, search or anything, location will play a big role and is a powerful concept.
• Social Connections – Building social connections online will continue to be a big trend and importantly, helping sort through the issues (management, privacy, etc) will be important.
• Mobile – Mobile is a key facilitator of both of the trends mentioned above.  While the iphone may be over-hyped the emergence of always-on internet and the power of location will clearly have a large impact going forward.

Please share your thoughts and comments.