The businesses that are most successful on Facebook are those that build communities and amplify their FANS stories, as opposed to just shilling for a product or service.
When you were a brand FAN in Facebook’s early days, their logo would appear on your profile—a sort of virtual badging akin to having a Nike “swoosh” on your hat or shoes. Today, however, the virtual badging takes place in the News Feeds and advertising of your FANS and their connections. Figure 10.1 shows one that just popped up in my Facebook News Feed while writing today.
FIGURE 10.1 A Facebook Sponsored Post from BookBub
I haven’t seen my former colleague Evan Rossio (@EvanRossio) in years, but we stay connected thanks to Facebook. BookBub (@BookBub) is a service offering free and bargain books for e-readers. I’ve never used it; however, because Evan has liked their Facebook Fan page, they can use his endorsement (“Evan D. Rossio likes BookBub”) as part of their advertisement. Since Evan is someone I know and respect, it makes me more likely to respond to this paid advertisement in a dizzying number of ways:
I can like BookBub’s Facebook Page (building their FAN audience).
I can visit their website (feeding their SEEKER audience).
I can subscribe to their free daily email (building SUBSCRIBERS).
I can like their ad (feeding their AMPLIFIER audience).
I can comment on their ad (also feeding their AMPLIFIERS).
I can share their ad with my friends (also feeding their AMPLIFIERS).
This single example demonstrates why Facebook is perhaps the most multifaceted audience development and engagement platform out there today. Within its walls, you can:
Build FANS by getting users to like your brand page via free posts or paid advertising. EXAMPLE: DonorsChoose.org (@DonorsChoose), which includes your Facebook friends who like the organization in their website header
Communicate with FANS via posts on your page, their News Feed, and direct messages where permission is granted. EXAMPLE: Crocs (@Crocs), which publicly responds to feedback and CUSTOMER or FAN questions posted to Facebook
Encourage FANS to also become SUBSCRIBERS or FOLLOWERS through cross-promotion of email, Twitter, and other channels. EXAMPLE: Half Price Books (@HalfPriceBooks), which uses its Facebook Timeline and Pages to promote the value of email subscription to FANS
Capture attention from SEEKERS who are searching Facebook or browsing it for entertainment purposes. EXAMPLE: Oreo (@Oreo), which entertains SEEKERS—as well as over 34 million Facebook FANS with humorous questions, photos, and videos featuring the cookie as the star
Inspire AMPLIFIERS to like, comment, and share content with their own proprietary audiences—both inside and outside of Facebook (via organic/free posts or Sponsored Posts in Facebook’s desktop and mobile environments). EXAMPLE: Mobile app developers who have discovered Facebook mobile ads to be a great way to not only get new SUBSCRIBERS but also AMPLIFIERS who tell others about their apps
If we view marketing as a game of football, each of these efforts on Facebook takes place on the offensive side of the ball. Each uses Facebook in positive ways that get SEEKERS, AMPLIFIERS, and FANS to:
Interact with your brand.
Share comments and stories about your brand, products, or services.
Share pictures, videos, and other visual content related to your brand.
Share ideas for new products or feedback about existing ones.
Visit your website or other Owned Media.
Buy your products or services.
Undoubtedly, the key reason to develop proprietary Facebook FANS is to enable these types of “offensive plays” on Facebook. However, Facebook FANS also provide you with protection on the defensive side of the ball. As many brands have discovered unexpectedly, Facebook is a very public forum in which:
Consumers can vent about negative experiences with your brand.
Executive and employee stupidity can be amplified exponentially.
Activists can attack your company’s policies, investments, or activities.
The presence of negative commentary on a brand’s Facebook page can be difficult for some companies to manage—which is what makes Facebook FANS an audience asset with a higher risk profile than, say, an email SUBSCRIBER. Email SUBSCRIBERS can certainly choose to share negative brand experiences with friends via email; however, such stories are not publicly visible or instantly shared to one’s entire social network as they are on Facebook.
Thus, if you’re going to embrace Facebook as a proprietary audience channel for your business, you must be prepared to not just build FANS but also serve loyal customers. Fortunately, you’re not alone in this mission. Our research found that 51 percent of the time, retail brand FANS answer questions before the brands themselves.5 A quick review of consumer packaged goods (CPG), restaurant, travel, and other brands similarly finds FANS answering questions on behalf of their favorite brands.