In a recent Business Week article it stated that Facebook recently took a $200 million investment from Russia’s Digital Sky Technologies which values it at a total of $10 billion. But is it really worth that much to your company?
People have been flocking to Facebook for about 5 years now and the user base has crossed the 100 million mark. This sounds great, but you need to start capitalizing on all this traffic that is full of people eager to spread the word and share messages about their favorite brands. Here are some of the options Facebook currently offers:
- Highly targeted banner ads based on user activities and interests
- Promotion of a certain event that users can “RSVP” for
- Creating a customized group where users can become “fans” of your brand
The big question is- will this be enough to get users to engage, drive discussions on your products, and eventually lead to purchases or will it just add to the online ad clutter and be ignored by users?
If you ask me, my answer is yes! It is possible but you gotta do it right! Create a message that is highly targeted and is of interest to the user, for example, if the person’s interests include running, he/she is very likely to be interested in Nike running shoes. This kind of advertising is somewhat of a cross between paid search and display media, since it can be delivered to certain users but still contains graphics.
Leveraging Facebook and Making Friends
As an online marketer I have the following advice for the big brands:
- Give your ads and community a “hands off” feel which will foster conversations without users feeling like they are participating and volunteering in a national advertising campaign.
- Monitor the discussions and inform users of upcoming events that involve your brand but do it lightly.
- Participate in the conversations on networks such as Facebook with the goal of guiding the discussions rather than dominating them with your marketing messages. Think of it as conversations with friends rather than just consumers who fit into your target audience.
In conclusion, if big brands follow these rules they can see the true brand loyalists come out of their fans and friends, naturally elevating the brand image, which can lead to more sales…and a happy boss!
