We’re embarking on yet another research report to identify how some top brands are using the Facebook platform well.
While no longer a one-off effort, many brands are already using Facebook for customer communities, word of mouth marketing, and are starting to integrate it with their own corporate website. At the end of July, I’ll be publishing our findings, as well as grading some of the world’s top brands on their Facebook efforts. We’ll be conducting a heuristic evaluation (acting like actual customers) and rate and rank these efforts with a variety of diagnostics.
After we publish this independent Altimeter research study in late July, I’ll be sharing the findings on a webinar sponsored by LiveWorld, where I’ll discuss what we found in the study. Sign up for the webinar to learn more about the success criteria, the research findings, and to join in on the discussion.
Now back to you, what criteria to you deem as key for brands to use in Facebook? I’ll kick off with a few: 1) Enable social features. Some brands have disabled the ability to have discussions or post information. 2) Encourage efforts that spread the experience to friends. Many brands are just talking directly to their members, but don’t explicitly enable the community to pass it on to others. 3) Engage in a dialog. The social web is about behaving in a way that consumers already are, and this means brands should also participate in the existing conversation. 4) While we have a list of over 10, we’d love to hear from you.
Update: The submissions are pouring in, to date, we’ve included, Vendor Contributors such as:
I would also be interested in knowing what people do with the information they collect. How do they act on it? How do they show input from the community has made a difference or changed something within that organization? I like to call this the transparent feedback loop.
I would also be interested in knowing what people do with the information they collect. How do they act on it? How do they show input from the community has made a difference or changed something within that organization? I like to call this the transparent feedback loop.
I have found some many brand committing the mistakes you mentioned above (especially 2), I will like to have brands engage with customers on new products development and specs. Another better way for brands to secure their effort is to find a way to effectively use the social plugin to gain access to customers direct contact (email, phone etc). This will help them, should facebook wakes up one day and want to change its term. I look forward to you webinar Jeremiah. Tnx
I have found some many brand committing the mistakes you mentioned above (especially 2), I will like to have brands engage with customers on new products development and specs. Another better way for brands to secure their effort is to find a way to effectively use the social plugin to gain access to customers direct contact (email, phone etc). This will help them, should facebook wakes up one day and want to change its term. I look forward to you webinar Jeremiah. Tnx
+1 to Lovisa input. It surely will enhance the interest of the community and make them open up to the brands more.
+1 to Lovisa input. It surely will enhance the interest of the community and make them open up to the brands more.
Jeremiah: Really looking forward to having you share your findings during our LiveWorld webinar. To add to your list, I think it's important that brands build out–and stick to–a content and engagement plan on their Facebook Pages. The effort has to include publishing on a regular basis, giving people a reason to come back to the Page they've just Liked!
Jeremiah: Really looking forward to having you share your findings during our LiveWorld webinar. To add to your list, I think it's important that brands build out–and stick to–a content and engagement plan on their Facebook Pages. The effort has to include publishing on a regular basis, giving people a reason to come back to the Page they've just Liked!
An editorial CAL, and regular cadence, makes sense.
An editorial CAL, and regular cadence, makes sense.
For me number 3 is pretty much the key. If your brand has already embarked on a social networking campaign, the least you can do is be social. Communicate, exchange ideas and engage your customers.
For me number 3 is pretty much the key. If your brand has already embarked on a social networking campaign, the least you can do is be social. Communicate, exchange ideas and engage your customers.
Hi Jeremiah, not sure if it™s in your method of thinking but I was talking to a friend recently who helps manage a Facebook community for his company (a global sportswear brand) and the thing that they™re trying to understand more on is the location of where their fans who comment and ˜like™ most come from. The top location was one they didn™t expect and was almost twice as much as some of the main cities they would expect to be up there. They want to try and understand more to help drive on/offline interaction with these fans in this area and help drive interaction across other locations. I suppose this could also possibly tie in with geolocation offerings to further connect with the community. If you want to discover more I™m sure he would be happy to talk with you and help your research?
Hi Jeremiah, not sure if it™s in your method of thinking but I was talking to a friend recently who helps manage a Facebook community for his company (a global sportswear brand) and the thing that they™re trying to understand more on is the location of where their fans who comment and ˜like™ most come from. The top location was one they didn™t expect and was almost twice as much as some of the main cities they would expect to be up there. They want to try and understand more to help drive on/offline interaction with these fans in this area and help drive interaction across other locations. I suppose this could also possibly tie in with geolocation offerings to further connect with the community. If you want to discover more I™m sure he would be happy to talk with you and help your research?
How about “freshness of content” as a key criterion for brands use of facebook (I'm sure you can find a better way to phrase that)?
Users are not going to return to your facebook presence if it is stale. I would suggest that brands can ill afford going two weeks (at most) without updating their facebook content. Users log on to facebook daily so two weeks with no new content is a long time (while competitors for our attention capitalize).
How about “freshness of content” as a key criterion for brands use of facebook (I'm sure you can find a better way to phrase that)?
Users are not going to return to your facebook presence if it is stale. I would suggest that brands can ill afford going two weeks (at most) without updating their facebook content. Users log on to facebook daily so two weeks with no new content is a long time (while competitors for our attention capitalize).
I'm interested in roles – how are brands training and otherwise empowering their employees or partners to “power up”, either on an ongoing or ad hoc basis. For example, if you're a bricks-and-mortar store brand, are you making a summary of events available as a “president's daily brief” and what are you doing to make it easy for your local store managers to be sociable? By the same token, what are brands doing to set the culture and the clock for their partners or accounts, beyond the editorial or promotional calendar?
I'm interested in roles – how are brands training and otherwise empowering their employees or partners to “power up”, either on an ongoing or ad hoc basis. For example, if you're a bricks-and-mortar store brand, are you making a summary of events available as a “president's daily brief” and what are you doing to make it easy for your local store managers to be sociable? By the same token, what are brands doing to set the culture and the clock for their partners or accounts, beyond the editorial or promotional calendar?
Respond to your fans who comment. I know this may be difficult for large brands that get huge amounts of comments, but I find it frustrating when I comment and the brand doesn't respond. They don't have to respond to me necessarily, but it's like they start the conversation and don't finish it and we the fans are merely their conversation minions. As a fan page administrator, I always make and effort to respond to most of the comments. (But, we have about 1700 fans compared to some that have hundreds of thousands so it is easy for me.)
Respond to your fans who comment. I know this may be difficult for large brands that get huge amounts of comments, but I find it frustrating when I comment and the brand doesn't respond. They don't have to respond to me necessarily, but it's like they start the conversation and don't finish it and we the fans are merely their conversation minions. As a fan page administrator, I always make and effort to respond to most of the comments. (But, we have about 1700 fans compared to some that have hundreds of thousands so it is easy for me.)
Right, Annie. There ARE some brands who are jumping into the comment streams to respond back to their fans (if not necessarily to each individual comment, then as a response to some of them or at least a general acknowledgement of the feedback), but those would be the ones who AREN'T treating Facebook like just another brodcast marketing channel!
Right, Annie. There ARE some brands who are jumping into the comment streams to respond back to their fans (if not necessarily to each individual comment, then as a response to some of them or at least a general acknowledgement of the feedback), but those would be the ones who AREN'T treating Facebook like just another brodcast marketing channel!
I think brands have relied too heavily on one-way communication; I would like to see brands actually engage their users; but I will extend this idea further: I would like to see the people behind the brand engage the users. It would humanize the brand, and create a natural connection. People want to talk to other people, not to a brand. I have never seen a major brand execute this type of social media strategy
Thanks that's helpful Jason. We've got that one covered in our criteria!
Would you consider projects (sites and social activities) in Italian language?
Thanks
sandro
I think brands have much heavily on one-way communication, I suppose this could also possibly attach in with offerings to additional connect with the community.
Jeremiah – a few points come to note from my clients Facebook pages.
1. Discover when your community are online so that your Facebook update has a chance to appear when they log on in their feed on their home page without too much scrolling
2. Take care not to publish content too frequently to your Facebook Page – if all people can see on their Facebook Page if your content not their friends they may 'unlike' your page or hide your feed
3. When starting a Facebook Page we have found that also using engagement ads (on the home page of Facebook) has assisted in increasing the visibility and number of people joining your community quickly
4. Keep your competitions relevant to the community on your Page. It may seem an obvious one – in my experience the competition does not have to be for something that has an expensive price tag – but it is something valued by the community. And of course make sure you comply with the guidelines for promotions and competitions (there are many brands who don't and risk their page being deleted)
5. When adding applications make sure you test it for use-ability – too many clicks as part of the process and people won't add the application.
Thanks for including us in this list. Can't wait to see the results.
really nice information about marketing criteria on facebook
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great resource for get information on regular basis…Thanks bro
Interesting blog but I want to read more about it.