The 5 Golden Rules of Facebook Branding

Similarly to corporate web pages fifteen years ago, social networking is that business device that everyone knows they need to use, but not sure how to use.  Unfortunately, there is a very low barrier to entry with social networking, so most companies find the one person in-house that knows just a little more than everyone else, and counts on that person to launch a proper social networking campaign.  We see it over and over, so we have put together a short list of the Golden Rules that we feel are essential for effective Facebook Branding:

1. Learn from the best brands and before you start, get all aspects of your Facebook page ready to roll. Generally, a business will fill out the info, add some photos, post up a square logo and off they go.  But take a look at how great brands do it, and give yourself a full checklist by comparing your Facebook Page to theirs--  Why don't we have a long, beautiful profile image? How did they get their 5 images at the top of the page to merge so well with the overall layout and brand image? They have their other related businesses as their Featured Likes, should we do that? What sections should we have under our logo... Reviews? YouTube? Questions? Polls? Custom sections? How do we do that?  In short, know all the parts of a Facebook page and get yours maximized and ready for business before you start.
2. Engage, be Transparent, and Interact.  Your fans are your gateway to more fans, so treat them well.  With social networking sales/marketing/customer service are all bundled into one area, and you can master them well by interacting often with fans.  It won't cost you anything but time-- use polls, ask questions, run contests, and reply to when a fan has an issue.  Transparency is one of the new buzzwords in the business world and companies that are succeeding are the ones staying on top of and in front of issues.  And remember that you grow your Facebook fan base by keeping your fans engaged, and thus hopefully getting more fans through them... let them be a part of the page to keep them interested in your brand, and your Facebook page will grow.
3. Give back to fans.  Reward them, and this can be in many different ways.  Musicians can give early releases, Fan only printable coupons, updates to exclusive events, whatever it is, give your fans something in return for the loyalty they have shown for becoming a part of your site.  This can cost you nothing, or you can have a grand promotion, or something in between.  Whatever your approach, it is important to give back to your fans... it is through them that you will grow your Facebook page, so it is good to keep them happy.
4. Let 'em see behind the curtain!  To be honest, most Facebook brand pages are just extensions of already existing business websites, but that just creates a redundant marketing tool that causes confusion.  The difference between your Facebook page and your business website is your network of fans, and they are an active feature of your page.  A website has value as an unbound source of company info, but your Facebook page is special in that your audience is built right into your content.  Let them be a part of your brand.  Here is an example... let's say you are a fashion company, and you have a very slick website with some professionally made promotional videos.  Yes, it is fine to also bring those over, probably in the format of a YouTube app that just gets all of your videos automatically.  However, your fans will be far more engaged if you make them feel more a part of the business... do some "behind the scenes" videos recorded off of staff mobile devices, and perhaps let them see some of the ins and outs of the business.  Again, no cost, and you fully engage the fans and are providing real value in being a part of your Facebook page.
5. Sell and/or Advertise on Facebook.  If you have worked hard to build up a loyal and ever-expanding fan base, you would be missing a huge opportunity not to sell you products and/or advertise on Facebook.  Building a store on Facebook has huge advantages--- word of mouth can be instant among your fans that buy products on your Facebook page and they in turn will become like a mini-sales team utilizing the greatest tool of social networking-- transitive trust.  Facebook ads are "hyper-targeted" so you can hit exactly the type of potential customers that you deem worthy, and are beyond compare to traditional spray and pray sales and marketing campaigns.

Facebook is where the customers are at, and utilizing the power of the network of fans and friends is what will separate business over the next decade.  Businesses that understand how to use their Facebook page and other social networking tools will be the ones standing in all of the tremendously saturated markets that exist in each business environment, and using these 5 rules will go a long way in building an efficient social networking plan.

Facebook Fan Pages vs. Websites

Facebook Fan Pages vs. Websites

The traditional web page may have peaked as to its level of importance with the recent explosion of social networking tools.  This is not to say that the company website has lost its purpose, but it rather has drifted into the grouping of traditional marketing tools that offer only an A to B knowledge transfer.  What is that?  Well, let's look at it in contrast to social networking tools.

First, we need to acknowledge that the overall trust in business and brands is very low.  This could very well be unfair, as many business and traditional advertisements are lumped in with current events such as Enron, ponzi schemes, government bailouts, recalls, etc.  Whether fair or not isn't important, it is just the reality.  Therefore, when businesses simply use this A to B method of "telling" customers to trust them and that their products have quality and that their business is valid, it has only a limited effect.

So why do social networking tools such as Facebook fan pages have more validity?  The answer lies in the concept of "transitive trust".  Transitive trust is simple and ancient- if I trust a person's opinion on a certain topic, and that person trusts a certain product, I therefore gain a certain level of trust for that product.

Facebook and other social networking sites work off of this premise.  A brand puts itself out there, and displays info, and gathers an initial base of "fans".  This could be current customers, friends, etc.  The idea is to build upon those fans' fans.  It's a slow exponential growth, but one that very much fits into free market concepts of survival of the fittest.  The brands that are most transparent, engage customers, deal with issues promptly and fairly, offer quality products and reasonable prices, and so on, will theoretically succeed because basically the word will spread within the network for that brand.

Saying all that, it is not a magic bullet solution.  Billboard type marketing materials such as websites still have a lot of value in that they can display rich data about the company and its brands.  Facebook is an excellent tool to build the brand, but other tools such as a microblog like Twitter is excellent for quickly getting exposure to many fans, and blogs such as Blogspot offer integration of more robust content.

Finally, it is important to understand that every brand is different.  When a company first engages in a social networking plan, they should determine what is the value proposition of their products.  For a fashion company this could be "how does it make me look?" and "what celebrities like this brand?".  Both of these can be answered on the highest layer of content with product images and celebrity images with the brand.  For a company that offers technical training, let's say, the value proposition is different in that the quality of the brand is not as superficial.  For this type of company testimonials from past clients, current customers, and some more detailed product info will be needed.  Each company is different and a plan should be made before moving forward.

At Social Hill, we first determine how social networking can benefit each customer and build a plan around those needs.  There are thousands of excellent Facebook apps, Twitter tools, blog configurations, and a set of the most appropriate is organized for each brand.