Despite the technical difficulties we experienced at our biggest webinar—
The Science of Facebook Marketing
—many of our attendees' questions didn’t revolve only around sound issues. We received a bunch of thoughtful inquiries about
marketing on Facebook
and wanted to share those with you! Here are our answers to the top 10 questions companies asked us about Facebook marketing:
1.What is the best way to drive interactions on your Facebook page?
Takeaway: Think Content.
The most effective way to drive interactions on your Facebook page is by
creating fresh and unique content
. Your followers can start a discussion when they have an interesting topic to tackle. Don’t blast your network with self-promotional materials, but post content valuable to the community. Rest assured, they will want to share that further.
2. Facebook etiquette: how often should we be replying to fans?
Takeaway: Stay in Touch Constantly.
Respond to fans and people who “like” your company as many times as possible. If they have a question or a request, spend the time to address these. Though this is a very time-consuming activity, it helps you increase brand awareness and drive happy reviews.
3. Does using images prove to be more effective than just words on Facebook pages?
Takeaway: Graphics Matter.
Using images and photos on Facebook is critical to attracting people’s attention. Multimedia messages present an effective marketing channel that more companies can now leverage. Even a simple step like
letting people tag your photos
can turn into a great opportunity.
4.How often should you post your website content on your Facebook page?
Takeaway: Don’t Be Sales-ey.
Publishing your own content on Facebook depends on the frequency and character of your
content creation
. If you have an active blog that is not product-oriented but provides resources your fans will find educational, share these links! Same goes for your new videos and presentations.
5. Is there any value to creating and using Facebook groups?
Takeaway: Build Your Reputation.
Facebook groups enable you to demonstrate your expertise in a specific area. If you remain an active member of the group community, your opinion will be valued and sought. As you build relationships with others immersed in the same field, you can increase your thought leadership and gain brand recognition.
6. What examples of company Facebook pages do you consider to be effective?
Takeaway: Test New Tabs.
We consider “elite” Facebook pages the ones with the highest
Facebook grades
(calculated based on their power and reach in the Facebook community). Prominently, Starbucks and Coca-Cola are in the top ten. They use unique tabs that introduce interactive information like a
Starbucks map
and
Coca-Cola reviews
.
7. Are B2B companies more difficult to promote?
Takeaway: Become an Industry Resource.
Though Facebook seems like a great marketing channel for business-to-customer (B2C) companies like Starbucks and Coca-Cola, it is also successfully used by many business-to-business (B2B) companies.
As Leyl Master Black recently mentioned on Mashable
, B2B companies can use Facebook to “become an industry resource."
8. How can Facebook ads be used in a campaign? What makes them effective?
Takeaway: Target Specific Audiences.
Similar to Google ads, Facebook ads can complement your already existing marketing efforts. You can reach your precise audience—female or male, married or single, professional or still in school... Sync it up with an event that you are promoting, or target a specific location. Facebook ads are not very expensive and you can easily experiment with them!
9.What do you think about sending people to Facebook instead of sending them to your site?
Takeaway: Create Landing Pages.
No matter where your prospects arrive, they should be greeted by a
clear and direct call-to-action
. They might be at different stages of their familiarity with your product/service and you need to test diverse
landing pages
. Think of it as a long-term nurturing campaign rather than a quick slice-and-dice scheme.
10.Should a brand's Facebook presence be a communal thing or an individual effort?
Takeaway: Distribute Power.
Social media for business should be distributed among several team members. That gives you the opportunity to experiment with different communication styles and add a richer set of content ideas and engagement tactics.
These were only some of the great questions we received during The Science of Facebook Marketing webinar . If you have other inquiries that you would like us to address, leave them in the comments!
Inbound Marketing Blog Feed
Scranton Web Design 8:49 AM on July 02, 2010
Many potential clients think that Facebook alone will do the trick at giving them an online presence.. I feel that it has hurt our company somewhat.
SteveCWD 8:57 AM on July 02, 2010
Brilliant!
Besides my website, I probably use Facebook more than anything else - pouncing on status updates from friends lists which might yield a business opportunity.
The tips listed above should really help to enhance my business activity on FB - thanks Maggie!
Steve
Maggie Georgieva 9:08 AM on July 02, 2010
@Scranton Web Design: It is true that Facebook alone cannot grow your business—you need to have the content in order to start using social media. It is not about simply joining a network, you have to back up these efforts with a strong website presence.
@Steve: Thanks for the positive feedback! I'm glad this post introduced some new tips for your business! ;-)
Nathan King 9:09 AM on July 02, 2010
Great tips - This is not the first time I've seen the suggestion of using a landing page/tab on Facebook. My personal preference is to get right to the conversation on the Wall.
Mckinley Media Group 11:36 AM on July 02, 2010
Good Advice. Never thought joining facebook groups could possibly be beneficial. Thanx.
Derek 12:25 PM on July 02, 2010
I think that #7 - Become an Industry Resource - is a key thing for all businesses to focus on, as too often, pages are full of 'sales-y' posts and only talk about their own business. Better to add value to your fans and build relationships.
Thanks!
Janet Aronica 12:40 PM on July 02, 2010
These are fantastic tips, and this is almost re-assuring. For my business (the Twitter app store) we naturally focus more on Twitter and our Facebook page is almost like...the neglected stepchild? It is nice to know that things like providing the right content, acting as a resource...these are the types of things that we already are doing. We just need to do more of it.
John Clevenger 1:39 PM on July 02, 2010
This is wonderful stuff. As a small marketing startup, we find this information invaluable, particularly as we have just started our Facebook marketing efforts. Thank you!
Maggie Georgieva 1:44 PM on July 02, 2010
@Derek: Becoming an industry resource is really invaluable--by offering educational materials you establish the authority of your business, and become a trusted adviser!
@Janet: I think your situation is something marketers often experience as new technologies emerge. It is important to remember how communities differ from one another and prioritize accordingly.
@John: Thanks! Glad this post provided you with some helpful tips!
Veronica Modarelli 12:42 AM on July 03, 2010
Excellent post. Concise, valuable, practical information. Thank you for pulling it all together in one place to find.
Matias 3:41 PM on July 04, 2010
Excellent article!! I´m going to use this tips with my own website... Here in Argentina Facebook is very popular, much more popular than MySpace...
Thanks again and keep it up!
Shane O Leary 10:15 AM on July 05, 2010
Great resource. I think its vital to have a regular presence on Facebook nowadays. However, I personally dont really see the use for B2B companies to be on Facebook. Becoming an industry expert is much easier through blogging and even microblogging like Twitter I would think.
Something which I personally am wary about is both being over sales focused, and updating too frequently. Annoying fans by popping up in their newsstream every few minutes, and simply bigging up your product is not a good practice, and something which we try not to do with our page: http://www.facebook.com/mylunch.ie
Also a landing page can be a very good conversion medium, but should be professionally done.
Michele 12:35 PM on July 05, 2010
Some great tips here Maggie! I think that it's especially great that you mentioned FB advertising. It is inexpensive in comparison to Google Adwords and can be a very effective way to promote your page and eventually direct people to your site. Thanks for sharing!
Joseph Bushnell 2:49 PM on July 05, 2010
I use Facebook marketing a lot and now i get leads from Facebook every day, so it's worth my time.
Thanks for this post to help remind me how i can use Facebook to its full potential.
Awesome post, keep up the good work Maggie!
Joseph Bushnell
http://josephbushnell.com
intransition 9:32 PM on July 05, 2010
This presupposes a large business with a team, and does not address the small business with one to three people, nor the service business, such as a dental or medical practice, that has privacy and liability issues with direct contact.
Maggie Georgieva 10:24 PM on July 05, 2010
@intransition: I understand your concerns regarding privacy and liability issues in certain industries. But they are plenty of examples of how companies in these fields have leveraged the power of social networks and Facebook, in particular. For instance, Elekta: http://bit.ly/aTBLg4
@Joseph: Thanks for your comment! Glad the blog post was helpful! ;-)
@Michele: Yes--FB ads can be pretty helpful when well thought-out and complimenting other marketing campaigns. Have you experiment with them yet? Let us know how this is working out for you!
@reverse phone lookup: There definitely is a lot of hype around social networks and they can't do miracles. Businesses should know that Facebook and Twitter have limitations. For instance, it is critical that you have great, remarkable content before you start joining online communities.
@Shane O Leary: I see how blogging makes more sense for B2B companies that want to establish themselves as industry resources. In that sense, Twitter is a great marketing channel. But it is worth experimenting with Facebook, even for the pure reason that it attracts different demographics and allows you to present yourself in a different light (with photos, notes, other applications).
Kimberly Otsuka 3:36 PM on July 06, 2010
These are great questions. I really enjoyed the Facebook app Starbuck's used to show their locations around the world. I thought of another cute idea similar to this. Rather than showing locations on a map why not show the weather where companies are located using a weather app. Mixes things up a little and makes it fun.
Photos are one of my top interests. If there are hardly any photos then I skip over the site. Text content is good for information but can get overwhelming/ tiring. Give your eyes a break from reading all the time and use images to display your message. Diversity is important.
-CKR Interactive Intern
www.ckrinteractive.com
Service Desk 3:09 AM on July 07, 2010
I agree. Interesting contents or graphics, interaction at the same time building the business rather than selling is good in Facebook
Rodney Akomas 4:41 PM on July 12, 2010
Facebook like other social media networks is all about having conversations. if you regularly update your staus with valuable content and on your facebook page you will draw interested friends to your links.