Facebook success stories
While it’s difficult to credit a Facebook page as a “success”, as there are is no set criteria, these experts say there are definite signs you’re heading in the right direction – a bustling user base, plenty of discussion, a number of links directed to your site and
Thomas cites American lingerie chain Victoria’s Secret a definite example, saying it is beautifully designed with a long list of information available for users. Fans are encouraged to discuss different products and their experiences, along with discussions about non-company related matters.
However, it isn’t all conversation. Swedish furniture chain IKEA wanted to earn some money last year but didn’t have a huge marketing budget, so it set up a simple Facebook page.
For awhile the site remained quiet as its moderators updated it with pictures of various pieces of furniture. But then it dropped the word that the first user able to “tag” his or her name to a picture would win the corresponding piece of furniture.
Word got out, and the company managed to gain thousands of fans within a short amount of time and quickly gained a reputation for respecting users through its unique and simple campaign – much like the furniture. Users were eventually begging the company to upload more photos – flooding the page with activity.
But it isn’t just major international corporations which are taking advantage of what Facebook has to offer. Even smaller businesses are jumping on the trend, including an Indian restaurant called Junnoon located in Palo Alto, California.
The company’s Facebook page offers location details, opening hours, photographs and details of upcoming events, but also allows users the ability to book a page straight from the page itself.
By becoming a “fan” of the page, users can also post reviews and rate the food served – and no surprise, most of them are positive.
Borrud says the Aquabumps fan page is one of the most successful he has seen, and credits its popularity to the founder’s openness and willingness to create discussions with followers.
“The guy who started it is a photographer, and he takes pictures of sunrises, sunsets, people surfing and that sort of thing. Instead of just outright selling his photographs, he has an art gallery where he invites people to come in and have a conversation about the condition of the surf. He might ask “who’s up for a swim?” and get people talking. That’s why he has over 8,000 fans.”
But Borrud also says while interesting techniques and gimmicks are good and even helpful for your brand, “these shouldn’t be the core of your page”.
“These are all interesting ideas, but they should all be seen as a tactic which forms part of the overall strategy. Whether it’s a promotion, a sweepstakes or whatever, it is not the primary focus and is just working to make the page itself stronger.”
Facebook disasters
While many companies get it right, there are certainly examples of businesses getting it wrong when it comes to marketing on Facebook, and they serve as a warning – take it seriously, or suffer the consequences.
These social media blunders have left companies looking desperate, unorganised and arrogant in the eyes of their customers. Criticisms going unanswered, rampant mocking of the company in question, sarcastic responses all result in a tarnished brand, all thanks to leaving Facebook unattended.
Food giant Nestle recently found this out when attempting to connect with its users on the site. Greenpeace activists criticised the company on the official page for buying from suppliers who allegedly hurt the habitats of several endangered species.
A representative hit back at attempts of changing the company’s logo into less-than flattering pictures, saying that “we welcome your comments, but please don’t post using an altered version of any of our logos as your profile pic – they will be deleted”.
The company followed through with the threat and deleted pictures, followed by a massive outcry from activists. The rep replied sarcastically, saying “Oh please… it’s like we’re censoring everything to allow only positive comments”.
The spokesperson later offered an apology, saying they would no longer be rude when answering questions. But it was too late. News of the bungle had spread across the internet, tarnishing the company’s reputation.
Griffin says this is astonishing, and that Nestle should have had specific plans in place for dealing with situations like these. The problem, he says, is that too often these circumstances are underestimated and even considered impossible by out-of-touch business leaders.
“I think it’s hard to see why Nestle didn’t have a crisis management plan come into action, and if they have one, it hasn’t been a very good one. You have to acknowledge the fact that when you engage in social media you are giving people a stage to complain about your brand – and that goes as part of embracing social media as marketing.”
“One of the biggest alarm bells was when people on the site were talking about actively hurting the company’s share price and hoping they would bring it down. It draws a direct link between financial loss and social media presence – which 18 months ago would have been unheard of.”
American department store giant Wal-Mart suffered a similar fate when it disabled discussion boards and other feedback features on its Facebook page, prompting a harsh wave of criticism.
It doesn’t just happen to companies with bad ideas. Last year, shopping centre operator Westfield introduced a “All I Want For Christmas Is A Westfield Gift Card” competition, giving users the chance to win $10,000 in a gift voucher. While the competition was popular, the company found itself the subject of hate groups on Facebook dedicated to bashing the campaign.
The problem was that Westfield developed an app which changed a user’s status to the campaign’s token phrase. Users said this was “taking over” the site, and even accused the campaign of violating Facebook’s regulations.
Logitech had a similar situation occur last year when it found users were complaining about products and criticising the company.
However, the company wasn’t concerned. A spokesperson told SmartCompany at the time that while the Logitech team was monitoring activity, it wouldn’t censor any comments and that “they see this as a page for the fans to interact and converse with one another”.
Waters says this move was the right one, as companies need to be prepared to take the bad with the good. These experts say if you’re going to put your business out in the open, you need to be ready to take a hit – and deal with the problem.
The bottom line
As social networking evolves, it has become more important than ever for businesses to join these sites and start marketing to a constantly-growing base of customers. Borrud says as more and more businesses enter the scene, they are wondering why they didn’t get started earlier.
“More and more businesses are finding out their customers are on Facebook, and so they are going to interact with them there. In Australia we have over eight million active users and more are joining every day. They are seeing the engagement that is being provided.”
Waters says businesses need to think of how they will approach social networking in ways that are unique to their own strategies, and not just copy the efforts of others.
“Everything is different, and every business develops these things in their own way. But you have to be committed for the long haul. You won’t get an immediate result from testing out on social networking, you need to set your expectations on doing things over 12 months.”
“After that you can look at what you’ve done, consider it, and then assess whether it’s working or not. But be prepared to put some deep thought into it and develop a cohesive strategy.”
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
