So you’re finally happy with your website. You open Outlook and archive that online marketing folder. You bought the office a box of gourmet cupcakes to celebrate a job well done. “Review Internet stuff” is marked on your calendar 12 months from now. “Our marketing is awesome,” you say.
Look, we’re real happy for you (and we’re going to let you finish), but we need you to know three things:
- Digital marketing is never done. Actually, make that just marketing (thanks Scott!).
- For better or for worse, the brand/corporate web site has legitimate online competition for eyeballs in the form of social media.
- Just like your website, you need a strategy for your social media activities (thanks Jay!).
Social media is not for trendsetters anymore. It’s simply a part of how we communicate, business included. And while there’s an endless supply of social media services fighting for your ad impressions and clicks, Facebook is certainly king.
“Yeah,” you say. “I made a Facebook business Page. It took me 5 minutes.” Okay, it’s true that a Facebook Page can be made with little effort or skill. But so can websites. What brand wants a second (or third)-rate website? You put all sorts of resources into your kick ass website. We encourage you to translate some of that over to your Facebook page and make it stand out. It won’t magically make you a social media star, but it will help.
So what does that look like? We’ll use some of Artistech’s work as examples. Here are three brands that have added value to their Facebook Pages.
include() Wine
include() is a hobby for Artistech’s executives Brad Marshall and Giuseppe Simpatico…as long as you’re willing to permit the word “hobby” to mean “creating large amounts of additional work outside of work.” There’s a lot of Okanagan wine out there, but the include() brand is built to stand out. Part of how that’s communicated is in graphic design.
Every time somebody says, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” half a bazillion people do exactly that. Nothing was stopping Brad and Sep from creating a tab that communicated this product info in regular text on a white background. But then the content would look just like a bunch of other stuff on Facebook. Information with appealing packaging is more likely to be noticed.
Of course, you don’t just want customers to hear something; you want them to act as a result of hearing it. include() isn’t formally open for business yet, but there’s no need to wait to build a list of potential customers.
It’s a small victory to simply have a prospective customer checking out your Facebook page. You can take your relationship a step further by giving them a fast and easy way to signal interest in what you have to offer. Once you have an email address or phone number and a bit of supporting information, you can focus marketing efforts on people who want to hear what you have to say.
Best Buy Canada
We’ve worked with Best Buy Canada on some of their Facebook promotional campaigns, including Facebook apps like their Back to School contest. Note the visual relationship between their contest website and Facebook Page. An element as simple as color helps to create brand consistency between media channels, and in the case of Facebook it helps you stand out from the pack.
With their Facebook Instant Win game, Best Buy Canada incentivized targeted customers to enter their online contest. It’s a clear example of using a Facebook tab to support a broader objective.
The Takeaways
- Consumer brands need to take Facebook seriously as a marketing and communications channel.
- Ask your graphic designer to translate your website’s look over to your company’s Facebook page. Standardize the visuals that promote your brands across marketing channels.
- Jay Baer says your social media activity should have an objective. He’s right of course. Just like your website, your Facebook Page should have an objective. Do you want to increase your reach via word of mouth? Do you want to generate leads for your sales team? Know what you want to achieve and have a plan to make it happen.
What do you think is important in a quality Facebook presence? What brands have you connected with on Facebook? What are the downsides to using Facebook as a marketing channel? Hit the comments and give us the scoop!
Sam Turri is Artistech’s Internet Strategist.
