Entries Tagged 'Facebook' ↓

Marketing and Public Relations Podcast

On Aug. 23rd Facebook will be changing the way marketers work with Facebook. This is a reminder that when you use Facebook, you do not own your content. So when Facebook changes, you have to change with them.

The biggest change is the removal of boxes that once appeared in the sidebar. This is where marketers used to be able to add ”Opt-In” boxes for their Constant Contact lists, or badges from Twitter and Skype. Boxes are what allowed people to tie in many components of their social media campaign into their Facebook landing page. They were very powerful. On August 23rd, they’ll be gone. So any content in a Facebook “box” will need to be recreated.

Boxes were also used to appease lawyers. They were where you put “community guidelines” and “rules” to keep everyone out of trouble. Now, this content will have to be moved to the “About” tab or “Info” tab. Neither tab supports FBML, but URLs do turn into hyperlinks, which is nice.

Over time, I think marketers will need to make more use of Facebook Markup Language to get the utility of boxes. FBML is HTML used specifically for Facebook. FBML allows you to create landing pages in Facebook that look and feel just like regular Web pages on the Internet.

If you’ve ever wondered, “how do I make a Facebook page engaging,” this is how. Examples of FBML are Gain detergent, Coca-Cola and Chick-Fil-A. 

Facebook pages will also appear more narrow. If you’ve developed banners or images for Facebook, you may need to resize them. (Did a whole lot of graphic designers just make money?)

If you haven’t figured it out yet, all these changes are to make more room (and provide more value) to Facebook advertisers. Facebook is taking real-estate away from “free sites” and giving it to those willing to pay.

To see an example of the new Facebook page layout, look at a Facebook Event, like the one taking place at  Big Island Seafood Farmer’s Market.

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I wanted to find out how West Hawaii compares to the mainland U.S. when it comes to using social media for business marketing. More than 100 West Hawaii residents responded to my West Hawaii Social Media Survey in April. The results are presented below in a 19-page report with 10 charts and interpretive analysis.

This is the first look at how West Hawaii uses the Internet and social media tools for marketing businesses.

Previously, this data did not exist. In this report you’ll learn:

• The percentage of West Hawaii marketers using social media to promote their businesses
• How much time West Hawaii marketers spend on social media
• The benefits most associated with social media
• The relationship between time invested and results
• The most popular tools, and which tools are best for what purpose

If you’re a marketer in West Hawaii and sometimes wonder if your efforts will pay off, these results will guide you!

If you’re already investing in social media, this report will let you compare what you’re doing to those that have the most success.

Download the West Hawaii social media report here and feel free to share the report with others!

Remember, the nature of social media is to share, so if you find value in this report, please share it with your social network.

Most importantly, I need to know what questions YOU have. Tell me what the most useful information was for YOU in this survey, and what you would like to see in the next West Hawaii Social Media Survey. Use the comments section below!

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“Being a Fan, Follower or Friend does not mean they opted in to have advertising blasted at them.”

        – Michael Donnelly, Worldwide Interactive Marketing

Nearly six thousand times a day, people talk about why Coca-Cola is their brand. They do it with creative content that gets noticed and demonstrates an authentic LOVE for the brand. Some of these conversations are a natural outgrowth of Coca-Cola’s brand, others happen because Coke asks for it:

“Where have you had a Coke lately?”

“Coca-Cola invites you to upload a photo of the next Coke you drink.”

“Coca-Cola wants to know: What’s your favorite time of day to enjoy an ice-cold Coca-Cola?”

Coke’s brand managers track these conversations, finding the most-used word with “Coke” is “LOVE.” How do consumers come to “love” a brand?

Coke is one of the few brands that have been present throughout several generations, and will be for generations to come. It’s reliable. Dependable. Always there. Traveling to Indonesia, I went through Taiwan, then to Bali. Then to the island of Sumba. Then to rural villages, where livestock shares the road. In every stop, there was Coke. Then finally to a place too remote for electricity. Then even further to villages where currency takes the form of livestock and cigarettes. Coke has literally “painted the world red.” It’s natural that Coke will be where people are online as well.

Mr. Donnelly, the architect behind the world’s largest social media campaign, says that his team’s social media strategy is to put fans first. “Less about us, more about them.” As a result, Coke fans interact with the Coke brand and each other more than any other online brand. Donnelly says traditional marketing campaigns ”abandoned the audience” after completion. Campaigns based on sustainable relationships “leverage the existing audience and grow it for future use.”

To create even more highly compelling content, Coca-Cola will soon be embarking on a world “Expedition of Happiness,” taking a crew to 206 countries in one year to see first-hand how Coke brings happiness throughout the world. “We will be everywhere our consumers are in an authentic, member-of-the-community, non big brand way,” Donnelly said. He summarized Coke’s social media strategy this way:

• Fish where the fish are
• Integrate ‘common social solutions’ into existing campaigns (Facebook, Twitter)
• Optimize functionality that already exists (Event invites)
• Create new functionality, if needed (Web and iPhone apps)
• Have clear principals to insure everyone and everything is aligned
• Learn from experience

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