I’ve been on a Facebook marketing kick lately and have been reading Clara Shih’s book The Facebook Era. I’m also eagerly awaiting my copy of Paul Dunay’s Facebook Marketing For Dummies as I know it contains invaluable insights.
In this post I want to ask a question that pertains to Facebook. First, however, let me set it up with some background.
Let’s go back to around 2004/2005 when blogs were the social medium of choice for the most part. In those days, one could leave a relevant comment on a popular blogger’s blog post and almost be guaranteed traffic back to their own. (Keep in mind this predates “nofollow” tags.)
I experienced that very phenomena myself. I’d go hang out over at Seth Godin’s blog (this was during the time when he accepted both comments and trackbacks), leave a comment or two and, invariably, I’d see traffic from it back to my site. I could count on about 10 percent of that traffic staying with me too. It wasn’t a bad strategy for such a nascent time.
The field is way too crowded today and there are more blogs than Carter has liver pills (to borrow a quote from my grandmother), so that technique doesn’t work nearly so well as it used too. However, I’m of the opinion that the old is new again, this time in the form of Facebook Pages.
To test the waters on the marketing efficacy of Pages, both for myself and for clients, I set up a Facebook Page for my new book The Digital Handshake.
One technique I’m using to market it is by a) finding other authors in my field who have their own Pages, b) becoming a fan and c) favoriting their Page on my own. Not only that, I’m writing Wall posts mentioning their books, sort of as a way to express good will and camaraderie. I’m also commenting on their Wall when it’s suitable to do so (meaning when I have something to say that’s relevant, but not in any way promotional). Think of it as the same technique as commenting on blogs.
My question is, do you think that technique will produce similar results as back in blogging’s good old days? Does becoming a fan of, say, Chris Brogan’s new book, Trust Agents, mean that some of his fans will become mine? I think it’s a possibility, though I’m not sure how to measure the effect, other than by an increase in raw numbers.
The other thing that I’m wondering is whether Facebook Pages are the nouveau riche way of marketing via Facebook, over and against using Groups, personal profiles or Ads, for example. According to Facebook guidelines, aside from Social Ads, they are the only legitimate way for a business to market itself, so perhaps that’s a moot question. Still, that doesn’t stop businesses from utilizing these other means.
What do you think of my theory? Is it fraught with holes or does it have substance? And, is your business using a Facebook Page? If so, what has been your experience so far?
That’s an interesting theory, Paul, though I’m not sure I entirely agree. I think Facebook Pages are better used as support for other web marketing campaigns – such as blogs.
I’m not saying that Facebook Pages are ineffective; on the contrary, I think you make a very good point about testing the waters. However, a platform like Facebook is limited by virtue of being a platform – its users are dependent on its policies and continued survival. In contrast, a blog is under the author’s direct control, giving it a kind of longevity that Facebook doesn’t have.
I think a big question is whether your target audience is on facebook the same way they were on the blogs you were visiting. Blogs, in general, have focused content and to link into that can be great for a business that attracts similar clientele. Facebook, on the other hand, is a much larger group, and that may be a good thing or a bad one depending on who you are trying to attract.
Interesting approach…One cool feature of Facebook Pages is when a “fan” joins, their own followers see it and can follow, thus the potential viral nature of a Page. But Emily raises a good question about the focused nature of your readers on Facebook. FB is a broad and fleeting audience; would they be as loyal to a typical FB Page than, say, a favorite blog? I look at FB Pages as just one of many “marketing outposts” (Chris Brogan’s term), allowing you to experiment and reach people in different corners of the blogosphere. If you want more info on developing a successful Facebook Page, I recently posted this article on MarketProfs: http://www.marketingprofs.com/9/how-to-develop-a-successful-facebook-page-ivey.asp (ps: you just got one more fan)
@Jeffrey – I tend to agree. To borrow from @Mark’s comments where he cited Chris’ reference to Facebook Pages as an “outpost,” I see it the same way. I call a blog your social media headquarters, a base of operations from which forays into other forms of social media engagement are made, FB being one of them.
Paul, it’s another net in another pool. The dynamics of FB are as hard to predict as any other publishing or broadcast media, though if you can come up with some sort of offbeat or sarcastic tagline you may get a higher pass-around (viral) rate than a straight explanation of a product or service due to the nature of the FB culture that is developing. I have set up 3 pages for 2 clients and 1 group and a dozen groups for organizations and a few clients. Al have grown slowly on their own. I add content, and some inspires dialog, most is outgoing announcements to the members. I have found relatively few pages or groups that are similar enough to join and contribute to as you suggest. But it’s early yet. The trick is to keep looking and watching and when you find one, do as you say – join, favorite, contribute, and cite them on your own page. Next is to ask for them to guest blog, so to speak, on your page.
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I work at a college in Norway, and I’ve been considering creating a Facebook page and combine it with Facebook social ads.
The problem is that I’m not sure what we’re looking to do with a page at Facebook. Is it just a way to drive traffic to our website?
Actually, I think it’s a way to communicate with our current students, former students and potential students. By communicating (answering questions, posting stories, publishing videos from our college) with this group, it might help them get more information about our college and realize that it’s a great place to study.
I think of Facebook pages as a place of support, although it might actually have a viral effect if we’re lucky