Facebook Fans

How To: Build Your Brand with Facebook

The Link Between Wall Posts and Product Loyalty

Emma  Johnson 

You’ve got a solid company and a winning brand. Do you really need to get wrapped up in the Facebook craze? What’s the big deal, anyway?

“Facebook offers a free booth at the world’s largest tradeshow with 600 million visitors, so why not be there?” says Jennifer Abernethy, a sales and marketing consultant and author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Social Media Marketing.

“This is a business revolution that is taking place right now, and it is good to have a presence there.”

The key is to identify your target audience, develop an authentic voice, and keep an open mind as the technology and your Facebook presence evolves. “We don’t know what Facebook will look like in two years,” Abernethy says. “But it is never too late to jump on the bandwagon.”

Who, What and How Often?

While you may feel the urge to jump in feet first to compete with company pages with millions of fans, the key is to take your time and develop a strategy that you can build slowly, says Michael Bird, president of Des Moines, Iowa, social media consultancy Spindustry.

Be Creative to Build Your Brand

A large number of fans is less important than a few fully-engaged fans. “Take some time to develop your voice and to focus on the audience who will use that brand,” Bird says.

For example, just because you have three product lines does not mean you automatically need three Facebook pages.

Instead, determine who uses your products and create a page that focuses on them.

It is essential to figure out who this target audience is and how to communicate with those people. Are they busy moms? Single urban guys? Broke college students? No matter who your target customers are, talk to them like they’re real people.

“They don’t care about your product lines or corporate language,” Bird says. “People have an inherent cynicism about the corporate veil.

The whole idea behind social media is giving people a peek behind that veil. You have to be informal and authentic, and engage in a way that encourages two-way communication.

People like to share things they’re passionate about, just as long as they’re sharing news they’re proud of.”

It will take trial and error, but post not only about your product news, but headlines, insider tips and contests that appeal to your target audience. “Facebook can help broaden the definition of what your company does,” Bird says.

For example, an athletic shoe store might post a video about post-workout stretches—positioning the sales team as physical fitness experts, not just pushy peddlers.

Post at least once per week, but aim for several times weekly. In the initial months of your site, it helps if readers have something to look forward to—say, tips on Tuesdays and new recipes on Fridays. But it is important to stay nimble enough to spontaneously react to relevant headlines and commentary.

Facebook Branding Rules

Rules of Engagement

Kinks and challenges will no doubt present themselves. A couple guidelines to live by include:

⇒  Embrace customer support issues. If fans post their complaints on the wall, use it as an opportunity to showcase your service team and commitment to resolving problems. “A negative message dealt with well is better than one not raised at all,” Bird says.

⇒  Remove off-the-wall wall posts with care. Truly offensive or inappropriate comments should be deleted, while those that are simply out of line ought to be responded to professionally. “If they’re making a statement of mistake, correct them and disengage,” Bird advises, but deleting is a stickier matter. “You potentially break the authentication of your site if you delete a post,” he says. A good rule of thumb is that if the comment were made aloud in a town hall meeting, would the police escort the messenger out? “If the answer is yes, deleting is appropriate,” Bird says.

To continue reading this article and two case studies click on this lin....How To: Build Your Brand with Facebook | SUCCESS Magazine | What Achievers Read

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