The use of Facebook and a wide range of media and the collaborative relationship between content creator and audience are important facts to empower online audiences. It’s best to learn from other creative brands that are already crushing it at empowerment marketing, which means making your audience and their aspirations an integral part of your Facebook campaigns and brand stories.
Facebook isn’t just a social network for individuals anymore.
- Marketers use Facebook to promote their brand and engage with the audience.
- People use Facebook for social connection, so the best brands on this social medium are those that speak to shared values, greater possibilities and personal growth.
The best way to communicate your message on Facebook is to engage people’s attention and produce content that resonates with your audience.
Everybody thinks they are a Facebook expert. It takes a human to master it. You have to know how to tell a great story, genuinely like people (or act like it), pay attention to them, and regularly deliver content that keeps them coming back for more. Technology can help, but it can’t do it all.
If we look at GE’s latest social media venture, it’s a good example of how the brand turns its own work into genuinely inspiring and shareworthy content around science and engineering.
When you think of the brands that like to fail fast with new digital technology, Domino’s is certainly way out ahead in the fast-food market, constantly innovating its mobile experience.
Coke TV is the most recent demonstration of Coca-Cola’s understanding of online video and influencers.
Engineering a content plan is very important – think about who your target audience is, when they are online, etc. but also test it. Speak to different places in their interactive strategy. Remember, if you are ever not sure if what you are doing is the right thing – ask yourself, is it good for people? If it is, then you are on the right path. If what you do is for you and for you alone, then good luck.
If you want to know more about using Facebook for business, we can prepare a great consultancy session explaining every step from determining brand guidelines, to the anatomy of the perfect Facebook posts for your brand. You can contact us today!
In yet another new update by Facebook, brands have an innovative opportunity to connect with social media influencers/creators to boost their marketing initiatives and brand value.
With a separate page on Facebook Business, the social media channel launched the Brand Collabs Manager dashboard on June 19 to ease out product placements and publish sponsored content for businesses. Brands can now discover where their target audience is and enhance their marketing metrics by partnering with the creators that are the right fit for their needs.
In the evolving digital landscape that we’re all a part of, Facebook has created one marketplace that helps brands and creators to be the part of a single network where they both can interact, engage and connect with each other.
This will undoubtedly help brands understand the world of social media better and for creators, this is an infallible opportunity to create their portfolio. The creator portfolio will help brands learn more about their pages, audiences, demographics and the kind of content these creators post on Facebook. With categories like ‘About’, ‘Contact Information, ‘Introduction’, ‘Featured Partners’ and ‘Featured Posts’, creators can chart out their personal image while tracking the performance of their branded content posts.
While brands can look at enriching communication and better ROI, more and more influential creators will eventually see this as a platform for monetizing their branded content while also establishing relationships with the brands they like. Brands can filter the list for creators that they like on Facebook and also get a list of recommended creators with their past partnerships and past works. Creators can, on the other hand, check which brand aligns with their work and like the brand’s Facebook page to appear as a recommended influencer for them.
With this powerful and timely initiative, the social media giant has shown that influencer marketing is growing bigger. This can be even more innovative and lucrative with creator monetization as it will then help the world’s largest social media channel outshine YouTube’s video model. While YouTube has a much wider content inflow and popular influencers on its list, Facebook enjoys a far greater reach than YouTube.
Check out how the Facebook Brand Collabs Manager page looks like. It is right now only applicable to US-based users but will slowly roll out to users across the world.
Facebook has recently placed a heavier focus on what it refers to as “meaningful interactions.” This means that the larger the conversation or, the more people are involved, the more it will appear on user timelines. Consider meaningful interactions to be a snowball. The more people get involved, the more people will see it and be enticed to get involved. This new emphasis on interactions is Facebook pushing for higher user engagement and the best place to find high user engagement is in Facebook Groups.
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TOOLS AND FUNCTIONS OF FACEBOOK GROUPS THAT MAKE THIS AN ADVANTAGEOUS FEATURE FOR BRANDS.
Facebook groups differ in context and size, but certain aspects make them very advantageous for brands. First, whether you create a specific group for your brand or join another group with similar parameters, you are entering a world where people are already interested in the work you are doing. This function of Facebook Groups might be a temptation to use this platform as another way to sell your brand. This is a major turnoff to most users in Facebook groups. Instead of being brand forward, be industry forward and establish your brand as an industry authority. In a Facebook group, wisdom and engagement are far more valuable than using the platform to try and sell your product.
Similarly, Facebook Groups can be used as an excellent tool to establish proactive customer engagement. When people see your brand interacting in an online social forum like Facebook groups it re-establishes and fosters trust in your brand identity. The open communication that takes place within the context of whatever group you are a part of will allow you to be as close to the consumer thought process as you can be, all while learning and addressing the concerns of your customer. Again, be wary not to be too sales-minded, but do use this platform as a way to engage your customers by asking thought-provoking questions that stimulate and engage.
2. WHAT CAN YOU ACHIEVE BY UTILIZING FACEBOOK GROUPS
Facebook groups are an important forum for brands to communicate directly with consumers. The added benefits of a Facebook group include higher engagement, direct communication, heightened brand awareness, and increased dialogue.
This is a powerful tool for marketers as the heightened engagement that Facebook groups offer actually employs Facebook’s algorithms to reach a larger audience. Based on the snowball effect of meaningful interactions, Facebook groups have the singular ability to pull in users where other types of organic engagement fall short.
IMPROVED ENGAGEMENT
A Facebook group is a great way to enhance user engagement. As a forum where customers can come together to discuss and interact with the brand, a Facebook group offers the unique ability to gain real-time consumer feedback. This type of setting is advantageous for brands as it allows customers to feel empowered by their ability to reach out and make themselves heard. To keep engagement up, Facebook groups should be maintained as a safe space where critique or praise can be offered without fear of consequence.
NURTURE YOUR COMMUNITY
Your Facebook group should be devoted to adding value. It is important to remember the basics of engagement to ensure that your members keep engaging. Promoting and fostering new material for engagement is a great way to keep your participation levels high. Certain marketing basics should be followed to encourage growth, mainly – share often, build trust, and give back!
PROMOTE SPECIFIC CONTENT
High-value content should be the goal of any good Facebook group. There are many strategies for how to develop and release material, such as a monthly theme or a weekly calendar. It is important to switch it up, so the content you are publishing does not become predictable or stale. Content does not always need to be brand specific, but rather specific to the needs and wants of your group members. Member discussions and consumer engagement are what drive group success, so it is important to remain aware of content that is succeeding and failing to adapt and adjust.
GROW SUBSCRIPTION
Cross-promotion is a great way to grow subscriptions across your other platforms. Including links to videos or other relevant media within your group can add value to your other brand pages and accounts. Similarly, including links and topics from other brand pages can be an excellent way to draw in users from other pages and grow your online community. It is important to keep your group free from a high volume of sales-driven content; remember that this is a safe space for your customers to engage with the brand and with each other.
PROVIDE VALUE FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS
Your Facebook group should be a place where your customers can talk to other customers about your product. The opportunity to share real opinions adds tremendous value to your brand in two ways. First, genuine and honest discussion allows your customers to feel at ease with your brand to establish and grow trust between customers and businesses. Second, this honest and open style of discussion allows you control allows you to address customer concerns head-on. For example, if customers are all complaining about shipping costs, then you know that issue needs to be at the top of your priorities moving forward. This is a perfect opportunity to let your customers know that you want to hear from them, you are listening to what they are saying, and you are working to make their experience better.
