wongdoody | February 2011 [ 1 ]

There’s a New Cost of Entry in the World of Facebook. Do You Deliver?

with more than 500 million active users spending over 700 billion minutes a month posting, commenting, Liking and Checking In, Facebook surpassed google as the most-visited site of 2010.

Some marketers are diving into the world of social media headfirst with a well-planned social media strategy and careful implementation, yet even more are wading in with little knowledge and even less conviction. According to Forrester, 72 percent of marketing professionals currently employ or plan to employ social media in the next 12 months. Still, Forrester finds that 78 percent of clients don’t believe their lead agency does digital well.

In WONGDOODY’s Facebook Global Best Practices study, we investigated the Facebook activity of Interbrand’s 2010 Best 100 Global Brands, sifting through 84 official Facebook pages, 60,276 wall posts, 12,872 comments, and 119,404 Likes in the month of November 2010 to see how companies are maximizing their Facebook efforts.

We learn that to compete with the very best brands in the world, there’s no room for hesitation or poor planning in the realm of social media.

Broadcasters at Heart

Video is a broadcast medium by nature, and marketers continue to be broadcasters at heart. We find that posting video content is the No. 1 Facebook practice, common among 88 percent of Interbrand’s top 100 global brands. A familiar mot-to to social media marketing is “write once, publish many,” and it’s easy to understand marketers’ thinking: “We have this television spot, let’s put it everywhere possible.” But be cautious, a Facebook page is no place for a hard sell. Post content that is relevant to your fans and encourages a social experience, and remember that unique content is most motivating for fans to join your community.

Be Active or Be Absent

Remember blogs? Ten years ago, marketers stressed to colleagues and clients: Don’t create a blog unless you plan to maintain it. BlogPulse reports there are over 126 million blogs on the Internet. According to Technorati, almost 88 percent of these blogs are inactive, sitting with outdated posts and few to no readers. A Facebook page with no posts is equally useless, and top brands have caught on. These companies post on their wall almost every day, averaging twenty-four posts in the month of november 2010. The average Facebook user creates 90 pieces of content each month. In that light, 30 posts a month seem hardly difficult. Don’t create a Facebook page unless you plan to use it, and that begins by posting content at least once a day.

Give Up Control

Seventy-nine percent of the top global brands allow fans to post on their wall. There’s no longer room for fear of giving consumers a voice. They have a voice. Facebook exists for the fans and members, not companies. we have been invited into a social, personal domain. This is not a place to broadcast; it is a place for mutual sharing. opening your Facebook wall to consumer content is an invitation for your customers to join in the conversation and contribute to your brand. Even on your corporate Facebook page, it’s important to let go of control and give your fans a voice.

Respect is a Reply

Two out of three of Interbrand’s best global brands on Facebook reply to fan wall posts and comments consistently. The greatest advantage to giving up control and giving your fans a voice on your wall is the ability to respond. Don’t just dip your toe in, dive in headfirst. Replying to fan comments and wall posts is the one-to-one relationship companies should be eager to embrace, and fans are certainly looking for that level of attentiveness. devote resources to your social media program and start talking to your consumers in a direct two-way dialogue.

wongdoody | February 2011 [ 2 ]

Encourage Fan Activity

Facebook is a social ecosystem designed for interaction. It is a place for people to connect and share themselves with the world, from big life events to what they ate for breakfast. The marketing challenge lies not in convincing users to Like your page, which takes only a cursory click, but to make sure your page is not forgotten as just one more link on a fan’s Info page. Eighty-two percent of top global brands on Facebook engage their followers and encourage fan activity by soliciting fan stories and comments on their walls. This helps fans see a bit of themselves in the brand simply by asking them to contribute and become a small part of it.

Some brands take engagement of fans a step further by soliciting photo submissions (39 percent), posting surveys, polls and quizzes for fun (39 percent) and to learn (32 percent), and by promoting contests (33 percent). Convincing a fan to go beyond Liking to exploring and interacting with your page is the first step in converting a fan into an engaged customer and Facebook brand evangelist.

By regularly posting relevant content, opening your page to consumer content, actively replying to fans, and encouraging fan activity, you can begin to create a positive social experience around your brand. whether it is creating a designated role, devoting more time out of your day, or working with social media experts, social media is the future and is worthy of investment in both time and dollars.

The 84 official Facebook pages of Interbrand’s Best 100 Global Brands boasted an average of 1.8 million fans. In a single month, fans contributed on average 857 fan posts to each corporate wall, and each corporate wall post averaged 1,456 Likes and 157 comments. How do you stack up?

FACeBook ACTIVITy AND PRACTICeS, INTeRBRAND’S BeST 100 GLoBAL BRANDS

Average number of fans 1,807,360

Average number of corporate posts per month 24

Average number of fan posts per month 857

Average number of Likes per post 1,456

Average number of comments per post 157

Post video content 88%

wall open to fan posts 79%

Actively reply to fan posts/comments 66%

Solicit fan stories/comments 82%

Solicit photo submissions 39%

Post surveys/polls/quizzes for fun 39%

Post surveys/polls/quizzes for research 32%

Promote contests 33%

WONGDOODY’s Facebook Global Best Practices study, February 2011