Facebook tips for business owners

It's been awhile since I last posted. Been considering different ideas for my business pitch -- and it's funny how the more we're learning in the APOC program, the less ideas I seem to be able to come up with. My previous brainstorming ideas are slowly being crossed off, as my knowledge expands for what works/doesn't work..

Luckily for us, Zach's Wednesday class is giving us an opportunity for due diligence. I haven't finalized my idea for the business pitch, but I am taking a step back to look at different platforms. I will be comparing and analyzing tools and resources available to business owners and what they'll need to know in order to arrive at making a business decision. Specifically, I'm going to be focusing on the Facebook platform. 

Facebook is a popular tool for social media, that we already know. It's free and easy for companies to use as voice, brand recognition and for marketing efforts. (More than 20 million people become fans of Pages each day, and pages have created more than 5.3 billion fans overall) However, I've seen companies use Facebook wasting time, effort and money spent on building pages and applications.

Mistakes business owners make utilizing Facebook:

Failure to build bridge with users: People use Facebook because helps manage and makes social life easier for them online. Consider how your Fan Page or Group would benefit your fans/members on a social level. Find ways to cater to the needs of your audience or interest group. Otherwise, they will lose interest and jump to the next page.

Over complicating -- cluttering their page: Keep your fan page/group content simple and insightful. Some companies become self-absorbed talking about their product/service that you offer, filling your fan page / group with promotions and spam. They spend time and money developing fun applications that look visually appealing but irrelevant to their audience. This is prime example of failure to listen and learn from customers. Take advantage from what your fans are saying about your company and use it as feedback. Perhaps you may ask for input on the launch of a new product, or provide discussions/FAQs for people with questions about your product..

Impatience to learn the Facebook culture: Companies think joining Facebook is a quick solution for business success. This could be true, but it takes time to engage, interact, and learn from your loyalists. Don't expect a quick turn around or everyone to become a Fan or part of your Group -- unless you are Apple or Coca Cola. (Even if your company is like Apple and Coca Cola, you need to spend time building conversations around your customers and their interests to learn more about your company). 

Inconsistent voice: A company needs brand identity. Likewise, when utilizing Facebook keep that brand image consistent. Don't try to be professional one day and use slang and act hip and cool the next day. Your voice should be dependent on who your audience is. Conversations should be what interests your customers not you, what's newsworthy, buzz worthy to them. 

Should everything be a game?

I'd like to disagree on this comment. Just because Foursquare and Facebook are integrating and building game mechanics does not mean every online community and brand/company site need to jump on the band wagon.

Here's my analogy: Social media, oh it's so great. It worked for Friendster, MySpace, Facebook, blogger sites, etc. Many companies, such as Google, saw this as a major opportunity to better engage and interact with their audience. Look what happened there with Google Buzz. Google I love you, but sorry that was an epic fail.

Gabe Zichermann, who is the CEO of startup beamME, argues that "fun is good and that game mechanics will find their way into all sorts of products and businesses." He suggests the following:

Facebook should incorporate a popularity game so users can more easily gauge their social graph. The game is to encourage to add more friends - ("add two more friends to beat Sam's score"). Users would be awarded when they connect and add more friends.. Are you serious?! This is exactly why MySpace has become loser-land, because people add non-friends, strangers..all of which are potentially creeps. Facebook is about connecting with people you actually know, not random people so that you seem more popular.

Amazon - Zichermann's concept to integrate a virtual library within Amazon, so that you can share books that you have read w/ your friends. This is interesting. Often times, I will either ask my friends to send me a book list, which they never get to OR I mentally take note of a book name and later forget. A virtual library seems perfectly appropriate in this instance, as many people do visit Amazon to seek out reviews for best sellers for purchase.

Fedex - the idea "to connect your social graph to your shipments, letting you see your en route packages on a game board relate to your friends. You could "talk smack" to friends whose packages were sent via ground (or USPS)" This is a stretch for me. I have enough games on my iPhone as is, in addition to all the endless game requests on Facebook. Moreover, I don't need to find Fedex entertaining. I visit Fedex simply to track my delivery estimate, status, get my information and go. I don't need to waste more time there.. need I say more?

Following the trend seems like a smart move and definitely tempting , however you really need to analyze, take a step back and look at your business critically. Before you jump to conclusion and make a rash decision -- What is your main purpose, goal, and who are you servicing? Think twice. Not all consumers would appreciate you force feeding, moreover adding distraction to the service they expect to receive.

Cheers!

Reference: How to make Facebook, Fedex, and Amazon More Fun