I love Facebook.
There I said it. The reason I was having dilemma stating it openly was that till all this while I considered it as one more yuppie social networking site that will die a quick natural death. But I was wrong. And that only makes me happy. Having turned an entrepreneur, I have realized the kind of benefits I have reaped from its features.
So this post is to those features that each of you can use to promote your brand. Use them wisely and you will experience success whichever category your brand may be operating in. Here goes:
1. Start a Community:
As Facebook is all about networking, it is only right to start a community related to your brand. Keep the community generic in nature with the objective of adding value to people by providing them content – text or visual. Community allows people to join in and share their views. It becomes a good platform to interact and dialogue. Since all like minded people will join in, you know that all members would be your potential consumers. A word of caution here: Do not bombard them with only brand messages but try to be informative too. Community allows you to upload pictures, videos, write on walls, start discussions; basically enough opportunities to interact with people.
2. Profile Page:
Sections on profile page:
The profile page is the most critical and you must use it optimally. There are sections on the profile page that can carry your brand information which is easy for your friends to find. Given below are the pictures which highlight the places that can be used to guide your friends and fans to your brand website or blog.
Status Updates:
This is Facebook way of micro blogging. And they have got it right. It is one of the most used feature already. Its fun reading status updates of friends and then commenting on them. This feature should be used creatively to talk about your brand. Make it interesting, unique, creative, first ever whatever that captures eyes balls.
Status updates for announcements
Using Tabs:
Make it easy for friends to know about your brand
3. Incorporating Applications:
I have personally found several applications of great value. These should be added to your profile as well as your brand’s.
One is Simplaris blogcast:
This application automatically updates your blog feeds and publishes it in your FB account. So whenever you have added a new blog post, this app will get that feed and publish it in your profile thereby generating visibility. So all your friends would know that you have uploaded a new post without you having to tell them.
Update your friends about your new blog post thru FB feeds
Second app that I like is Web Presence: 
This app helps you in giving out all the places in the Internet where you have a presence. So this app consolidates all the presence in one box. So add on your blog address, your twitter account, Photo account on Flickr or Picassa, your videos on You Tube, your bookmarks on Delicious or Magnolia. Put it all in as this will help your fans connect with your brand on several other platforms too.
The third app is Twitter update. You can send out tweets from this app that is installed in your FB profile. This saves the trouble of login to Twitter separately. You can use twitter app and FB status updates as announcement platforms.
4. Creating Brand Page:
Facebook allows you to create a brand page where all the details about the brand can be added. This is more direct approach of brands connecting with people. Users can become fans of your brands thereby becoming loal ambassadors. The wonderful aspect is that fans can comment on the brand, its features and its advertisements. There are other features like Wall and Discussion Board where the conversations and discussions between the brand and users and even among users can be carried out. The fan page can be used by the brand to announce its on-ground events, invite users to participate in contests or update on new variant launches.
I recently become fan of Phantom sweet cigarettes that I enjoyed immensely as a kid. It was very nostalgic to find its brand page and I immediately signed on to become its fan. Now I get regular updates on what is the company planning as its new launch and I quite look forward to it!!
Fan page of Phantom Sweet Cigarettes
The golden rule that applies to all the above points is that the brand must be alive on FB. It must be updated regularly. There must be one person to accept and listen to user’s feedback on fan pages and communities. The action of each user should be acknowledged which makes the community active and ensure participation at all times.
Comments
Tags: brand, community, Facebook, fan page, groups, profile, Promote, Social Media, social media agency, social networking site, status update, Twitter, Windchimes Comm
Hi Nimesh,
Very interesting article.
Are any big brands in India already doing this on facebook?
None really Vivek. But hey, that’s where we come in and provide that as a service.
Let me know if anyone is looking out for it 🙂
Nimesh
Very interesting stuff Nimesh.
Thanks Madan.
Thanks- this post was very useful
@Liz – Glad you found it of value to you
I really liked it! so interesting!
thanks
Thanks Maria. Would like to see how you put it to use
I’ve always been very anti-facebook. And yes yes I know it makes sense to promote your brand on it, somehow facebook’s creepy nature puts me off.
Yes, i called it creepy. 🙂
Plus I get the feeling that people are trying to nose about more than really look at sensible content/info on facebook. So i often use linkedin or twitter more.
I ought to give it a try. If only I could look past the creepiness of it 😀
Look past it Sonal. Give it a try. 🙂
curious to know what commercial benefit you see from Twitter, just seems to be another inane useless messaging service wasting more of my time during the day…or am I merely following the wrong sort of Twitterers!
Hi Wayne,
Twitter too has its uses and trust me you can derive good mileage out of it – I will be writing on using twitter from a commercial angle too.
Till then, watch out for this space 🙂
Nimesh
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Very nice article, Nimesh. Very simply put together and pretty useful !!!
@ Shi – Yeah – Internet world can have so many opportunites – it’s tough to draw a line
@Raj – Thanks. Subscribe to our feeds for regular updates on social media
I will forward to my clients. Thanks!
Thanks Catherine
Nimesh
Hey Nimesh,
Would you like to make a presentation on the above at the New Media and Blog Camps in Delhi and Bangalore on March 7 & 14? More info at http://ibnms.com. I feel you will really add value to the event, and also give you an opportunity to interact with communications professionals.
Cheers…
Ajay Jain
+91.99100 44476
And yes, did I say thank you for this post? Really useful. I am already implementing some of the ideas here. Cheers… Ajay
Hi Ajay,
I am glad you found the post of value to you. I would love to interact with the communications professionals in Delhi and Blore.
Will call and speak with you regarding the same. Thanks for the invitation
Nimesh
Hi Guys,
The over use of facebook during working hours is now causing some major concerns to large organisations. Loss of productivity and increased pressure on network infrastructures will, I believe see the end of this medium in the work place. within 3 years.
Just a personal and professional observation.
mark
Hi Mark,
Like with most things in life, addicting or misuse of facility, application, process etc will always be harmful. But a optimum use could bring in right amount of benefits in the work life too
Still it’s a challenge to keep all your Facebook-actions relevant. The group you created may succeed because you branded it, but could also fail on that occassion… You have to keep your discussions trusted by its participants and followers.
FB is my personal space and I hate it when brands think that they can jump in here and invade a personal communication medium between my friends & I.
Please tread carefully.
The beauty of social media is that it doesn’t invade anyone’s personal space. The brand communication is existing in a place where it doesn’t interfere with any user unless the user decides to participate in it. Advertising in social network does not constitute social media marketing – that’s merely advertising!!
Thanks for the article, very interesting. I must admit that i am also very sceptical about facebook as it tends to be used more on a social level than corporate. I will definately try your tips and see what happens.
Thanks Nteseng.
Do try it out and let us know. It always refreshing to hear live practical examples than theory!!
Nimesh
Hi Nimesh !
It’s soo good to finally see and hear of someone using Facebook as a social marketing tool 🙂
I’m very pro-FB and recommend it to all my colleagues, and clients.
Very well written article – will be linking back to you once I’m done on my own blog on this topic 🙂
Hey,
Glad you liked the article. The idea is to engage the people on social media sites and get them to come to you rather than you sending out unsolicited msgs to all.
Would love to connect. Let me know when you are done with your blog
Nimesh
Just posting my blog.
Quite a helpful perspective – though am not so sure about twitter…i feel its possibility ot really disseminate information is so restricted – maybe i still have not gotten as comfortable with it as i am with fb 🙂
Twitter too is a very powerful tool that can be put to use. Maybe my next one should be on that Bhavna 🙂
Nimesh
Thanks. Glad you like the article
Picassa and Flickr are both great tools for sharing photo online”’
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