14 November 2009 No Comment

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About Face: Location, location, location… What Goes Where?

When you started reading this white paper, you may have thought “What am I going to put on all those Tabs?” Now you may be thinking “How do I fit all these Applications onto my Page?”

The sidebar and every Tab are valuable real estate. You have 3 or 4 custom tabs (depending on your implementation of Wall and Boxes), 10 empty slots on the Boxes Tab and up to 4 sidebar boxes that appear on the Wall and Info pages. Carefully consider what goes where and whether you display an Application at all.

For most of the applications we have mentioned, their activity goes onto your Wall whether you have assigned has a visible box for it on your profile or not. So you may decide to use an Application but NOT give it onscreen placement.

One strategy for optimization could be that the more you use an app, the less permanent real estate it requires. If you use Links to post a “Link of the Day”, it’ll probably have a constant presence on your Wall, so it won’t need a Sidebar box. Similarly, if you will be uploading photos regularly, you may not need to include Photos as a custom tab or sidebar item.

About Face: Turning Visitors Into Fans

With the additional viral information being pushed into Fans’ newsfeeds, Facebook is telling brands to expect traffic to their Pages to increase. (Anecdotally, we can confirm that this is already happening). These will be people new to your Page and, in some cases, new to your brand. People are much more likely to investigate a product or service they may not know about after seeing their friends interacting with it on a regular basis.

Luckily, you have the option to define a different Tab to the Wall as the default landing place for non-Fans and non-Facebook members. This gives you an opportunity to tell visitors why it would be beneficial to them to optin and become a Fan.

Develop a strategy as to exactly why someone should become a Fan. Perhaps they will receive special offers and be the first to know about local events. Make it very clear what they will get out of this relationship. After all, they know what you are getting out of it.

About Face: Status Updates Or Spam Updates?

One of the most iconic features of Facebook profiles – the Status Update – has now been given to brands, allowing them to post Updates which could appear on all their Fans’ home pages. It’s a powerful tool to broadcast short relevant messages, such as a time-sensitive alert. But to quote Stan Lee – “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Brands tread a fine line between participating in their Fans online lives, and intruding in them, and nowhere will this be more apparent than on Facebook. Your Fan base is a valuable asset – and every perceived “spam status update” may provoke Fans to remove themselves. Watch your Insights carefully for this and adjust accordingly.

Also remember that Fans have the ability to comment on a status update, so try using them as conversation starters, asking targeted questions. Consider using them to praise Fan activity as they upload a great review or a photo from an event, to publicly thank the fan and to point to the content.

About Face: Final Thoughts

This white paper has been written to offer immediate help to those intrigued by some of the latest design changes of Facebook Pages. As such, it is not meant as a comprehensive guide to setting up your Facebook
presence, or an in-depth strategy for social marketing and the challenges and benefits of utilizing Facebook as a platform.

We could equally have included any of the following important considerations when expanding your brand’s Facebook presence:

Brand Voice – who speaks for your Company in the new social marketplace, and with what authority?

Strategies for reacting to both positive and negative sentiment on your Facebook Page.

Growing a Fan base by creating compelling and interactive content.

Soliciting and monitoring fan-generated content, discussions, photos, videos and reviews.

About Face: Final Thoughts cont

Using Facebook Social and Engagement ads to target potential fans.

Allocating resources to Facebook community development, and determining ROI on that investment.

Remember most of all: social marketing – especially on Facebook – is the art of interacting with people and contributing to a Community rather than just broadcasting promotional messages. This, more than any design or functionality strategy, is the key to growing a successful Fanbase of enthusiastic and engaged consumers.

About Face: This is the final page

This white paper is licensed under Creative Commons

- Non Commercial

- Attribution

- No Derivatives.

We encourage you to blog, podcast, present and share it with anyone you believe would appreciate it. All data shared is publicly known as of March 2009 and is likely to change quickly and often.

This should be viewed as a living document that will updated in the future as new information becomes available, and as we discover new ways to leverage the Facebook platform.

The Advance Guard is a new media consultancy that creates radical marketing programs using disruptive technologies, community platforms and social media. Our clients include American Eagle Outfitters, Verizon
FiOS, The Coca Cola Company, HBO, and Warner Brothers.

If you need help embracing Facebook Pages or any other emerging communications platform, you can find us on Facebook at:

http://facebook.theadvanceguard.com

and on the web at:

http://www.theadvanceguard.com

Part 1

Article written by The Advance Guard team and published as About Face: A Free White Paper on Facebook Pages.

About The Author

The Advance Guard is a new media consultancy company  that focus their effort in next-generation online marketing, using new technology, community dialog and social media techniques to engage customers and brands.