Social networking site Facebook is constantly innovating and introducing new services that have an impact on the social media environment at large.
So says Gil Sperling, Popimedia's CTO, who points out that most notably, marketers and brand managers can look forward to 'Facebook Places' and 'Facebook Deals' - innovations that make an even stronger case for social media in the mobile arena.
“Already launched in the UK and US, local companies can look forward to having access to these services in the next couple of months,” he says.
Sperling explains that used independently or together, these services are powerful tools for the business community.
“Facebook Places, a location-based service, gives brands the capability to set-up their 'place' on Facebook. Users can then check into a place with their mobile phone, telling their Facebook friends where they are and connecting with friends nearby.
“From a business point of view, this will open up marketing opportunities to wider or brand new target markets,” he says.
Special deals
He adds that through Facebook Deals, retailers and other merchants can offer special deals to the users who check into their 'place'.
“This gives the brand a great advantage as their customers are now punting their brand through word of mouth - the most effective form of marketing.
According to Sperling, using the inherent features of Facebook and the constantly evolving platform, there are some incredible marketing opportunities available.
He notes that one of the opportunities is socially activated crowdsourcing. With this opportunity, he urges businesses to send out a call to action to their community to become intimately involved with their product or brand.
“This can be applied to the full development life cycle of a product - from branding, naming, copy and even sales. You know that your product will be successful because your customers are the ones who designed it and land up selling it for you.
“This can be achieved through a series of campaigns on your fan page, supporting functional and interactive tabs and a well planned content strategy, each with social sharing features which allow the fan to market the brand for you by word of mouth,” he explains.
The other opportunity, notes Sperling, is social e-commerce. “You can even go as far as selling your product on your Facebook fan page by adding an e-commerce tab.
“The added benefit here is that, when somebody buys one of your items, it is possible to post that action to their profile page - instant word-of-mouth circulation.”
Social philanthropy
Business can also take advantage of social philanthropy by using Facebook, he adds, noting that for brands such as banks or insurance companies, a good idea is to support a cause to which users may be familiar with.
“The incredible thing with the Facebook platform and its range of features and facilities is that you can allow your fans to be involved in your philanthropy giving them power to have a say on how and where your philanthropy should be applied, making your fans feel good about their actions and your brand, and of course marketing the cause by word of mouth.
Sperling also maintains that besides tools, a solid content strategy for a social media campaign is a must.
“How often have we seen communication debacles on Facebook fan pages where a situation could have been dealt with more strategically? Examples of this include the Nestle catastrophe where Greenpeace created a parody video of the company's KitKat candy bar and the resulting fallout,” he states.
He is also of the view that a strong content strategy is invaluable and businesses should keep in mind that this strategy is not about a daily post on how wonderful your product is.
“As with any social media activity, your comments and posts must always be relevant and need to resonate with your community,” he notes.
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