68. e-Branding 7: Facebook

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E-BRANDING 7: FACEBOOK

At the time of writing, Facebook has millions of users around the globe and Linked In is a professional network, which people use for business contacts. Google+ is at the beta testing stage, so even though we’re using it we can’t quite tell if it’s going to take over the world, but it looks set to combine the benefi ts of both, as well as integrating itself with Google’s many other components.

For the moment, let’s look at Facebook. It started as the online version of a college yearbook. Now it’s much more than that, and although parents might think it’s just for teenagers to waste their time and they ought to be doing their homework, many businesses are using it successfully to be “friends” with their customers.

The idea Individuals and organisations can have their own pages on Facebook. To make a success of it, you need your page to be “liked”, not just in the abstract sense, but that your Facebook friends have to click the “like” button to show that they really mean it.

You get well-known on Facebook by being liked, because each time somebody clicks on your like button, because you’ve written or shared something that amuses them, their friends will be able to see it too.

Marmite is one of the brands which uses Facebook well. Each time you see a Marmite status update arrive in your Facebook timeline you know it’s going to be worth reading. They have

competitions, surveys, they ask their customers’ opinions, share Marmite recipes and sometimes just chat to you about how they’re getting along. As a brand, Marmite - with its love/hate relationship with the world, instantly recognisable bottle and logo, and the series of cheeky ads it’s been running over the last decade – is just right for Facebook and has taken full advantage of the opportunity to build its brand there.

In practice • Be friendly. There’s no place here for corporate claptrap or brand hype. • Just like Twitter, the brand guardians you put in charge of your Facebook presence must be able to write succinctly in your brand style. • It’s social media; you’ve got to be interactive. People will post comments about your status updates so be prepared to reply openly to them.