Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Facebook Best Practices

Since the inception of the new Facebook layout in March, 2009, company best practices for using Facebook have changed. Now, the site is dramatically less reliant on independently-developed applications and much more focused on fan pages. The following are company best practices, mostly from outside of the sports property sphere, for developing a fan page.

Integrate other platforms. On the “Year One” page, fans have the option to play “Rock, Paper, Spear,” a clever game that redirects fans to YouTube. After a quick video that ties in the new Year One movie with a humorous version of rock, paper, scissors, fans play a two-round game of rock, paper, spear with a tribal warrior. The video then directs viewers to watch the movie trailer.

Converse with fans. The Disney fan page is a leader in this practice. With increasing frequency, the Disney asks its fans questions to create a conversation. After Disney recently asked, “Who is your favorite Disney couple?” 1,294 fans posted comments in the first two weeks. Talk about engagement.

Another way to engage with fans is through the “reviews” feature on the Facebook fans page. Several brands make excellent use of this feature, such as EA Sports in its FIFA 09 page. Here, fans have free rein to post unfiltered opinions about the game, some of which are vulgar, others unfavorable, but most of which are overwhelmingly positive.

Get and use feedback. In a recent conversation with Pat Coyle, former Executive Director of Digital Business with the Indianapolis Colts, I asked haw the Colts get feedback. A major source of feedback is forum threads about marketing issues or emotional topics, which they use in various ways.

Use Flash. Fox news goes a little overboard with its Flash games, but is a good fan page to look at to see the different applications of this tool. Here, Fox News has a “Fox News Flair” Flash widget that lets fans send buttons of their favorite conservative pundit, a “360 degree studio tour” that lets news junkies get a view of the inside of three studios and the Green Room, a Flash tile game, a “Fun Facts” widget for fans to learn more about these TV personalities, and a shop that allows fans to buy trinkets like hats and mugs.

Post events. Barack Obama used social media as a successful campaign tool, on the way garnering more than 6 million Facebook fans. Part of his success came from keeping his events calendar stocked with upcoming meetings, rallies, and speeches.

Create albums
. Just like individuals, brands are starting to create photo albums. A classic example of this is the Coca-Cola page. Here, Coca-Cola has 11 different albums with hundreds of photos, in categories like “Coke is Everywhere,” showing cans from around the world, and “Coca-Cola Archives,” displaying vintage advertisements. The site also allows fans to post Coke-related photos, which has led to more than 1,300 pictures of fans engaged with the brand.