why you should turn on facebook or not

8/6/2019 Why You Should Turn on Facebook or Not

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SUMMARY

I. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 4

1. WhyFacebook?(InsteadofMyspace,Friendster,Twitteretc.?) .............................................................4

2. Concretely,whatcanyoudoonFacebook? ............................................................................................5

a) Advertisement.................. ............................................. ............................................ ................................. 5

b) Thecreationofanofficialpresence(fanpage).......................................... ............................................. ... 6

c) Theimplementationoffeaturesand/orFacebookwidgets......... ............................................. ........... 6

3. Isittherighttime? .................................................................................................................................6

4. Isntitbettertobehome? ...................................................................................................................... 7

5. AmIreadytostepforward? ................................................................................................................... 7

6. ShouldIgettherealoneoraccompanied? .............................................................................................. 8

7. Facebookisfree,isntit? ........................................................................................................................8

8. Towhatextentwillitbelucrative?.........................................................................................................9

II. PRELIMINARYTHOUGHTS:LETSSTANDBACK ....................................................... 11

1. Donotconfusestrategyandtactics ...................................................................................................... 11

2. Facebook:foronenightorforlife?.......................................................................................................12

3. ShouldIgothereandsee,orseebeforeIgo?.......................................................................................13

4. Consideryouraudiencebeforeconsideringyourself.............................................................................13

5. Who(andwhat)willItalkabout?Thecompany?Thebrand?Aflagshipproduct?Anevent?Acharitable

activity?........................................................................................................................................................14

III. CONCRETELY:THEBEGINNING ............................................................................... 14

1. ShouldIcreateafanpage,agrouporaprofile? ................................................................................... 14

2. Howtochoosetherightpagename?....................................................................................................16

3. Abouttheadministrationofyourpage ................................................................................................. 16

4. Basictools ............................................................................................................................................17

5. Advancedtools.....................................................................................................................................17

6. 10reasonsforcreatingaFacebookpage ..............................................................................................17


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a) ManyofyourcustomersandprospectsalreadyuseFacebook ....................................... ........................ 17

b) Yourcompetitorsarealreadythere ............................................ ............................................. ................ 18

c) Itisaveryefficientdistributionchannelofcontent ......................................... ....................................... 18

d) Therearemanymeanstoinvolveyouraudience ............................................. ....................................... 19

e) Ifwellorganised,theinherentviralmarketingofthesystemiseffective ............................................. .. 20

f) Itincreasestheeffectoftraditionaloperations(contests,promos,etc.)......... ....................................... 21

g) ItstronglyreinforcestheeffectivenessofyourFacebookadvertisements............................................. 23

h) Itletsyourambassadorsspeak ............................................. ............................................. ................ 23

i) Youllinteractwithyourcritics(andextinguishfires) ....................................... ....................................... 24

j) Itallowsyoutobepresentforyoucustomersandfans ........................................... ............................... 25

7. 10thingsthatFacebookcannotdo ....................................................................................................... 25

a) Producefastresults......... ............................................. ............................................ ................................ 25

b) Be100%in-housemanaged(forvastmajorityofcompanies) ........................................ ........................ 26

c) Fixatarnishedreputation ............................................ ............................................. ............................... 26

d) Besuccessfulwithnorealisticbudget ........................................ ............................................. ................ 27

e) Be(functionally)self-sufficient ........................................... ............................................. ........................ 28f) Startwithoutanycommunication ...................................... ............................................. ........................ 28

g) Develoployaltywithoutcontent......................................... ............................................. ........................ 28

h) Serveasatoolforasustainableandstructuredcontentstrategy ......................................... ................. 29

i) Meettheexpectationsofthenichecommunities ............................................ ....................................... 29

j) Createthefeelingtobelongtoacommunity ............................................ ............................................. . 30

IV. HOWTOTAKEADVANTAGEOFFACEBOOKOUTSIDEFACEBOOK?.......................... 30

1. Theopengraphecosystem ................................................................................................................... 30

2. HowtotakeadvantageofFacebookwithoutevenbeingpresentthere!...............................................31

a) FacebookConnect ......................................... ............................................. ............................................ .. 32

b) Insertingthelikebutton ......................................... ............................................. ............................... 33

c) Socialwidgets... ............................................. ............................................. ............................................ .. 35

d) Goingfurtherwithadvancedapplications ......................................... ............................................. ......... 36


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I.Introduction

Dontworry,theseguidesarenotaimedatboringyouwithindigestibleandstratosphericnumbersaboutthesuccessofFacebook.Neitherwilltheystategeneraltruthslike500millionconsumersare

waitingtospendtheirmoneyandrecommendyoutotheirfriends.Finally,theywillnotdrawoutan

endlessinventoryofthemanyfunctionsandusesofFacebook.

Wecreatedthesepracticalguidesbearinginmindthatyourealreadyawareofthesefiguresandthat

youknowwhatFacebookisandwhatitcandoforyou.

Theobjectiveofourguidesisnttomakeaninventoryortotalkaboutbeautifultheoriesinwhichyou

wontevenbeabletorecogniseyourself.

Ourgoalonlyconsistsinprovidingyouwithpracticalandpragmatickeysinordertogetyoustartedand make your presence on Facebook a big hit that you can be proud of.

Whetheryourgoalistocreateanewchannelofcommunicationwithyouraudience,togetcloserto

yourcustomersinordertoestablishaneasierdialogwiththem,torecruitprospectsforyourservices

or to sell more products, Facebook can be a tremendously effective response to YOUR problem.

Throughour6practicalguides,wewilltrytodecipherallthepossibilitiesFacebookoffers,butmost

of all, we will aim at giving you the keys to find your way around in and to figure out the best

strategiesforyou.Thisfirst guideis theessentialintroductiontoall theothers:shouldI gothere?

Andaboveall:whatforandhowtotakefulladvantageofit.

1. WhyFacebook?(InsteadofMyspace,

Friendster,Twitteretc.?)

WehavedeliberatelyexcludedalldirectcompetitorsofFacebook(MySpace,Friendster,Bebo,Hi5,

etc.)fortwosimplereasons:

TheyhaveverylittleaudienceinFrance,butmostofall...

Theyareonthedeclineandwedontwantto investindestinationsthatwillnolongerexistin1or2years.

Despiteitsstronggrowth,wehavealsopushedTwitteraside,for3reasons:

Ononehand,theaudienceofTwitteriswellbelowthatofFacebook,probably80to100timeslesssignificant;

Ontheotherhand,Twitterstilllacksappropriatetoolsforbrandsandthatthepossibleactionsaremuchmorelimited(anddifficulttoachieve);

Finally,Twitterisatooldedicatedtoa"geek"2.0eliteandtoinformationaddicts.Thisiswhy it ismuch less designed for general public than Facebook and its scopeis much

limited. Inbrief,Twitter is good for 2.0start-upsand reporters,but forthe consumer

brandsitismuchmorecomplicated.


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Asforpositivecriteria,onlyFacebookbringstogetheracriticalmassofuserswhodeservethatwe

hangoutthere(16millionFrenchpeople over18 havean account)andprovidestools adaptedfor

effective marketing actions (targeted advertisements, 'fans' pages and applications).

However, even if our guides are concentrating their efforts on Facebook, we do not exclude the

othersocialmediasofar.Infact,aFacebookpresenceisabsolutelynotincompatiblewithapresence

on YouTubeand Dailymotion, a Twitteraccount,a podcast oreven a blog. Quite thecontrary:alltheseothertoolsaretotallycomplementarywithyourFacebookpageandtheymighthelpyoufeed

itwithinterestingcontent(video,podcastbroadcasts,Tweetsorevenblogposts).

Depending on your business, your audience and your objectives, a multiple presence is even

recommended. Its in the best interest of an advertising to use Slideshare for its PowerPoint

presentations,ablogforitsmarketwatch,itsconsultantsandaTwitteraccountforitsinfluenceinits

ecosystem.Itsinthebestinterestofanartisttobroadcasthisworkasapodcastorvideo.Whereasa

distributorofsportsgoodsshallbroadcastvideosofsportingeventsthathesponsors,etc.

Inshort,inthefieldofsocialmedia,itisnotalwaysnecessarytomakeachoiceexcludingallthe

optionstoprivilegeonlyone.Sometimesitmaybeinterestingtomixseveraldestinationsthatwillenhanceoneanother.

2. Concretely,whatcanyoudoonFacebook?

Obviously,Facebookisintendedtobeusedbyindividualstostayintouchwiththeir"network",itis

infactitsmainpurpose,butitis alsoa communicationandmarketingtoolwhichis veryusefulfor

brands,companies,associations,musicians,authors,etc.Tosimplifythefollowing,weshallcallthe

"brands"anypersonwhousesFacebookforbusinesspurposes.

BrandshavethreewaystotakeadvantageofFacebook:

- Advertisements;- Thecreationofanofficialpresence(intheformofa"page"mostofthetime)and;- Theimplementationoffeaturesand/orFacebook"widgets"ontheirexistingwebsite.

a)Advertisement

ThisistheeasiestwaytotakeadvantageofFacebook.Itrequiresnodevelopment,nostrategy,no

communitymanagement:itistheleasttime-consumingandtheleastinvolving.Inaddition,ituses

skills(mediaplanning)thatarealreadymasteredbymanyadvertisers.Thisisthebestwaytoput

yourfootinthedoorofFacebookwithoutbecomingtooinvolved.

However, advertising on Facebook follows a different logic from what advertisers are used to,

especiallyonGoogle.Itisthereforenecessarytotakethetimetogetusedtoitandtotestitbefore

investingheavybudgets.Insomescenarios,theseadvertisementsareeffectiveandinothertheyre

lesseffective,butwewilltalkaboutthesespecificitieslater.


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b)Thecreationofanofficialpresence(fanpage)

ItistheroyalentrywayofanypresenceonFacebook.ItisalsothebigdifferencebetweenFacebook

anditsbigbrothersandsistersofwebmarketing.Actually,itisthefirsttimethatawebplatform

offersadvertiserstheopportunitytoestablishtheirpresenceonFacebook,todeveloptheaudience

loyaltyandtointeractwiththemusingvariedandcustomizabletools .

Advertisingandfanspagesfollowverydifferentlogics(shorttermandunidirectionalforthefirstone,

andlongtermandbi-directionalforthesecondone)buttheycomplementeachotherwell.

Wewilldescribehereunderthebenefitsofcreatingafanpage,thedifferentstrategiesthattheycan

allowtosucceedandtheresultsthattheygive.

c)Theimplementationoffeaturesand/orFacebookplugins

This isthe latestway totakeadvantageof Facebook; itis also innovativeand different from web

marketingtechniquesknownuntilnow.Thebigdifferencewiththefanpageisthatyouwonthave

togotoFacebooktoenjoyitssocialfunctions,youregoingtoimportthemtoyourwebsite.

Very schematically,it isaboutimplementing Facebook Connecton your site, the"Like" button on

your products and content and the many Facebook widgets that can make your website more

"social".

Thesefunctionsaredetailedattheendofthisguide.

3. Isittherighttime?

Here's a real question! Isnt it a bit early? Or is it too late to get started on Facebook? Is your

audiencealreadywaitingforyouthere?Isyourmanagementwillingtoinvesttimeandmoneythere?

Toanswertothisquestionitisnecessarytotakesomeparametersintoaccount .

Asforthetimingrelatingtoyourmarketoraudience,wecanaffirmforsurethatthisistheright

time.Youraudienceisprobablynotrepresentedat100%butitiscertainlyimportantenoughtotake

stepstowardsit.

Takinginto accountthe relative backwardness ofFrenchbrands compared with their Anglo-Saxon

competitors,itisnottoolate.Almostallbrandsarestillintheprocessofexperimentationandonlya

minorityhave"established".Butthereisnotimeforexistentialquestions,althoughthewindowof

opportunityiswideopenrightnow,itmightnotbethecasein12or24months.

TheFacebookaudiencebeingincreasinglysoughtbythebrands,withinthenextfewmonths,users

will probably become more and more selective on the brands they "like" on Facebook. This will

involvegreater efforts and greater expenditure to achieve thesame result. Starting today means

take a leg up and capture an audience which will be more difficult and expensive to win over

tomorrow.


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4. Isntitbettertobehome?

Facebookhasitsownrulesandenforcesthemuponitsguestswhilewithdrawing,andthat'sfair,a

large part ofbenefits (personal data iscontrolled by them, thevalueof thehuge database which

forms,willappearintheirrecord,notinyours).

Thusitissure:onecanbetemptedtobuildacommunitystrategyoutsideofFacebooktocompletely

controlitsdestiny.

DedicatedcommunitiesexistingoutsideFacebookdoexist,someofthemareevenreallysuccessful.

Tounderstandwhatcanmakeasuccessfuldedicatedcommunity(oftenniche)outsideofFacebook,I

recommend ourpresentation:"Should I create my owncommunity orshould I go on Facebook?"

availablehere:http://www.slideshare.net/eernoult/les-communauts-de-marques-pour-les-nuls .

However,althoughourbusinessalsoconsistsincreatingdedicatedcommunities,wemustrecognize

thatthisapproachdoesnotsuiteveryoneandrequirescertainprerequisitessoasnottofail.

Incontrast,aFacebookpresencecanbeestablishedbyalltypesofparticipants(BtoC,BtoB),smallor

large,inanyindustry.Inotherwords,adedicatedcommunitywillbeagoodideainonecaseoutof

10,whereasaFacebookpresencewillbeagoodideain100%ofthecases.

5. AmIreadytostepforward?

This is quite a difficult question. Indeed, despite the undeniable "hype" effect, the social web in

generalandmorespecificallyFacebook,remainsadarkhazeformostdecisionmakers,especiallythe

managerswhicharegenerallytoooldtobefamiliarwiththisrevolutionandtohaveintegrateditinto

theireverydaylives.

So in general, what descends from the top desk is a message which would sound like "Dear

colleague,wemustbeonFacebook,butasIdontknowwhattoexpectfromit,thebudgetwillbe

minimal".

Thus,youfindyourselfinthedifficultpositionofhavingtoprovetoyourleadersthattheymustgive

youthemeanstomakeyourambitionscometruewith(almost)nothing.Fussy!

Luckily, Facebook provides theopportunityto initiatea successand togenerate"quick wins" with

very tight budgets. It is thus often necessary to shape your winning strategy step by step, by

anticipatingthefirstimportantandimmediatelyeffectivemilestones.

Toachievethis,itwillbenecessaryeithertoinvestalotoftime,ortobeaccompaniedbyoneor

more specialists who will help you win these battles in order to get the necessary extensions by

demonstratingyourefficiency.


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6. ShouldIgettherealoneoraccompanied?

Thequestionistoknowwhethertogoaloneoraccompaniedisarealquestion.Inthemediumand

longterm,managingthestrategyandthemeansinternallyseemstobeagoodchoice.AFacebook

presencebeingonewinningbetinthelongterm,managingalltheparameterswillbeanundeniable

advantage.

However,topassthisfirstbaptismoffireandtopersuadeyourmanagerstostepbodyandsoulinto

theFacebookopening,donot"spoil"thefirstmonthsattheriskoflosingyourrisingconfidenceand

plenty of time. To make a success of your first steps it seems essential to be accompanied by

someone,atleasttemporarily..

Thissupportshouldprovideforthepossibilityofacompetencetransfer(toregaincontrolwhenthe

timecomes)andwillallowyoutogetstraighttothepointfaster.

Actually, Facebook isa newand different ecosystem ofclassicale-marketingand anymistake can

haveagreatimpact.

Moreover,asthesuccessofaFacebookoperationiscloselyrelatedtothecreativityofthemessage

andtheinteractionthatwillbeproposed,itisclearthataconsultantoranexperiencedagencywill

allowyouundoubtedlytoavoidfumblingandtobenefitfromtheirexperiences.Spendingyourdays

dissectingFacebookoperationsofdozensofbrands,mainlyAmerican,givesideas.Andit'sprobablya

watchyoudonothavetimefor.

ThebestFacebookpagesbeingsystematicallycompletewithusefulapplications,gamesand/orviral

marketing, you definitely should consider this possibility. Obviously, application development (or

theirhiring)isanareawheretheuseofaspecializedserviceproviderismorethanrecommended.

Internalisingthisskillwouldntmakeanysense.

Finally,themoderationandanimationofthepagecanbetime-consumingactivitiesforwhichyoudo

nothavealltheemployeesrequired.Inthiscase,evenifthisremedyistemporary,appealingtothe

servicesofcommunitymanagementofanagencymightbeagoodidea.

Inshort,thequestionofinternalizationortheuseofaserviceproviderdependsonmanycriteria

(internaltimeavailable,teamskills,allocatedbudget,etc.).

Obviously,choosingtherightserviceproviderwillbekeyfactor,butwewilltalkaboutthislater.

7. Facebookisfree,isntit?

Ofcourseitis!CreatingaFacebookpagedoesnotcostanything,andpublishingthestatuses,some

pictures andvideosthere, isfree aswell.However, creating therightpage, choosing therelevant

content,playingthefullviralmarketing,attractingandretainingalargenumberoffansisfarfrom

beingfree

MakingasuccessofyourfirststepsonFacebookandthenchangingitintoabighitwillcostyoueitherplentyoftimeormoney.Andasyouknow,timeismoney...


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Facebookrequiresareallearning,itisanecosystemthatyoumustgetfamiliarwith,thatyoumust

testandtowhichwemustadapt.Youcanspendalotoftimeacquiringthisknowledgealoneorpaya

thirdpartytospeedupthetraining.Definingagoodstrategyisnoteveryonescupoftea;ifyouthink

youhavethecapacity,goforit.Otherwise,usetheservicesofconsultantsoragenciesthatpossess

thenecessarycreativityandexperience.

An effective page requires, in almostall cases,dedicated applications,may they have a utilitarian

function(enrichingtheexperienceoffans)oraviralone.Theseapplicationsimplywithacost.

Finally,almostallFacebookstrategiespassfromonemomenttoanotherbytheuseofadvertising.

Thebudgetscanbetight,buttheywillneverbenil.

In short, you'll understand that Facebook is not totally free, in the best case, it will cost you a

consultantoranagencyandsometechnicalcosts,andintheworstcase,itwillcostyouahiring.And

intheveryworstcase,itwillcostyouyourmostvaluableasset:yourtime.Somepeoplemistakenly

believethattheirtimeisfree,wedont;-)

8. Towhatextentwillitbelucrative?

Here begin thegoodnews! Ifwellthoughtand orchestrated,yourpresenceon Facebookcan turn

outtobemuchmoreprofitableandefficientthanthemarketingandcommunicationstrategiesthat

youmayhavefollowedsofar.

Thequestionofreturnoninvestmentisakeyquestioninthefieldofsocialmedia.Infact,veryoften,

ignorance andfearof makingmistakesare makingthe decision makersto take refugebehindthedemands of immediate and guaranteed return on investment. Paradoxically, they often keep on

spending much money in methods with very limited return on investment: advertising in major

media,pressrelations,mailingletters,tradeshows,etc.

Therealityisthatthedecisionmakersaremorefamiliarwiththemarketingmethodstheyknowwell,

evenif they are not as profitable,and demand immediate andhigh results for themethods they

dontmaster.

However, inmanycases,thereturn oninvestment oftheoperationsconductedonsocialmediain

generalandFacebookinparticular,aresignificant.Butlikeanymedia,therearesuccessstoriesand

failures.

Fortherecord,in10yearsofentrepreneurship,wehavewastedalotmoremoneyonunproductive

press relations, poorly targeted trade fairs or inefficient business strategies in social media. And

when we have experienced success, they turn out to be much more profitable than any other

strategy.Thereturnsoninvestmentwereincomparable.

We'llgivemoredetailsonthissubjectinourguideNo.6,butasanintroductionwelltrytodefine

whatmustbethereturnoninvestmentintheframeworkofapresenceonFacebook.

First,tomeasure areturnoninvestment, itis necessaryto setup clearobjectives.This mayseem

obvious,yetitisnotinmanycases.ManyFacebookoperationsarelaunchedwithoutreallyknowingwhatisexpectedofthem.Whenyoustartaracewithoutknowingwhatthedistancewillbe,itis

difficulttoknowwhenthefinishlinewillbecrossed!


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Thereareseveralobjectives:

Moresales Generationofleads(prospects) Broadcastamessagetoawideraudience Improvecustomersupport Reducethecostofcustomersupport Improvebrandimage Increasetraffictoyourwebsite Betterunderstandingoftheexpectationsofthecustomers,themarket Etc.

Thekeyistopick1(or2)fromthemandfocused.Aswithanyotheroperation,itisneitherdesirable

nor reasonable to accomplish all the objectives of the company at one time and using a single

initiative.Onestepatatime...

The other element to help you, and not the least, is to choose an objective that appeals to themanagers.Ifthecompanysuffersabadimage,itisnecessarytoinsistonimprovingtheimageandif

thecustomersupportisverycriticalandthatactionplansareunderconsideration,thiswaywillbe

morefamiliartothem.IftheyarestrugglingtogeneratecontactsenteringinBtoB,youwillnotoffer

themthesameconceptsandstrategiesthattheywishtocommunicateontheircorporatevaluesor

increasetheviewers(orlisteners)ofatelevisionprogram(orradio).Inshort,thinkaboutchoosingan

objectivethatappealtothosewhowillgiveyouthegreenlight.

Oncetheobjectivesareidentified,youjusthavetosetupthemetricmeasurementthatwillhelpyou

locateyourinitiativeonthescaleofitssuccess!Thetoolsarerelativelysimple:

Customersupport:numberofissuesaddressed Reductionofsupportcosts:costsofpeoplehandlingrequests/numberofresponses Generation of leads / prospects: number of contacts integrated and converted /

operationcost

Increaseintraffictoasite:NumberofvisitscomingfromFacebook Increaseinsales:numberofInternetorderscomingfromFacebook Broadcastingamessage:numberofvisitstoyourFacebookpage Improvement of the brand image: number of positive mentions of the brand on

Facebook,Twitter,blogs,forums,etc.(watchtoolsmakethismeasurepossible,wewill

talkaboutthislater)

Etc.

To conclude, it is possible to generate real returns on investment, especially if we compare theeffectiveness of Facebook with other media. However, to obtain results that will convinc your

management, it is necessary to clearly define the desired objective, to establish the adequate

measurementtools,tomonitorthemcloselyandfinally,focusononeortwoobjectivesconsidered

asstrategic.


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II. Preliminarythoughts:letsstandback

1.Donotconfusestrategyandtactics

Most ofthetipsand tricks describedin ourguidesare "tactics". Gettingmanyfansona Facebook

page,keepingtheirattentionthrougheffectiveorganizationorcreateaviralmarketingcontest,are

notstrategiesnoragoaltoachieve.

The tactics youcan implement on Facebook aregood too andalthough they give good results, if

thesetacticsarenotimplementedtoachieveastrategicobjectiveclearlydefined,theyarelikelyto

beahugewasteoftimeandmoney).

Thesocial media in general (and most specifically Facebook)are just oneadditional wayto reach

yourgoals.Wemustthereforebeginbydeterminingwhatthosegoalsare.

Youmaysaythatthestrategyissimple;it'saboutgettingmorecustomers,ahigherturnover,amoreimportantaveragecustomerspending,moreregularcustomers,etc.Alltheseelementsarenotpart

ofastrategy,theyareresultobjectives.Thesearepreciselytheobjectivesthatyourstrategyshould

enableyoutoachieve

Generally,yourFacebook strategy shouldbe apartofan overall businessstrategy.It will bemuch

moreeffective.

Forexample,ifyourobjectiveistoincreasetherenewalrateofyoursubscribersandyourstrategyto

achieveitistoimproveinteractionwithyoursubscribers(listentothem,takeintoaccounttheir

feedback,involvethem,etc.),Facebookcouldbeaneffectivecomponentoftheoveralloperation.

Butthisoperationshouldalsobeeffectiveonyourwebsite,inanycommunicationyousendtoyour

subscribers(e-mail,papermail,invoices,etc.).Facebookwillnotbeenough(notbyitself).

A textbook case in this area is of the Zappos company, the United States selling shoes leading

website,recentlyboughtoutbyAmazon.Zapposisprobablyoneofthemostsuccessfule-commerce

companies in the United States and many expertsattributethis success to howZappos has used

socialmedia.

Whileitis truethatthesocialmedia(FacebookandTwitterinthiscase)playedaleadingrole,itis

mainlybecausetheyfittedintotheoverallbusinessstrategy.Inthiscase,thebusinessstrategywas

toprovidethebestcustomerserviceever.Zapposdoese-commerce,andsells(mostly)shoes.The

barriertopurchaseisthusengenderedby thestressofnot knowingwhetheritis possible tosend

backshoesthataretoosmallortoolarge.Offeringanexcellentcustomerserviceisthusastrategic

point.Alltheefforts ofthecompany arefocusedon this serviceandallthe employeesare deeply

involvedinthecontinuousimprovementofthisprocess.

The social media were one of the vital channels of this effort and the company encouraged its

employeesto bepresent onTwitterand Facebook torespondto andinteract with thecustomers.

Thehotlinewasprobablytheheartofthesystem,butthesocialmediawereanimportantbrickof

thesuccessofthisstrategy.

IfFacebookweretobeacomponentofyouroverallstrategy,whatwouldthisstrategybe?


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2. Facebook:foronenightorforlife?

ManybrandsstillconsiderFacebookasawaytomakeagood"publicitystunt".Theystillremainin

theparadigmofthe"campaign"whichimpliestoworkhardtocreateacampaign(messages,images,

etc.)andthentobuyspacetobroadcastit.Then,thecampaignisrunning,theworkstopsandyou

waitafewweekstoevaluatetheresults(shareofvotes,increaseinsales,etc.).Rest(orlaunchother

operations)forafewmonths...andstartanewcampaign.

Everythingoperatesabitasifweworkedhardtoachieveoneortwo"bigshots"peryearandinthe

meantime,nothinghappened.

Joiningthesocialmedia,particularlyFacebook,isexactlytheopposite.Youarenottryingtomake

one or two "big shots" but a multitude of "small shots". More importantly, the action must be

constantovertime,forgetaboutworkinglikeadogwithoutsleepinginsinglenightinawholemonth

andtoreleasethepressureduringthreemonths.

Tomakepictorialcomparison,Iwilltaketheexampleofloverelationships.Ifthetraditionalworldof

communication works a little in a flirting way, the world of Facebook requires the attention of a

stable relationship! Flirting implies many efforts to seduce and once the target is under spell,

everythingstops.Whileastablerelationship,impliestomakesmallefforts,buteveryday!Andforget

aboutlettingup,theeffortshavetobepermanent.

Evenifstablerelationshipsrequiredailyefforts,theyregood!Theycreateagrowingconfidence,a

betterunderstandingoftheeachother,nolongerneedtoplaycomedyorshinetodrawattention,butmostly,smalldailyeffortsincreasethefidelityofthepartner.

Loverelationshipsandcustomerrelationshipsusethesamejargon;-)


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3. ShouldIgothereandsee,orseebeforeIgo?

TheidealtheoreticalresponseconsistsinsayingthatyoushouldnotrushonFacebooktosee,buton

thecontrary,youmusttaketimetothinkandobservebeforetakingtheplungetobesuretoavoid

somemistakes.

Butthis iswithout takingreality into account, theeveryday reality, theone which sees dozensof

brandseachweekestablishingashakypresenceonFacebook,teethingproblemsand,finally,aftera

fewshots,findingtherighttoneandtheappropriateway.

Soifyouarepartofthosewhoneedtotouchtobeconvincedandtobeonthegroundtomakethe

rightchoice,goahead,testyourselfonFacebook.

However,takecareofbeingdiscreetduringyourexperimentationperiod.Anadvertisingcampaignonyourfanpageoralinkonyourwebsitearenotagoodideauntilyourenottotallycomfortable

andsatisfiedwithyourpresenceonFacebook.

4. Consider your audience before considering

yourself

Sincethedawnoftimeofmarketing,thequestionthatanyprofessionalasksis"howamIgoingto

convince tomy (future) customers."Inotherwords: howtosellmoregoodsandservicesandin a

betterwayandhowtoplacethemmoreeffectivelybeforemy(gaping!)prospects?

Thebadnewsisthatyouwillhavetoforgetallthesebadhabitsacquiredafteryearsofpracticeof

yourprofession.IntheeraofsocialmediaandFacebook,thequestiontoaskhasradicallychanged.It

arisesnowintheseterms:"howcanIbringsomethingtomycustomersandprospects,howcanI

helpthem,howcanIhaveapositiveimpactintheirlives?"

This might look like a total change; not reallyactually. In fact henceforth it is thinking about the

needsandexpectationsofyourthecustomersandprospectsbeforethinkingofyours.

Specifically,ifyouselldairyproductsandyouuseFacebooktopraisethemeritsofyouryogurt,the

eurorefundedforeachpackof24oreventheirimprovedtastewithmorefruit,youreffortswilllead

younowhere.Inthiscase,whatcanbetheexpectationsofyourcustomers:healthyfood?Stronger

bones thanks to a good calcium intake? Better digestion? Whatever they are, your Facebook

presence, your editorialand theexperience offeredshouldfocuson theanswers youcan provide

theseneeds,notaroundyourvouchers.

Alwaysconcerningyouraudience,it isoftenrecommended nottotry toreachallyouraudiences.

Mostbrandshaveverymixedaudiences(young,old,men,women,etc.).Itisofteneasiertotarget

oneofthem(usuallythemoststrategicforyou)andtoconcentrateyoureffortsinarticulatingyour

strategy aroundit.The weak consensus that suitseveryone butpleasesno oneisrarely awinning

strategy.


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5. Who (and what) will I talk about? The

company?Thebrand?Aflagshipproduct?An

event?Acharitableactivity?

Oneofthefirstquestionsthatariseasanapprenticesocialmarketeristoknowwhatwillbethe

identityofhisFacebookpage.

Insomecases,thequestionissimple:ifyouownasmallbusiness,itisgenerallythebusinessthatwill

behighlightedandwillbetheidentityofyourpage.Ifyouhaveaproductwithhighbrandawareness

(CocaCola,Adidas,Nutella,etc.),theidentityofyourpageisalsofoundeverywhere!

However,therearemanycaseswherethisquestionarisesandisnotalwayseasytosettle.

Forexample,ifonetakesamultinationalmultibrandssuchasNestleorProcter&Gamble,whichis

therightchoice?Thebrand"title"doesithaveitsplaceonFacebook?Ifyes,where?Istherebetter

to create pages with famous brand products (Nespresso, Nesquik, Gillette, Pampers, etc.)?

Ifthereisabrandwithalowaffectivecomponent(banking,insurance,etc.),isntitmoreinteresting

tobaseitspresenceonFacebookonacharitableinitiative(foundation,voluntarysupport)supported

bythecompany?Orasporteventsponsoredbythebrand?Thequestionisnoteasy.Forexample,

Groupama hasno official presence onFacebookbut hasa page abouthis foundationagainstRare

Diseases(http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fondation-Groupama-pour-la-Sante/260021398954 )and

oneforhistrimaranskipperedbyFranckCammas

(http://www.facebook.com/franck.cammas).

Onething iscertainhowever,as wehaveseenit before, your presence onFacebookwillnot(and

should not) to be temporary and on ad hoc basis. It can only be sustainable. For this reason, a

Facebookpageshouldneverbeaboutaneventwhich,bynature,isadhoc.Aninterestingeventmay

welltobehighlightedandexploitedwithintheframeworkofanexistingpage,butneverasubjectof

apageassuch.

III.Concretely:thebeginning1.ShouldIcreateafanpage,agrouporaprofile?

YouaredeterminedtodurablysetuponFacebook,andyoualreadyhavetomakeachoice:what

exactlyshouldareyougoingtocreate:apage,agrouporaprofile?

Ifweproceedbyelimination,theanswerisclear: abrandshouldcreateanofficialpageandnothing

else.

Infact,aprofilepagewouldnotbeagoodanswerforseveralreasons:itviolatesthetermsofuseof

Facebook (only individuals can create a profile), account setting that are more than limited (no


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possibilitytointegrateanapplication,noaccesstostatistics,etc.).Thisisexplainedveryclearlyinthe

FacebookFAQ"Theprofilesrepresentpeopleandmustbecreatedunderthenameofanindividual,

whilethe pages allowan agency, company, artistorgroupto maintain aprofessionalpresence on

Facebook.1

Then, youll have to choose between group and page. Groups on Facebook are well known to

bringingtogetherpeoplewithcommoninterests(suchas"Iusemycellphonetoseeinthedark").

Theycanbecreatedbyanymemberofthenetworkandoffersthepossibilityofsharingdiscussions,

documents between members. They have the advantage of allowing a private sharing of photos,

videosorothers,whichmayreassuresomememberswhowishtosharemoreprivatecontentwithin

family.Butthisisclearlynotthepurposeofabrand.

Theaimofabrandbeingmaximumvisibility,groupsarenotrecommendedatall,withoutforgetting

theabsenceofstatisticsandtheimpossibilityofintegratingtheapplicationsthereorpersonalising

theURL.

Themaindifferencesbetweengroupsandpagesarelistedinthefollowingdiagram:

1Source:http://www.facebook.com/help/?page=904


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For us,theanswer isclear:groupsarenotadaptedto makethe presence ofa brandon Facebook

successful,onlyapagecanbeimagined.

2. Howtochoosetherightpagename?

Thechoiceofnameforthepageiscrucial:donotbeinahurry,dontcreateapageandthinkyoull

change itsname later.The choiceof name of a page is possible once you've got 25 fans, but it

becomesfinalandcannotbechangedonceyougathered100fans(andnormallyitmightbefast!)

Thisnamewillbetheonethatwillprecedeanypublicationofarticles,photosorvideos.Thisiswhy

youshouldtakethetimetochoosecarefully.

This name will also be automatically included in the title of your advertisement if you want to

subsequentlysetupacampaignofpromotionstargetedonFacebookforyourpage.Thetitleofthe

advertisement being limited to 25 characters, your advertisement title will be automatically

truncatedifthenameofyourpageistoolong.Itispossibletogetaroundthislimitationwhenyou

createyouradvertisement(wewillcomebacktoit),butinthiscaseyoulosetheabilitytodisplaya

button"Like"directlyinyouradvertisement(andthuslosefanswhocanbedirectlygeneratedfrom

theadvertisement).

3. Abouttheadministrationofyourpage

At first, the page will be managed by its creator: you. But you can invite other administrators,

without limitation, and the administrators may be modified later. For instance, if one of the

administratorsleavesthecompany,hecanbeeasilyreplacedbyanother(whichwasnotpossiblea

fewmonthsago).

Ontheotherhand,thereisnopossibilityofestablishingahierarchyamongthepageadministrators.

Thismeansthatanadministratoryouinvitedwillbeabletoremoveyouradministrativerightsonthe


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pagethatyouhavecreated.Itisthereforenecessarytogivetherightstosomeoneyoutrusttoavoid

somedisappointments.

Lastquestion:isitbettertomanagethepagewithyourownpersonalaccountortocreateanother

specificaccount?BeyondthefactthatFacebooktermsofusespecifythatapersoncannotowntwo

accounts(youraccountwouldbedeleted),itismoreconvenienttomanageapagefromonesusual

account.Thisoptionwillnotexposeyoupersonallyandthenthepublicationsmadeonthepageare

underthepagename,nopersonalaccountwillbeinvisible.

4. Basictools

The basic package provided by Facebook is made up of several free tools.

A page will necessarily be composed of two mandatory tabs "Wall" and Info". The wall is the

essentialelementofFacebook:itwillbeyourshowcase,theplacewhereallstatuspublicationswill

appear.Youcandecidetoallowyourfanstowriteonthiswillornot.

The tab "Info" allows you to easily identify: description of the company, web sites, assignments,

products...thistabis your presentation card.Uponthe creation ofthe page, Facebookalsooffers

basicmodulestofeedthepage:

- Photos:allowsyoutosharephotoalbums- Videos:youcanuploadvideos.Theywillappearintheeponymoustab- Discussions:allowsyoutodiscussinaninternalforumpage- Articles:youcanwritearticlesintextformat.Fanswillfindthemonthe"articles"tab

5. Advancedtools

Many additional tools (developed by third parties and often at extra charge) will allow you to

enhanceyourpage:customizingtheWelcometab,Twitteraccountaggregationand/orRSSfeeds,

integration ofa registration moduleto anewsletteroran onlinepublication ofa catalogueforan

onlineshop.Manythingsarepossible.We'llreviewthesetoolsandtheirutilityinourGuideNo.5:

"Essentialtoolsforyourfanpage."

6. 10reasonsforcreatingaFacebookpage

a)ManyofyourcustomersandprospectsalreadyuseFacebook

More than 16 million Internet users are over 18 have a Facebook account. It is almost half the

Internetuserswhoarehere.Thisproportionisprobablymuchmoreimportantamongsttheactive

Internetusers.


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Iftherewasashoppingmallinwhich1potentialcustomeroutof2 wentto,wouldntyouwantto

openastorethere?Andifamagazinewasreadby1ofyourprospectsoutof2,howmuchwouldyou

investtoplaceanadvertisementinit?

Facebook probably gathers half of your customers and prospects, maybe more, so not trying to

establishalinkwiththemonthisplatformwouldbeabsurd.

b)Yourcompetitorsarealreadythere

Thefactthatyourcustomersandprospectsarethereisimportant,buttheworstthingisthatyour

competitors may already be pulling the rug out from under your feet. You may not take this

seriously,youmaythinkthatyourfutureaudiencewillwaitforyou,andthatyoucantakeyourtime.

Notsosure.

Ifyouareaveryrenownedbrand,itisindeedpossible.Themerementionofyourbrandwillhelpyou

rakethousandsoffans.Butwhywouldntyoustarttodaysinceyourmissionwillbeeasy?

However,ifyouarealesserrenownedbrandbutyourabilitytoattractconsistsintheuniversethat

represents your brand (Sport for Decathlon, DIY for Leroy Merlin, creative leisure activities for

Cultura,sailingforBeneteauorhealthforPfizer,thelistislong!),ifacompetitorstealsyouruniverse

andbuiltastrongreputationonFacebook,theplacemightbetakenorbecomeverydifficulttohold

withinaveryshorttime.

Inthiscase,allowingtimetoyourcompetitorsmeanstoincreasesignificantlyyourcostofentryonce

youmakeyourdecision.Itiswisertostartslowly,butnow!

c) Itisaveryefficientdistributionchannelofcontent

Doyouhaveablogwithexcellentcontent?OraveryactiveTwitteraccount?Doyouorganizeevents

regularly?Orsponsoralarge-bodiedcharitableactivity?Inshort,ifoneofyouractivitiesiscarrying

interestingcontent,Facebookwillperfectlyhousethiscontent!

In fact, your content deserves the widest possible audience and, good news, Facebook is ideally

positionedtoexpandthisaudiencewithminimaleffort.

Indeed,oneofthemostcriticalandtime-consumingstepsinaFacebookstrategyisthedevelopment

of a good editorial guideline. Youve already created this editorial guideline! You only have to

transferitintelligentlyonFacebookandyou'redone.

Ifyouhavegoodcontent,donothesitate,Facebookisbuiltforspeed.

Practicalcasestudy:VirginMegastore.

VirginMegastoreregularlyorganizeseventsinitssalesoutlets,thebiggesttakingplaceinitsflagship

store on the Champs Elysees Avenue. These events range from book signing and interviews with

authorsofnovelssuchasAmelieNothombtomini-concertswiththeteamoftheMozartRockOpera

orevenwithworldwideknownDJssuchasBobSinclar.


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These events are exceptionaland gatherreal stars ofmusic or literature, butthey are notvisible

outsidethestoresin whichtheyareheld.Broadcasting them onthewebhasbecomeobviousand

thebrandhasbeendoingitsince2010.Thisvaluableisnowvisibleontheweb,andallowsthebrand

toattractfans,thisiswhyFacebookwastheperfectplacetobe.

VirginMegastorespageregularlybroadcasts theevents itorganizes initsstores, live ortaped. By

thisway,itcanattractnewfansateachevent,andmostimportantly,relyontheattractivenessof

artistsandauthorsinvitedtoincreaseitsownfanbase!

Fanpageonly@virginwhichguidelineistosharewithitsfanstheliveeventsofitsstores(concerts,book

signing)

d)Therearemanymeanstoinvolveyouraudience

Firsto,thereistheclassic"wall",butalsophotos,videos,articlesorevendiscussionsaretoolsthat

Facebookofferstogiveyouraudienceawaytogetinvolved.


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Buttherangeoftoolsdoesnotstopthere.Youcanconductsurveys,contests,quizzes,distributing

coupons or special offers, allowing your fans to create interesting content, broadcast live events,

presentyourflagshipproducts,etc.

Neveranymajorsocialnetworkingplatformhadofferedsomanytoolsandopportunitytoenrichthe

experienceoftheaudience.Inaddition,mostofthesetoolsareavailableatgoodprice,sotheresno

reasonforyoutonotbenefitfromit!

InourguideNo.5,wewilltalkaboutthesetoolswithadetailedandcomprehensivebenchmark.

e)Ifwellorganised,theinherentviralmarketingofthesystemis

effective

IfFacebookwas just yetanothertoolfor content distribution,a singleadditional exposure onthe

web,itwouldnothaveknownthecrazethatitencountersamongadvertisers.

Ifeverythingwas limitedto theaudience,it would not be much different than Yahoo!or Google.

TherearemanyInternetdestinationsbringingtogetheralargeaudienceandFacebookisjustoneof

them.

WhatconstitutesthebeautyofFacebookandmakesitmoreattractivethananyotherwebsiteisits

abilitytodevelopitsaudienceloyaltyandtheviralmarketinginherentinitsoperation

DistributinganinterestingmessageonFacebookdoesnotlimittothepossibilityofgettingtheusers

interestedin this message; itis mainlythepotentialtogivetheseusers aneasymeanstoforward

thismessageinstantlytotheirfriends.Youdonothaveonesurferinfrontofyou:youhavedozensof

theminasingleoperation.Maythismessagebeinteresting,itwillbeforwardedoverandoveragain.

To some extent, Facebook has generalized the famous "buzz" that has been enchanting all

advertisersfordecades!

Ofcourse,thisviralmarketingdoesnotworkaloneandisnotautomatic,butthepotentialisthere,

youjusthavetofindcreativeandinnovativewaystotriggerit.

ThefollowingdiagramproperlyillustratestheimportantroleFacebookplaysinthispoint:


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f) Itincreasestheeffectoftraditionaloperations(contests,

promos,etc.)

ItisadirectconsequenceoftheinherentviralmarketingeffectinFacebookthatwejustdescribed.

Allthese operations that were so difficult to setup before (contests, discounts and other special

"buzz"operations)cannowonbenefitfromtheturboviralmarketingwithoutgreaterefforts.

Clearly,ifyouroperationiswellthoughtout,theviralmarketingeffectthatyoucouldhavehadina

conventional operation (mini-website, e-mail campaign, "send to a friend" link, etc.) will be

multipliedwithoutmoreeffortorcost(orverylittle).Thediagramofthepreviouspointillustrates

thiseffect.

Sowhywouldyoukeeponspendingyourenergyandmoneyinoperationsthat,whentheyrestaged

onFacebookwillbetwiceasvisible(orevenmore)atequalcost?

Practicalcasestudy:InternationalAutomobileFederation

Tocommunicateitsactionstopromoteroadsafety,theInternationalAutomobileFederationwished

to raise drivers awareness with driving reaction tests led by the seven-time world champion,

SebastienLoeb.ThelatterbeingverypopularinFranceandbenefittingfromthesympathyofthe

wholecountry,choosingFacebookwasobvious:asthewebsiteisparticularlyeffectivewhendealing

WhyFacebook:theviralmarketingbonus

Media buying Media buying

Weak sharingStrong sharing

Traditional site

Experience

Facebook

Experience

made easier

(Viralmarketingbonus)

FacebookoperationTraditionaldiagram


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with Internet usersinterests, they tend tohave a positive reaction tothe messages addressed to

themandrelaythemtotheirfriends.

ThechallengeofSebastienLoebhasthereforefoundanidealplaceonFacebookandhelpedrecruit

fans for a minimalcostbecause, thanksto theviralmarketingeffect of Facebook andapplication

installation,eachplayerhas,onanaverage,made3otherplayersplayonthesimplewordofmouth

effect.Clearly,foraplayer"bought"usingFacebookAds,3playerswere"offered"thankstotheviral

marketing of the application and of Facebook. It is clear that the same operation set up outside

Facebookwouldnothavethesameeffect


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g)ItstronglyreinforcestheeffectivenessofyourFacebook

advertisements.

Facebook advertisingis probably oneofthe "killer apps"of webmarketing.But theseads areless

effectiveiftheydirecttheusertoathirdpartywebsiteratherthantoaFacebookpage.

Why?It'sprettysimple.Ifyoumakeanadvertisementforathirdpartywebsite,it'sasafebetthat

thetrafficwhichwillberedirected,atacertaincostperclick,willgetthereonlyonce.Youwillhave

veryfewwaystocapturethishardlyacquiredaudiencesothattheyremainloyaltoyou.

Ofcourse,youcanaskthesevisitorstoregisteronyourwebsite,tosubscribetoyournewsletteror

tosubscribetoyourRSSfeed,butourexperienceshowedthattheconversionrateofaprospectled

byadvertisingtoathirdwebsiteisgenerally5to10timeslowerthanthatofafan.Becomingafanof

a Facebook page is very simple (one single click) and does not require re-entering their personal

information,whichisincreasinglystressfulandimpliesaninvolvementfromtheusers.

Ifyou'readvertisingforaFacebookpage,you'llenjoythefollowingbenefits:

Yourconversionrate(usershavingclickedandthenbecamefans)willbemuchhigherthanonanexternalwebsite(purchase,accountcreation,etc.);

Internet users can click on "Like" straight from the advertisement, increasing yournumberoffansandloweringyourconversioncost;

Youradvertisingcampaignwillprobablycostyoucheaper.Infact,onFacebook,thepriceofadvertisingdependsonitssuccess,thuson itsclickrateanditsrateofaction.From

experience,anacquisitioncostofafanthroughadvertisingoscillatesbetween0.10and2

Euros,thatofamemberorabuyeronathirdpartysiteisgenerallybetween1and5

Euros,dependingonthesubject;

Finally,onceanInternetuserbecameafan,ofcourse,he/shewillnothavecarriedoutthe action you would like him / she to carry out on your website yet (purchase,

subscription, etc.).But youhave createda permanent channelof communicationwith

him/ her. Ifyoumanage this communicationproperly,your fans will beactivated, not

justonce(asisthecasewithanadvertisement),butaninfinitenumberoftimes!

h)Itletsyourambassadors speak

Mostbrandshave,amongtheircustomers,greatambassadors,readytospreadthegoodwordabout

theirproductsandservicesandtodefendtheirfavouritebrand.

These ambassadors are not the prerogative of big brands; they are also very active with smaller

brands. It is a matter of volume, of course, but in theory, all companies and brands have their

ambassadors(maytheybe20,200or200,000doesnotreallymatter).

Thedreamofanybusinessleaderorproductmanageristobeabletorelyonthesecustomerstobe

theirspokesperson.Theycostnothing,areindependent,passionateandcredible.


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Unfortunately,veryfewbrandshavethetimeto"pamper"theseambassadorstoencouragethemin

thiseffort.Andthispotentialremainsunheeded.

Facebook is probably one of the best ways to gather, conduct, pamper and reward your

ambassadors, whatever thesizeof your company. Alltheseambassadorsare waitingforonly one

thing:tobeconsideredandtreatedwiththerespecttheydeserve.Givethemwhattheyexpect,they

willrepayyouahundredtimesover.

i) Youllinteractwithyourcritics(andextinguishfires)

Ifambassadorscustomersarethedreamofanycompany,theircriticsanddisgruntledcustomersare

anightmare.However,theyarepartofthecompanylifeandtheyarealsoaninterestingopportunity

toseize.

Keepinmindthatadissatisfiedcustomerwhohasbeenwellmanagedisprobablygoingtobecome

yourbestambassador.Thisshowstheimportanceofgivingthemfullattention.

Acustomerwhospeaksillofyouisadanger.

Acustomerwhospeaksill ofyouandwhois leftalonewithhisbitternessor disappointmentisan

extremedanger.

Acustomerwhospeaksillofyouandthatyoutakethetimetolistentoandtosatisfyisagreat

opportunity!

If you do not offer your dissatisfied customers a place to come and complain they will do it

elsewhere,onblogs,forums,Twitter,thepossibilitiesareendless.Theconcernisthatitwillbevery

difficultforyoutoidentifythemandtorespondthemappropriatelyandquickly.

Ifyouhavesetupaplaceforgatheringthesecomplaints,youcantreatthemquicklyandefficiently.

Youwillunderstandin abetter waywhat pleasesyourcustomersand what theydo notlike,what

may not be going well in your company (support? customer service? delivery times? defective

product?) and repair a malfunction which, if it had not been discovered thanks to the "early

complainers",couldhaveseriouslydeterioratedandhavemajorconsequences.

Moreover,anunhappycustomertreatedwithhumilityandefficiencywillnotonlyconvertthissinglecustomer.Exchangeswithhimbeingpublic,theywillalsoprovidehundredsorthousandsofvisitorsa

positive message: "We listen to you and we are at your disposal to solve your problems." The

messagethereforehasamuchwiderpotentialthantheonlycustomertowhomitisaddressedto.

Facebookistheidealplacetolistenandeffectivetoolsexisttohelpyou.Ifyouwaitedmore,youd

betakingabigrisk.


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j) Itallowsyoutobepresentforyoucustomersandfans

Thisisthelastitemonthislistbutitisalsooneofthemostimportant.Today,youhavetomakealot

ofeffortstorecruitandretainanaudience,youcreatedirectmailadvertisingwhichonly10to20%

willreactto,youpurchaseadvertisementswhichreturnsareoftendisappointing,youparticipatein

fairsthatdonotalwaysbringnewcustomers,inshort,youarecommunicatingtoremaininthemind

ofthosewho,oneday,willneedtouseyourproductsandservices.

Itisavitalrequirementforanycompanywhateveritssizeanditstarget.

Facebookisanadditionalwaytoachievingthisend.Andsometimesit'sevenahighlyeffectiveway.

In fact,two majortrendsare currently revolutionizingthe world ofInternet andadvertisementin

general.ThefirstisthemassiveshiftingoftheaudienceoftheWeb1.0towardsWeb2.0andsocial

networks.Astimegoeson,youraudienceismoreandmorepresentonsocialnetworks,soitwould

beagreatideatoaccompanythemthere.

The second trend is the disenchantment marked increasingly with the "prospects" for traditional

advertising,nowregardedaspollutingandintrusive.Moreover,theaudienceisbecomingpermeable

tomessagesthatareimposedbutacceptsthosewhichareoffered(marketingofpermission).

Facebookperfectlyfitsintothistrendandallowsyoutoadapttothesenewwaysofcommunicating

withyourtargets.Thisbasictrendwillnotbereversed;itisinevitablesotryitassoonaspossible

7. 10thingsthatFacebookcannotdo

a)Producefastresults

Indeed,ifthereisonethingthanFacebookcannotdoitistoproduceimmediatelargescaleresults.If

youhavetosellyourstockquickly,tosetupanaction"punch"todobeforeaholidayseasonoryou

needtobouncebackquicklyonacurrentevent(sales,cost-effectiveandtemporaryregulations,etc.)

Facebook is not the right media: radio, television or more traditional web marketing will moreappropriate.

OnceyourFacebookpresenceisstronglyestablished,youcangetsuchquickresults,butyoumust

buildyouraudiencefirst.Thiswilltakeatleast8to12months.Then,itwillkeeponincreasingover

thetime.

Therefore,youmustaccepttobeginamediumtermaction.Shorttermisnotimaginable.


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b)Be100%in-housemanaged(forvastmajorityofcompanies)

InvestingonFacebookmeanstocommitoneselfinmanydifferentjobs:

Managementofthecommunity; Creationofcontent; Managementofadvertisingcampaigns; Design; Developmentofwebapplications; Communication; Marketing; Andmaybemanymore(Crisismanagement,customerrelationship,moderation,etc.).

Veryfewcompaniesandorganisationshavethecapacitytobringtogethertheseskills.In90%ofthe

cases, some of them are internally managed, butit will be essential toappealto external service

providersandtosometoolstobesupportedonthemissingskills.

To ensure the best chance to succeed, any company willing to be present on Facebook should

necessarilygothroughanexternalserviceprovider.Itsmagnitudewillvaryaccordingtothebudget

availableforthismission.

c)Fixatarnishedreputation

Facebook canbea fabulous toolfor makingthe most ofan existing goodreputation, ofa positive

brandimagebutalsotobuildanimageandareputationwhichisnotestablishedyetbutiswillingto

expressitself!

However, ifyouhavejustbeenthroughamediacrisis,yourserviceissubjectto violentattackson

theInternetbecauseofitsinefficiencyoryouareacarrier(byrailorbyair)andjustwentoutofa

bitterstrikethathasblockedyourcustomersforweeks,Facebookwillnotbeabletohelpyouifyou

arenotalreadythere.

Inshort,asFacebookisaplacetoexchangewithyouraudience,ifyouraudiencehasallthereasons

to dishonour you andcriticizeyour products andservices, do notoffer them a megaphone. Your

priorityisnottogoonFacebook;itistofindasustainableandeffectivesolutiontothecausesof

yourbadimage.

Practicalcasestudy:followingsomesetbackswithCNILrelatedtoanon-conforminguseofpersonal

data bythebrand, Acadomiahastilycreateda Facebook page tomanagethiscrisis.It wasthelast

thing todo. This page wasremoved since then, proof of its inefficiency. A FAcebook page should

neverbecreatedtomanageacrisis.It'suselessandcounterproductive


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d)Besuccessfulwithnorealisticbudget

Anygood marketing or commercial hitcoststime andmoney.Some ofthem have certainly been

moreexpensivethanothers,butwhateverthesuccessesare,theyallhaveacost.

Ifyourbosschallengedyouto invadeFacebookin 2monthswitha 5,000budget,be reasonable,

flee!

AsforanAdwordscampaignonGoogle,asuccessfule-mailcampaignoraneffectivepressrelations

action,youllhavetoinvestfinancialresourcestomakeyourcommunicationormarketingplanon

Facebookasuccess.

Thegood news isthat,in most cases,budgets arelower than those required formoretraditional

activities. Butas in the real world of marketing (the onethat continues to exist outside of social

networks),microbudgetswillkeepongiving...microresults.

Facebookhasinventedmanythings,butfreecommunicationormarketingarenotpartofthem.And

neitheriseasysuccess.Becomingamillionaireeffortlesslyremainstheprerogativeofthelotto.


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e)Be(functionally)self-sufficient

Facebookoffersanumberoffunctionsavailablebydefaultandforfree.Forlesswealthyusers,they

areenoughstillthestandardexperienceofferedcannotbeimproved.ButwiththebasicFacebook,

therewillbenodamages(unlessyouareCocaCola,NikeandApple,whichisprobablynotthecase).

IfyoureallywanttobedifferentandtotransformyourpresenceonFacebookintoauniqueand

memorableexperience,ifyouwanttoturnyourpageintoaprospectsmagnetorintoastrongholdof

your retention strategy, you will have to invest in dedicated applications, attractive (and still

expensive)gesturesandgames,contestsandquizzeswhich,tobesuccessfactors,requiresomework

andcreativitythatyouwillneedtofinance.

ThemostsuccessfulbrandsonFacebookallsharesomethingincommon(withoneortwo

exceptions);theyofferedtheiraudiencesauniqueexperience.Anduniquenecessarilydifferentfrom

thestandardexperienceofferedbya"bydefaultFacebookpage.

f) Startwithoutanycommunication

OnFacebook, just likeanywhereelse,themostimportant thingis nottheknow-how,but toknow

how to let know. If your Facebook page is user-friendly and informative, if it delivers high-value

contentandtheexperienceitoffersislikelytointerestallyourcustomersandprospects,butifno

oneisknowaboutit,itsimpactwillbeminimal.

"Justmakeanicepageandtheyllgettoyou".ThisstatementisasfalseonFacebookasanywhere

else.Ofcourse,somecuriouspeoplewillfindyoubymakingarandomsearch,butsoonyoullbe

disappointedbytheirnumber.

Eventhebiggest"buzz"hasbeenlaunchedbyawell-orchestratedcommunication.Ifyougetstarted

onFacebook,itis beveryimportanttomakeitpublicbyallmeansifyouwanttosee yourefforts

rewarded.Wewilltalkaboutitlater.

g)Develoployaltywithoutcontent

Attractingfansisgood.Makingthemcomebackismuchbetteranditisexactlywhatisatstake.

Tomakethesefanscomebackregularly,youcancountonthemanytoolsandresourcesprovidedby

Facebookbutthesetoolsaremere"channels"togettoyouraudience.Ifyoudonotusethemto

broadcastgoodcontentandiftheyonlyspreadhotairorirrelevantmessages,youmightquicklylose

theaudiencethatyouworkedsohardtogather.

Beforethinkingaboutrecruitingmembers,youshouldfirstthinkofhowyouwillcreatecontentto

makethemcomebacktoyou.

Community management can allow you to create interactions with your audience, but with no

contenttofeedit,itmaysoonbeexhausted.


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h)Serveasatoolforasustainableandstructuredcontentstrategy

Facebookoffersthegreatadvantagetoprovidecommunicationtoolsalmostinrealtime.Publisha

newsandyoullfindinstantlyonthe"walls"ofallyourfans.Atleastintheory,butwewilltalkabouthislater.Butthisadvantageisalsoadefect.Afterafewdaysorevenafewhours,thiscontentwill

havedisappearedfromtheFacebooksurface,lostintheintermittentflowofnewsfromfriendsand

fromotherbrandsyourfansfollow.

This instantaneity is thestrength of Facebook andcan both be a real asset foryou andperfectly

incompatiblewiththeimplementationofastructuredcontentstrategyandintendedtobedurably

accessible.

As an example, lets study the case of the brand Cultura. The company wanted to establish a

communitysothatitsworkshopspresentersofartsandcraftscanpublishtheir"tips&tricks"insuch

awaythattheywouldntgetlostandcouldremainaccessibleonthewebtothousandsofuserswho

mightbeinterestedinthesecontentsinamonth,ayearormore.Bycreatingitsownwebplatform,

thebrandhasensuredthatthiscontentremainsvisible,indexedandsearchablewithoutatimelimit.

ThiscontentpublishedtodaywillcontinuetocreatevisibilityforthebrandonGoogleformonthsor

evenyearsaftertheircreation .

Thatiswhysomeoldcontentblogsarestillsuccessfulandkeepongeneratingvisitorslongaftertheir

creation,thankstoaneffectiveSEO.

Facebook does notallow this sustainability;the contents are highly perishableshort-lived content

like they are onthe entireweb.Therefore, youshould avoid using Facebookto broadcastcontentthatyouwanttokeepvisibletoyouraudienceforalongtime.

i) Meettheexpectationsofthenichecommunities

Basically,anichecommunityhasnicherequirements.The"sailors"wanttomeetothersailorswho

areintheirmarinaorcurrentmooringsite,knitterswanttofindachievementmodels,patientswitha

diseasewaitforadvicefromotherpeoplegoingthroughthesameordeal,oryoungmumslookingto

sharewithothermums.

Alltheseneedsrequire dedicated toolsand features that youwillnever find onFacebook.This is

neitheritspurposenoritsvocation.Facebookwillremainageneralisttoolopentopeopleatlarge.

Aboutthis, Irecommendyoumypreviouspresentationonthetheme"ShouldIgo onFacebookor

create my own community?"availablehere: http://www.slideshare.net/eernoult/les-communauts-

de-marques-pour-les-nuls


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j) Createthefeelingtobelongtoacommunity

ThegreatstrengthofFacebookistofacilitatelinksbetweenpeoplewhoalreadyknoweachother.It

isnotdesignedtocreatenewcommunities.Obviously,usersgatheraroundaparticularbrandthat

theylikeoraparticularsportoractivitytheyplay.Butitisalwaysanindividualapproach.Itisvery

rarethatafterbecomingafanofapageonestartstosocializeopenlywithotherfans.

They might exchange a few comments with people they furtively met during an isolated

conversation,butitwillnotgomuchfurther.

On affinitiz.net, our online service of creation of dedicated communities since 2001, we have

experienced the creation of communities of enthusiasts or "peers" which still remain incredibly

activeevenafter8years.Inallcases,theywerepeoplewhohadnevermetbefore,andthevirtual

communitygavebirthtonewrelationsbetweenitsmembers.Linkshavebeendurablyestablished

betweenpeoplewhowouldneverhavemetinothercircumstances.

ThisphenomenonalmostneverhappensonFacebook.

IV.HowtotakeadvantageofFacebook

outsideFacebook?

1.Theopengraphecosystem

Facebook has quickly realized that to become essential and to impose its lasting superiority as a

referencesocialnetwork,ithadtoopenitsecosystemoutwards.

ThefirststepofthisopeningwastheprovisionofotherapplicationswithintheFacebookplatform.

ByallowingdeveloperstoofferapplicationsthatcouldsetuponFacebookwithouthavingtoleaveit,

Facebookhasmainlyallowedtheseapplicationstotakeadvantageofthesocialgraph:theabilityof

any application user to touch easily their friends, their interests and customise the experience

accordingtotheirprofile.

Thousands of applications have developed rapidly andempires were built, as the editor of Zynga

games, on these new opportunities. Games in particular have benefited from the incredible viral

marketing effect ofsocial graph andhave rapidlybecomegiants. Since then, Facebook hashighly

reducedthepossibilitiesofusingthesocialgraphforapplicationdevelopersandthesocialgoldrush

hasstoppedlittlebylittle.

The second step was the provision of Facebook Connect on other websites. As the obligation to

createanewaccounteverytimeanInternetuserwantstotestanewserviceisastrongbarrierto

entry,andasFacebookalreadyhasmillionsofaccountsofInternetusers,itappearedlogicalthatthe

leadingsocialnetworkoffereditsownloginsystemasanalternativetocreatinganewaccount.The


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"SingleSignOn"systemthatMicrosoft(withpassport)thenGooglehadunsuccessfullytriedtosetup

beforewasonthewaytobeahitforFacebook.

The interest for Facebook is to strengthen its essential presence. For the Internet users, it is the

opportunitytonolongerhavetocreateanewaccountandtouseasingleconnectionmode,more

convenient,whereasfortheotherwebsitethatusesFacebookConnect(you),itisthepossibilityto

increasethenumberofregistrationsbyeliminatingtheburdenofcreatinganumpteenthaccounton

itsservice.

Inaddition, implementing Facebook Connecton your websiteallowsyou totakeadvantage ofthe

opengraphandtopersonalizetheexperienceofthevisitorwhowillnowbeabletoknowiftheir

friends arealready membersor even by postingon their Facebook profileactions that they have

doneoutsideofFacebook(purchase,comments,etc.).

The third step was the implementation of the "like" button. This button can be installed in few

minutesonanyotherwebsite.ItoffersthepossibilityforanyFacebookuserto"like"acontentora

productdirectlyfromyourwebsite(forinstance)andtoinformtheirfriendsaboutit,withouteven

havingtologout.

Facebookwillprobablycontinuetoworkinthisdirection.Indeed,thisstrategyisgoodforusersand

websitesthatbenefitfromit,butitisevenbetterfotFacebook,whocanthusenrichtheinformation

itcollectsaboutitsmembersinterests,whicharetherealaddedvalueofitsadvertisingsystem,the

heartofitsbusinessmodel.

2. HowtotakeadvantageofFacebookwithout

evenbeingpresentthere!

The open graph allows any website to incorporate a bit of Facebook, and to personalize the

experience of its visitors, who also are Facebook users. As the number of Facebook members is

increasing(almost20millioninFrance),itisabetthatisnottoorisky.

ThereareseveralwaystousethepotentialofFacebookonyourwebsite:

- FacebookConnect- Insertingthelikebutton- Socialwidgets- Gofurtherwithadvancedapplications


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a)FacebookConnect

FacebookConnectisFacebookauthenticationsystemthatyoucaninstallonyourwebsite.

ExampleofproposalforregistrationwithFacebookConnectfromthedismoiou.frwebsite

Whatisitspurpose?

Quitesimply,toallowInternetuserstologonyourwebsiteusingtheirFacebookprofile.

Whyisthisinteresting?

Firstly,itreducestheregistrationprocesstoitssimplestexpressionfortheuser,soheislesslikelyto

beput offby anew form tocompletewithname, surname, e-mail, etc.Somewebsitespublishers

haveexperiencedabigincreaseinregistrationswhenmovingfromanownerregistrationsystemtoa

registrationsystembasedonFacebookConnect.

Ononeotherhand,itisinterestingforyoubecauseyourmembersactivitycanbedirectlylinkedto

theirFacebookprofile.Forexample,ifauserloggedonyourwebsiteusingFacebookConnectpostsa

comment,downloadsaphotoorbuysaproduct,itwillbeeasytoproposetohimtosharethisaction

directlyonhisFacebookprofile.

Moreover, if it can be interesting for your website to gather user's friends, the advantage of

FacebookConnectisthatyouwillbeabletoproposetoeverynewusertofindhisFacebookcontacts

that are already registered. Does your website recommend good deals? Cooking recipes? Offersmusicdownload?ThankstoFacebookConnect,youcanwelcomeyournewmembershelpingthem

tofindimmediatelytheirfriendsfavouriteplaces,recipesandrecords.Quiteeffectiveawayin,isnt

it?

o

ConnectionwithFacebook

RE G IST RA T IO N


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StillonDismoiou.fr,onceloggedviaFacebookConnect,Iinstantlyfindthebestplacesrecommendedbymy

Facebookcontacts

b)Insertingthelikebutton

The Facebook Connect function is useful if your website requires the creation of an account.

However,formanywebsites,thecreationofanaccountisneithernecessarynorrecommended.Itis

thecase with most contentwebsites such as online newspapers or blogs. In their case, themost

important thing is not to increase the number of registered members but to make the readers

recommendthecontentsandarticlestheycontain.

Therefore, the "like"buttoncanbe installed infew minuteson eacharticle ofa blog or even an

onlinenewspaperoroneachproductpageofane-commercewebsite.

Integrationofthelikebuttononaproductpageonvirginmega.fr

Theintegrationofthis"like"buttononlytakesafewminutesbutitoffersyouanimportantpotential

visibility.


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Onceaproductislikedandcommentedonawebsite(herevirginmega.fr)theauthor'sfriendscanseeitand

respondtoitwhilethedirectlinktotheproductremainsavailable!

For example,to measurethisvisibility,youcanvisitthewebsitelikebutton.methat will give youa

glimpseofthe"like"clickedfromyourwebsite.

Listofthemostlikedcontentonvirginmega.frfromthewebsitelikebutton.me

Importantinformation:thereareseveralwaystointegratethelikebutton.Oneofthemdisplays

yourfriendsprofilepicturesthathavealreadylovedtheitem.AccordingtoFacebook2,thisversion

ofthelikebuttonmightgeta clickrate3 to5timeshigherthanthemoresimpleone.Keepitin

mindifyouhaveenoughspace.

2http://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/398


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c)Socialwidgets

The possibilities of integration of Facebook on your website are not limited to the like button.

Facebookalsoallowsyoutointegrateitscommentsfunction,thebirthdaysofyourvisitorsfriends,

which friends of your visitors liked and commented on your website or even a recommendation

widget that suggests pages or products that your visitors might like according to the pages and

productstheyandtheirfriendsalreadylike.

Inshort,therangeofpossibilitiestointegrateFacebookintoyourwebsiteisquitelargeandthebest

thingisthatthesewidgetsarealmostready-prepared.

Facebookoffersasuiteofready-preparedsocialwidgetsonitspage

http://developers.facebook.com/plugins

Aninterestingexampleistheblogallfacebook.comthatusesoneofthesewidgetsbeloweachofits

articlestorecommendtothereaderotherarticlesoftheblogtheymightfindinterestingdepending

onthenumberofpeoplewhohavelikedthem:


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d)Goingfurtherwithadvancedapplications

AlthoughtheFacebooksocialwidgetscanallowyoutointegratesocialfunctionsveryquicklyandat

lower cost, it can sometimes be useful to push the Facebook integration one step further. Forexample, if your website is an e-commerce website, it can be interesting to include a social

shopping" section which will combine, depending on the visitor's profile, products their friends

purchased,productstheylikedorthattheyhavecommented,etc.

Socialcommerceisatrendytopicand,asyouregoingtotestit,donotreinventthewheelandenjoy

thesocialgraphcreatedonFacebooktoextracttheinformationyoureinterestedin.

This isexactlywhatthe brand Levi'sdid with its section"Friend's shopping.However,youshould

knowthatthistypeofintegrationisnotbasedonready-preparedwidgetsforFacebookandthatyou

mightthus have touse major developments orappeal tospecializedcompanies.Forinstance,the

AmericancompanySocialAmpoffersthistypeofsolution.

ExampleofpersonalisedsocialshoppingontheLeviswebsiteinAmerica

http://store.levi.com/#store/friends

why you should turn on facebook or not

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