Earlier, Facebook applications aimed to increase traffic, gain customers and sales. Now the perception has changed. Facebook applications must be entertaining and informative in order to thrive in the park of social media. Brands that are successful on Facebook have realized this fact.
It has been observed that marketers are not welcomed in social networks. Brands whose sole objective is marketing on Facebook may not be acknowledged and become fail whales. The psychological principal of social proof applies here. A significant number of fans impresses and attracts more fans to connect with your brand. It portrays the impression of an ideal brand they were just looking for.
Here is the latest from few of the competitive brands that are striving to reach the Million benchmark by integrating user-engaging and socializing applications in their fan page.
Papa John’s
Papa John’s is in 2nd place in the top 20 gainers this week chart on Inside Facebook. An increasing shift in its fan base is being observed due to its free medium -sized pizza in exchange of becoming brand’s fan. It is expected that Papa John’s will be reaching the 1 million fan milestone soon.
Outback Steakhouse
A similar strategy similar to Papa John’s is that of Outback Steakhouse, which is also among the Top 20 gainers this week’s chart on InsideFacebook. They are offering free handcrafted Bloomin’ Onion with the purchase of an entree for first 500,000 fans.
Red bull
Red bull is a big brand with already more than 1 million fans on Facebook. I visited its Fan page and came up with this finding of how they have been successful in creating the huge fan base. Though it’s not in the “Top Gainer’s this week’s Chart”, what it is doing to engage their fans with the brand is notable. They have introduced an adventurous application called Red Bull Stash in their fan page.
Here’s how Red Bull is rewarding its fans: Red Bull has hidden thousands of Red Bull energy Shots all over America. Fans have to find the clues on Facebook that lead to these hidden stashes. Those who find them can claim the stash. The winners are even announced on the fan page.
Red Bull has been smart enough to come up with an application that would engage its fans in an entirely new way. They are rewarding their fans for seeking the reward. Red Bull has smartly developed an application that gives its fans what they want.
Key Take Aways:
- Don’t look at Facebook as an advertising channel. Learn to give away for free and measure the intangible benefits. This way you can better develop brand loyalty and can expect your marketing from your fans via Word-of-mouth.
- Penetrate deep into your customer’s psychology and see what application ideas can entice them. Innovate but don’t just come up with newer versions of already popular applications. They are most likely to fail.
- Come up with simple and easy ways to help fans take advantage of the free offers. Keeping them within Facebook is better. If you put a condition of Buy and Get, not many will be attracted to the deal.
After gaining insights into latest activities of brands on Facebook, it has become clear that those that empower their fans to draw in new fans reap the most rewards.
Are you engaging the right people?
