Facebook
for Business: a primer.
ERIC WEAVER
SOCIAL NETWORKING CONFERENCE
FOR BUSINESS
MAY 15, 2009

You may ask yourself…
 Should my business use social markeJng?
 Should I be markeJng on Facebook?
 Why?
 What kind of page should I create?
 What content should be included?
 Who else is using Facebook for markeJng?

SHOULD MY BUSINESS USE SOCIAL MARKETING?
Social marketing is here to stay
 CONSUMERS ARE DROWNING IN NOISE
 Time and aPenJon starvaJon are rampant
 Your markeJng efforts are fighJng consumer desires to get their
Jme back
 SEARCH ALLOWS CONSUMERS FIND ANYTHING THEY
DESIRE
 For many, markeJng and adverJsing are no longer needed
 So be found, where your consumers are and where relevant.
 TRADITIONAL ADVERTISING AND MARKETING EFFORTS
ARE NOT TRUSTED
 Trust is shaPered, more than ever before
 Peers are the most trusted source for company/product info
 And adverJsers are the least trusted. OUCH.

SHOULD MY BUSINESS USE SOCIAL MARKETING?
Customer engagement beats “communications”
 Economist 2008 survey:
 75% of business execuJves think higher levels of customer
engagement will translate into increased profits.
 49% think inadequate engagement pracJces are to blame
for up to 25% of lost sales.

Your prospects are increasingly social
 Adults having a profile on a social network:
 75% of online adults 18‐24
 57% of online adults 25‐34
 30% of online adults 35‐44
 19% of online adults 45‐54
 10% of online adults 55‐64
 7% of online adults 65+
 More than 1/3 of all online adults say they visit a
social site “daily”
Sources: Pew Internet and American Life Project, 12/08

Social marketing is a good thing.
 Consumers push for complete transparency
 Pure feedback, oeen from brand zealots, drives
quality products that addiJonal consumers want
 Social media can be a great customer service channel
 Consumers control the relaJonship, building trust
 Consumers drive the content and conversaJon (even
more trust)

SHOULD I BE MARKETING ON FACEBOOK?
YES! Facebook is the #1 social destination
 200MM acJve users
 100MM+ log in every day
 66%+ are out of college
 Fastest‐growing demographic: 35+
 People will check out a brand presence
 62% of millenials visited a brand or fan page
 48% of millenials “fanned” or joined
 More than 4MM people “fan” a page each day
SOURCES: Facebook 4/09 stats, Pace University 12/08 study

Why are they frequenting business pages?
 Geing news or product updates (67%)
 Having access to promoJons (64%)
 Viewing or downloading videos/music (41%)
 Submiing opinions (36%)
 ConnecJng with other consumers (33%)
If your business has prospects on Facebook and they
would find any of the above interes@ng, you should build
a business fan page.
SOURCE: Pace University study, 12/08

But do my older customers use Facebook?
 276% GROWTH
INCREASE IN
CONSUMERS
AGED 35‐54
 This demographic
is doubling
roughly every two
months
SOURCE: iStrategy Labs Study, 1/09

What’s the difference between a fan page, a
group and a user proJile?
FAN PAGE GROUP PAGE PROFILE
MulCple profiles per YES, can create up to 200
YES NO
user allowed? groups
YES – visible to search, YES – visible to search,
Search engine visibility NO
and non‐FB members and non‐FB members
Membership size Unlimited fans Unlimited members Capped at 5,000 friends
Can message no more Can’t message all your
Messaging Can message all fans
than 5,000 members friends at once
Updates List (must
Announcements go to: To your inbox N/A
access from profile)
Can add limited apps to
Very limited preset
ApplicaCons Free Page, more to Paid Can add nearly all apps
applicaJons available
Page
Can measure page
Metrics N/A N/A
acJvity through Insights
SOURCE: hPp://slideshare.net/jdstar

Free vs. “partner” brand fan pages
 Free brand pages can only add a limited number of
applicaJons
 Basic photos, videos, events, RSS feed
 Not all applicaJons that work on your personal profile
page will work on your business fan page
 Businesses can “partner” with Facebook to create
highly‐impacpul brand pages
 Typically around $25k‐35k to do a paid partnership
 Buys you heavy specialized branding/skinning, a custom URL
 Also includes ability to do sponsored stories

Pricey. So what can I put on my free Fan Page?
 Event noJces (tradeshows, conferences, specials)
 Custom modules/applicaJons
 RSS feed from your blog (try “Simply RSS” app)
 Videos (product demos, product manager thoughts)
 Photos (from events, company meeJngs, new
product shots)
 Links (to category‐affecJng legislaJon, helpful info)
 Notes (equivalent of mini blog posts)
 Music/audio (if it makes sense)

What’s a custom module?
 Custom modules will allow you do prePy much
anything you would do on a desJnaJon website on
your brand page
 They use FBML (a Facebook‐specific variant of
tradiJonal HTML) and require specialized developers
 Typical cost: $35k‐$60k

Tips for setting up your page
 Do it right the first Cme. The URL, page name and other
data will be set ONCE.
 Add (valuable) content o]en.
 Switch around the modules to keep things interesJng.
 Many apps “say” they can be used on a fan page, but in
reality, can’t. Test applicaJons. Play around. Have fun.
 Set aside some $$$ for traffic building if possible
 FB Social Ads are targeted and cheap.
 Use your own network to drive traffic to your fan page
 Ask friends and family to fan you
 Give it Cme to work. Keep at it. Post the URL elsewhere.

Should I advertise on Facebook?
 Carefully.
 Consumers smell self‐interest a mile away. If you adverJse,
Je in a truly valuable consumer benefit: coupons, exclusive
offers, freebies.
 Social Ads
 Ads appear in the right sidebar
 Approximately 1.2 cents per impression. $50,000 ~ 4.2MM
impressions.
 In reality, the most trusted adverJsing comes from
friends interacJng with your fan page, and their
friends seeing noJficaJons of this acJvity

Some great fan page examples
 INEXPENSIVE PRESENCE
 PCC
hPp://www.facebook.com/pages/PCC‐Natural‐Markets/
21378269505
 MORE EXPENSIVE
 The Economist hPp://www.facebook.com/TheEconomist
 Virgin America hPp://www.facebook.com/VirginAmerica
 BRITA hPp://www.facebook.com/BritaFilterForGood
 PRICEY
 Dove hPp://www.facebook.com/dove

More examples

FINAL THOUGHT: “Who’s got time to tend to all
these social media efforts?”
 Simply, this is the New MarkeJng!
 Think of social markeJng not as an “add‐on”
requiring “extra effort” but as a paradigm change in
the way we do markeJng…a replacement for less
effecJve markeJng channels
 Dedicate some of your spend from tradiJonal
channels to the new ones
 Example: kill one tradeshow presence and dedicate that
spend to an Online Community Manager headcount

Where can I Jind out more?
 APend local Facebook “Developer Garages”
 hPp://wiki.developers.facebook.com/index.php/Current_events
 Facebook Pages Insiders’ Guide
 hPp://www.scribd.com/doc/8718197/Facebook‐Pages‐Insiders‐
Guide
 APend local social media events
 Social Media Club SeaPle
 SeaPle Net Tuesday
 Local impromptu “tweetups”
 University of Washington digital media events

Thank you.
ERIC WEAVER, President
BRAND DIALOGUE
+1 206 905 9328
hPp://twiPer.com/weave
hPp://branddialogue.com