agency:2 - how to monetise your Facebook presence

How to monetise your Facebook presenceIt’s clear that social networks are becoming increasingly business minded. This should come as nosurprise. Discussions on the ROI of social media have always been at the forefront of industrydebate. Central to these discussions is how to monetise Facebook.Facebook has always been a platform that has been aware of the commercial possibilities that itoffers – and throughout the last year it has added features that show an understanding of the needsand interests of brands across industries.The emergence of Facebook Deals, Facebook Credits and Facebook Commerce are all evidence ofthe platform’s willingness to offer brands opportunities to monetise their presence on Facebook:Facebook DealsThe launch of Facebook Deals can be seen as part of a growing trend where consumers increasinglyuse their mobiles instead of credit cards. Facebook Deals lets users check in to venues via the Placesfeature on the Facebook mobile app. For example, through Deals, the first 30,000 Facebook users tocheck in at Starbucks stores in the UK could claim a free coffee.In this way, Facebook Deals provides brands and retailers with the opportunity to give fans offersand promotions directly when they Check-In near their store using their phones.The benefits of this for brands are clear: they can use Facebook Deals as a virtual loyalty card orcoupon system. Since its launch in January 2011, it has attracted a host of big name brands, such asthe aforementioned Starbucks, as well as Argos and O2.However, it can also benefit smaller businesses. For many small businesses it has sometimes beendifficult to see the benefits of having a Facebook presence – Deals provides them with a scalable,manageable and low cost way to offer discounts and encourage people to visit their store.STOP PRESS: since this article was first published Facebook has stopped Facebook Deals. "Aftertesting Deals for four months, weve decided to end our Deals product in the coming weeks," thecompany said in a statement.Facebook CommerceThere’s a real feeling among a lot of people in the industry that F-commerce, as it has been named,is the second online commerce revolution. You can now rent films, book plane tickets, makedonations to charities, purchase clothes and even buy Tomato Sauce – all through branded FacebookStore tabs.The rise of F-commerce has transformed Facebook Pages, allowing brands to not only engage withfans but also sell to them. Brands can create a store within a Facebook tab, creating a retailenvironment that never takes the user away from Facebook. This provides a huge captive audiencefor brands.Sept 2011 www.agency2.co.uk 0207 775 5608

Alternatively brands can utilise ‘Facebook-Facilitated On-Site Selling’ which allows them to use asocial plug-in to bring the Facebook experience to their websites. Using Facebook’s Open Graph APIto retrieve the Likes and interests of the user also means brands can tailor their website to the user’sinterests.Facebook CreditsOn July 1st 2011 Facebook Credits became the mandatory virtual currency for buying virtual goods ingames and apps on Facebook. And, even though Facebook seems to be content working at this levelat the moment, the growth potential of Facebook Credits is huge. It has already been used bybrands like the BBC to pay for content.The next step in Facebook Credits growth could be to embed a Buy with Facebook button on everyonline retailers website, so that Credits becomes the currency to be used across the entire web,providing a fully integrated e-commerce solution.Facebook monetisation – the bottom lineMonetising their brand on social spaces is obviously a crucial part of any brand’s business strategy. Italso makes complete sense – it allows you to take your company to where your customers are.There are more than 30 million people on Facebook in the UK alone to tap into (out of a globalpotential of over 700 million). The rise of monetisation opportunities such as Facebook Deals and F-Commerce means that Facebook now provides a tangible difference to a business’ bottom line.Sept 2011 www.agency2.co.uk 0207 775 5608

agency:2 - how to monetise your Facebook presence

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