360° Digital Influence
Facebook Bootcamp for PR:
How to Use Social Networks in Communications to
Build Brand and Buzz for Less
April 2009

Agenda
01 The Facebook Landscape + 5 Reasons to be There
02 Building Your Strategy
03 Engaging Your Community
04 Action!
05 Adding Scale & Impact
06 Measuring Success
07 5 Facebook Trends to Watch
08 What NOT to Do
09 How-to Resources
10 Additional Reading

The Facebook Landscape + 5 Reasons to be There

What is Facebook?
From Facebook’s “About” Page:
“Facebook is a social utility that helps people communicate
more efficiently with their friends, family and coworkers.
The company develops technologies that facilitate the sharing
of information through the social graph, the digital mapping
of people's real-world social connections. Anyone can sign
up for Facebook and interact with the people they know in a
trusted environment.”

“Most brands tend to want their presence to be all about
them - as if Facebook were no different from a billboard or
television ad. Smart brands overcome this temptation-
providing them something useful that can tie into how
they use Facebook to share with friends.”
-Kevin Barenblat, Context Optional

How are People Using Facebook?
• 200 million active users worldwide
• 30% of users are from the US
• 2nd most visited web site in the world
• 850 million photos, 7 million videos, and 28 million pieces of
content are uploaded each month
• More than 95% of Facebook members have used at least one
application built on Facebook Platform
• More than 4 million users become fans of Pages each day

5 Reasons for Your Brand to be on Facebook
1. Grow a brand community of loyalists and advocates
2. Extend your brand into the social life of your customers
3. Extend the relevant reach of your communications
4. Build reputation and trust via conversations
5. Build brand preference, loyalty and action through relevant
engagement

Building Your Strategy

4 Elements of a Successful Facebook Strategy
ENGAGEMENT DRIVING ACTION SCALE & IMPACT MEASURING ROI
• Find and engage • Provide applications • Leverage offline • Reach
existing fans that enlist events
- Fans
ambassadors
• Define and engage • Advertise through
- Mentions
target communities • Provide applications existing media
• Engagement
that drive purchases
• Host discussions and • Incorporate
or donations - Discussions, content,
provide useful targeted advertising
reviews, and posts
resources • Provide coupons to
• Add your social Web
track purchases • Action
• Invite fans to upload links to your brand
content • Hosts contests with Web site - Contest entries
opt-ins for further
• Provide branded • Use Facebook
- Coupons redeemed
contact
digital goods advertising to
- Purchases driven
• Post to drive links to promote your
alternative sites application(s) - Web traffic driven
-Application users



Developing a Strategy
5 ways to a rapid-start strategy in Facebook:
1. Find existing conversations, fans, groups, and events around your
brand.
2. Search related fan pages, groups, and events for positive mentions
of your brand or your competitors.
3. Find out what your competitors are doing on Facebook.
4. Test some of the most popular brand pages and applications on your
profile and add some of your own interest.
5. Look into real conversations to define key words relevant to your
brand, product category, and target audience.

Your Facebook Strategy Checklist
Complete this checklist of questions to build a successful Facebook strategy for your brand
before you jump in.
 What is the engagement value: what can you offer people that they will find
valuable?
 Are you ready to respond to your customers and encourage them to talk
about your brand?
 Are you ready to make a commitment beyond a campaign?
 How will your other marcom strategies integrate with Facebook?
 What assets - tools and content – can you leverage?
 Do you have your company behind you and resources available?
 How will you measure success?

Facebook Strategy: Tool Box
Facebook offers an ever-expanding array of tools for brands to connect with fans
• Brand pages
A Facebook Page is a public profile that enables you to share your business and products with
Facebook users. Pages are similar to personal profiles and brands accumulate fans instead of
friends. Within pages you have the option of posting and collecting content, importing Twitter
and blog feeds, collecting user reviews, and hosting discussions.
• Applications
An application is a platform for developers which provides a framework to build tools which
Facebook users can add to their profile. Applications range from chat to games to mobile.
• Events
A Facebook event page allows you to organize Facebook users to meet up offline or virtually
around your brand’s celebrations or special promotions. This a great way to mobilize fans to
action and integrate your traditional events or campaigns into your Facebook presence.
• Connect/Share
Facebook Connect and Facebook Share are additions to your brand’s existing web site or blog
which allow you to integrate their Facebook presence with other online media. Facebook
Connect is an open identifier which allows users to take their Facebook profile with them when
they shop, comment, or browse on other web sites.
• Advertising
Facebook offers banner advertising which can target age, gender, location, relationship status
and interest, or music and lifestyle interests.

Tool Box: Brandpages
Your brandpage is the foundation of your Facebook Where to start:
presence and the beginning of your connection with Logo or photo
•
fans. Like any relationship it requires prolonged
Brand information
attention, perceived value, and respect for anyone •
who calls themselves a “fan.” Contact information
•
Terms of use
•
Customizable tabs
•
Additional content:
Facebook only coupons
•
Blogs and RSS Feeds
•
Twitter feeds
•
Reviews
•
Photos and video
•
Online and offline events
•
Discussion boards
•
Digital goodies
•

Tool Box: Brandpage Optimization
1. Create the perfect profile picture.
2. Optimize your share preview.
3. Display different content for fans and non-fans.
4. Create your own vanity URL.
5. Define a publish schedule for
your content.

Tool Box: Targeted advertising
Targeted advertising on its own can help you raise
awareness of your brand among specific consumer
groups, let current fans know you’re out there, and
support new events and applications.
Advertising can be targeted based on:
Age
•
Sex
•
Interests, employment
Hometown
•
Current location
•
Marital status
•
Sexual orientation
•
Age, sex
Employer
•
Job title
•
Education level
•
Key words
•
Huh????
Groups and interests
•

Tool Box: Applications
A branded application provides your fans a new way Popular application functions:
to interact with your brand and share it with friends. Games (solo and group)
•
A good application somehow reflects the personality
Quiz/trivia
of your brand and it must be engaging to your fans •
so they want to share it. Virtual gifts
•
Badges displayed on the
•
profile
Embedded content
•
Constantly refreshed data
•

Tool Box: Events
A Facebook events page allows you to organize Possible events:
Facebook users to meet up offline or virtually around Product sneak preview
•
your brand’s celebrations or special programs. This a
Social media blog summits
great way to mobilize fans to action and integrate •
or tweet ups
your traditional events or campaigns into your
Facebook presence. Special sales and
•
promotions
Conferences
•

Tool Box: Facebook Connect
Add Facebook Connect to:
Facebook Connect is an OpenID that allows users to
take their Facebook presence with them online. Customers commenting on your blog
•
Users can connect their profile information with Customers posting reviews
•
your site, find friends who are also using your site,
Customers adding or viewing content
and publish their activity on your site in their •
on your site
newsfeed.
Customers networks or discussing on
•
your site

Engaging Your Community

Engaging Your Community
You’ve built a strategy and a presence. Now what?
“Brands should think of themselves as a guest at a
party. Bring something fun, listen, have an interesting
opening line and engage in a relevant conversation.”
-Mike Hoefflinger, Director of Brand Product Marketing, Facebook

Engaging Your Community
5 ways to engage your Facebook community:
1. Reach out to current brand fans.
2. Define target audiences of existing communities who would be
interested in your brand.
3. Host discussions around your customers’ interests.
4. Invite fans to upload video and photo content.
5. Provide fans with branded digital goods.

Engaging Your Community
1. Identify existing communities…
2. Define target audiences

Engaging Your Community
3. Host a discussion

Engaging Your Community
4. Invite Fans to Upload Content

Engaging Your Community
5. Provide Branded Digital Goods

Action!

Action!
“There must be a call to action or reason for
Facebook users to engage with the brand – there
must be something remarkable.”
-Kristin Foster, Ogilvy Digital Strategist

Action!
5 ways to activate your Facebook community:
1. Provide coupons and special offers driving offline purchases
2. Offer applications that enlist you as an advocate or ambassador
3. Offer applications that help fans buy your product or donate funds.
4. Post wall messages or design applications and contests that drive
users to a conversion web site.
5. Contests with opt-ins for future direct contact

Action!
1. Coupons and special offers

Action!
2. Applications that enlist you

Action!
3. Purchasing/donating made easy

Action!
4. Driving to conversion web sites

Action!
5. Host a contest with an opt-in

Adding Scale & Impact

“Brands can simplify their efforts and overcome
perceived hurdles of complexity by viewing their
Facebook program as an integral part of their
marketing communications plan.”
- Mike Hoefflinger, Director of Brand Product Marketing, Facebook

Adding Scale & Impact
5 ways to increase the scale and impact of your program:
1. Utilize social ads & targeted advertising within Facebook to reach
users in specific locations, interest groups, or age ranges.
2. Use Facebook advertising to promote your Facebook event,
contests, application(s)
3. Leverage your existing media presence to drive traffic to your
Facebook page
4. Add your social Web links (including Facebook) to your brand
Web site
5. Highlight your Facebook presence at offline events

Adding Scale & Impact
1. Utilize targeted advertising

Adding Scale & Impact
2. Use Facebook advertising to
promote your Facebook event,
contest, or application(s)

Adding Scale & Impact
3. Leverage existing media

Adding Scale & Impact
4. Add your social Web links to
your brand Web site

Adding Scale & Impact
5. Use offline events to drive awareness

Measuring Success

“Successful brands establish
success metrics prior to beginning
any campaign.”
-Kevin Barenblat, Context Optional

Measuring Success
• Number of fans for brandpages
• Number of brand mentions on walls
• Number of news updates x fans
• Ad impressions
Reach
• Number of discussion topics
• Number of wall posts on brandpage
• Number of wallposts (measured by Lexicon)
• Number and tone of reviews posted
Engagement • Amount of content or offers shared
• Video views
• Click through rates for advertisements
• Number of contest entries
• Number of applications downloaded
• Offline actions driven by coupons or special offers
• Web traffic generated
Action

Measuring Success
Travel Channel’s Kidnap! Application:
9 million users, 3 million monthly users
Drives 50k-70k users to TravelChannel.com daily

Measuring Success
Ben & Jerry’s Election Day:
Over 250k people responding “yes”
Facebook fans grew to 300k during the event
promotion (currently 496k)

Measuring Success
 Lexicon
Free Cone Day,
April 16, 2008
Election Day,
November 4, 2008

Measuring Success
Chase Bank:
Chase +1 specifically targets the college demographic
with a Facebook program for sharing points with
friends and donating to charity
Almost 50k fans, mostly card holders

Measuring Success
If you have purchased targeted advertising, your Facebook Insights account will
show you the most up-to-date information updated every full hour.
Here are some of the important metrics you can chart about your ad campaign over
the past day, week, or month:
• Responder Demographics- This report will give you more information about
the users who are viewing or taking action on your ads.
• Advertising Performance- This report will give you information about your ads'
performance in terms of impressions, clicks, click-through rates, etc.
• Click-through rates- The CTR for an ad is calculated as the number of clicks the
ad received divided by the number of impressions (times the ad was shown on the
site) in the given time period.
• Social click-through rates- The click through rate for ads with social actions
attached to them. It is calculated as the number of \"social clicks\" divided by the
total number of \"social impressions\".

5 Facebook Trends to Watch

5 Trends to Watch: Shifting Demographics
Over 4 million more US
•
women 35-44 and nearly 3
million more US men 35-44
used Facebook in March
2009 compared to
September 2008.
The fastest growing age
•
segment is women over age
55: 142% growth between
February and April 2009.

5 Trends to Watch: Facebook Connect
Platforms:
•
– Your website
– Your blog
– Your iPhone application
Uses:
•
– Seamlessly \"connect\" their Facebook
account and information with your site
– Connect and find their friends who also use
your site
– Share information and actions on your site
with their friends on Facebook

5 Trends to Watch: Mobile Social Networking
Facebook had 20 million
•
unique viewers per month
accessing Facebook mobile
platforms.
By 2010 mobile social
•
network users worldwide
are expected to reach 369
million.
As of March 2009, users can
•
instantly sign up to become
brand fans through SMS.

5 Trends to Watch: Gift Monetization
November 2008 Facebook switches
•
the cash value of gift for credits.
$1.00= 100 credits.
April 2009: Facebook begins
•
testing an option to give friends
credits as social capital.
Currently, brands can sell virtual
•
gifts for 100-200 credits.
In the future, people may be able
•
to exchange credits for an
expanding array of Facebook
items.

5 Trends to Watch: Location, location, location
As mobile social networks grow along
•
with the spread of mobile technology,
Facebook is beginning to see location-
based applications that help friends
meet-up offline.
Maps are a new and innovative way to
•
connect consumers to your brand and
drive purchases.
“Geography is about everything that is (literally)
close to consumers, and it's a universally familiar
method of organizing, finding and tracking relevant
information on objects, events and people… from in-
car navigation to iPhones, the sky is the limit.”
- January 2009, TrendWatching.com

What NOT to Do

Facebook Don’ts
DON’T filter your fans reviews or content simply to protect your messaging.
•
DON’T spam fans with messages or invitations to their inboxes.
•
DON’T violate Facebook’s Terms of Service.
•
DON’T ignore unofficial fan pages or groups.
•
DON’T alienate unofficial fan pages or groups.
•
DON’T abandon your fans.
•
DON’T let your PR agency run your page. Authenticity counts.
•
DON’T be afraid of negative comments.
•
DON’T leave negative or inflamatory comments unresponded to.
•
DON’T engage in practices you would never consider outside of Facebook.
•
DON’T forget about existing content you can repurpose
•

How To: Resources to Implement Your Strategy

Additional Resources
How to…
Create a brand page: http://tinyurl.com/create-a-brand-page
•
Optimize your brand page: http://tinyurl.com/optimize-a-brand-page
•
Learn about advertising pricing and FAQ: http://tinyurl.com/Facebook-ad-FAQs
•
Buy targeted advertising: http://tinyurl.com/buy-facebook-ads
•
Create an application: http://tinyurl.com/build-facebook-apps
•
Add Facebook Connect to your blog: http://tinyurl.com/add-facebook-connect
•
Search on Lexicon: http://www.facebook.com/lexicon/
•
Brainstorm keywords using Google’s Keyword Tool:
•
http://tinyurl.com/Googles-key-word-tool

Recommended Reading
The Facebook Blog: http://blog.facebook.com/
•
Mashable: http://mashable.com/
•
Inside Facebook: http://www.insidefacebook.com/
•
Facebook’s Developer’s Wiki: http://wiki.developers.facebook.com/index.php/Main_Page
•
Full Interview with Kevin Barenblat: http://tinyurl.com/Kevin-Barenblat-Interview
•
Full Interview with Mike Hoefflinger : http://tinyurl.com/Mike-Hoefflinger-Interview
•
Full Interview with Kristin Foster: http://blog.ogilvypr.com/
•
The Daily Influence: http://thedailyinfluence.com/
•

CONTACT
John H. Bell
Managing Director | 360° Digital Influence
Ogilvy
p 202.729.4166
e john.bell@ogilvypr.com
blog: http://johnbell.typepad.com
Nicole Landguth
Digital Strategist | 360° Digital Influence
Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
p 202.729.4247
e nicole.landguth@ogilvypr.com
twitter: http://twitter.com/wondrgirl