I stumbled across the top 20 Facebook fan pages article on Inc. and saw “Steve Spangler Science” as the top ranked Facebook page.  I had to investigate. Who is Steve Spangler and why is he so popular?  If you go to Steve Spangler’s Facebook page you are first welcomed with a video. The video shows his science experiments in the community and guest appearances on TV shows, but basically the clip does a great job at saying why you should become fan and explaining what’s in it for you. Steve Spangler has a strategy. He draws people in with a simple video, is clear about the benefits of being his Facebook fan, and regularly monitors and contributes on the page once you’re in. The article mentions that Spangler has even hired a full time employee to do “nothing but listen” to who said what on which social media sites.

Steve Spangler and many other companies have nailed down their Facebook strategy in a way that is relevant to their fans and seeing real results.  SmartPak is tracking referrals from Facebook to their website and is seeing increased revenue as a result of their Facebook page.  Many other pages listed in the article have strategies of their own focusing on customer engagement, brand recognition, product contests, games, etc., with most all of the pages somehow creating an experience where fans can engage and interact with the company.

So I ask, how do your fans experience and interact with you on your Facebook page? And how does your social media presence deliver on your brand promise?

- Evelyn Jones

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The metamorphosis is nearly complete as MySpace evolves from a second-rate social network to the one-of-a-kind “social entertainment” hub.

Remember back when you had two profiles? Why did you delete your MySpace account? After being cold-shouldered for Facebook, MySpace decided it was time to take a hard look in the mirror for answers.

What did a little self-reflection reveal?  The executive team realized it had become too broad in its offering. The golden rule of branding is if you try to be everything to everyone, you’re nothin’ to no one…especially if there’s already an alpha dog doing it better.

Luckily, the devoted users who stuck around pointed the way toward a new need in the market. And MySpace listened.

Hence the creation of a new category called social entertainment. This means they’ve articulated their difference for themselves so they can now deliver more of that value and frame the conversation to say, “Here’s the role we play in the market that no one else can play as well as us.” And the funny thing is…they’ve been delivering a certain degree of social entertainment all along, but just weren’t focusing on it. That’s the best thing about good branding—focus creates strength.

Focus is the real reason it’ll work. The entire company is committed and aligned around their new mission of providing personalized social entertainment with leadership from a bold CEO Mike Jones, creativity from their VP of Design Mike Macadaan, a CMO from Redbull David Donegan supplying the creative marketing, a new focus on user interface, partnerships with Hulu and other entertainment goliaths, and a new logo that exemplifies what they’re all about—personalized freedom of expression.

Check out their cool introductory video. To GenY, MySpace is hip again! Wow, that was a lot faster than acid wash jeans coming back.

- Bianca Abate

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Social networking has just about hit its peak. What I mean by that is, we have reached a point of maximum density for social networks such that new ones popping up are bound to fail. The winners have emerged–Facebook for personal, LinkedIn for business, and Twitter for marketing–and now the focus is turning to how to make every online experience social (wherever you are on the web). It’s placeless social networking or the social web.

Companies need to be thinking about how they engage with users beyond the traditional website to establish and build an ongoing social relationship wherever a user happens to be. The days of brochure-ware have been over for awhile. It’s time to think about what it means to be social–then, build a company-wide strategy that extends beyond having a website, a Facebook page and a LinkedIn profile to how you strategically use human resources, marketing, sales and the web to build social relationships.

–Jen Travis

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Life as a Facebook fan page master can be tough. Learning the functionality and navigating many application choices requires a great deal of patience and gumption because there’s no right or wrong way to manage your page.

There are tons of helpful blogs out there that list helpful apps and tips, but this is not one of them. Instead, I offer help in answering a tougher question that we face:

“If I’m the voice of my organization, what the heck do I post and say?”

The answer lies in:

1. Understanding your audience
2. Using your brand as a filter

Understanding your audience means you know what they like, don’t like and how to add value to them. What makes social media enticing is that it requires people to run it—it can’t be automated. Understanding their needs informs your interactions and builds a human connection behind the corporate entity. How to start? Just listen. Tap into the areas online where your customers and prospects are already hanging out and look for mentions of your org with free tools such as Google Alerts and Addict-o-matic. By listening, you can learn about relevant topics and turn what’s hot into ways people can connect with you.

Using your brand as a filter means that before posting or tagging anything, you weigh its content to make sure it aligns with the brand you’ve created offline. In an ideal world, you already know the whats, hows and whys behind your brand—this is your playbook. Capturing the spirit of your org consistently over time demonstrates your authenticity and builds relationships. An easy way to do this is to think of your org as a person. Does the tone or content match something she would post?

Good luck to all the Facebook fan page masters out there and if you need any help, leave a comment. And for an example, check out www.Facebook.com/ParkerLePla.

- Bianca Abate

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Social networking is, of course, the hot button topic in online marketing.  Low cost / high traffic platforms like Facebook are extremely attractive to brand owners after years of paying for search optimization or fancy media buys.  But Tweeting alone does not an online brand make.  Instead, look at social networking as a part of your larger strategy to acquire and retain customers.

Of course, the first step in social marketing (or really any pursuit) is knowledge:  know your company and how it interacts, and know your customers and how they buy.  If you sell hardware in a residential neighborhood, your networking strategies will be very different from an owner who sells vintage clothing near the university.  Both brick-and-mortars are seeking to drive sales and awareness but their customer demographics, technographics, and buying patterns are widely different.  Consider also that a vintage clothes enthusiast might be more likely than a hammer buyer to see their purchase as making them a part of the store’s community and thus be more inclined to include the business as a part of their online network.

Given that you know who you are and who you serve, the challenge is then to tailor your online presence to build and strengthen your customer relationships not only by providing an integrated brand experience to reiterate your key differentiators but also by creating and delivering greater value for the customer:

In the end, remember that today’s consumers demand authenticity.  Social networking adds an additional level of challenge to that requirement because, online, customers interact directly with your business as if it were one of their Friends.  They are not simply looking for a product or service but instead an experience – and only those businesses that provide such will succeed as social marketers.

– Dan Liska

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Social media yahta-yahta-yahta. I think the last time that the business world was overtaken so completely by one innovation was when computers started appearing on desktops a couple of decades ago. Social media is just as revolutionary and takes just as much planning to make it work for you. But it’s critical because it’s where brand communities are built. And it’s overwhelming.

Most of us don’t have the resources to pull off intricately orchestrated marketing campaigns like Coca-Cola’s Expedition 206 or for a full-time engager like Lee Aase, Mayo Clinic Social Media Manager .

I say, so what! You can do some Internet research on your own to see what’s going on in your market space and what (if anything) is being said about you. You can start a Facebook page and build it up over time. You can join the throngs on Twitter and tweet when there’s something relevant to say. Start with a goal, create a plan and then stick to it. Be realistic about how much resource you can devote—even if it’s only 2 hours a week.

Why now? Because the world isn’t going to come rushing to your door the minute you get engaged. Just like any new friendship, it’s built in phases. First you meet, then you go out for coffee. If there’s chemistry and they find you interesting enough, your new friend might invite you to meet some of their friends…and so it goes. Brand community-building is the same. One-by-one steps that deepen the relationship.

If you don’t get out there now, your competitors will be out there tempting your customers to have coffee with THEM. You’ll have to dive in at some point—so why wait?

Your friend, Beth Woolley

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In the onslaught of social media throughout 2009, one brand stands out more than others because of the social revolution it continues to propel–Facebook. From giving people a place to share their lives or connect with long lost friends and family to giving brands new ways to connect one on one with their customers, Facebook has continued to evolve with the many ways users are using it.

It has embodied the spirit of social media in constant transformation and innovation based on listening. While some can argue its usability or the efficacy of its design, Facebook has listened to these arguments and continues to improve the experience–upgrading its interface ongoingly, adding new features monthly, and making its data more usable for marketers and casual users alike.

And, with its steady growth of users (over 350 million as of this month) and stable retention rates, it has beat out Twitter and MySpace for audience share. My prediction: in the shake out to come in 2010, we will see a very clear distinction between Facebook and Twitter. Facebook will continue to evolve and deepen its relationships with all of its users, as well as become an invaluable data source for brand managers and marketers, while Twitter will solidify its position with companies and thought leaders by providing a valuable public relations and communications channel.

Anybody want to wager?

–Jen Travis

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I’m a member of BEAN, a scrappy young professional network constantly innovating new ways to make a positive difference in the community. We donate our time and effort to engage an often fickle demographic, 25-35 year olds, and as any thrifty club or nonprofit can relate,  it’s often a challenge to get the dollar bills flowing.

This year, we  learned about a local nonprofit called Roses and Rosemary that  supplies medication to HIV-positive orphans in Africa and decided to support their cause. With absolutely no budget, we focused our efforts on a fun event—a bachelor/bachelorette auction. Yes, we put ourselves on the auction block for a good cause and only used the web (because it’s free!) to spread the word.

The results?

We sold out 200 tickets within the first 20 minutes of opening the door and ended up raising $16,000. Not too shabby for $0 in marketing, no fancy ads, no press release—just a group of kids with a fun idea, some excitement and a lap top.

Here were our tactics, which can be easily mimicked by any nonprofit:

1. Created a Facebook event and sent out invites.
2. We each posted the event to our personal profiles periodically and talked it up. (To do this: A. Click the “share” link on the event page. B. Write a comment. C. Click the “share” button)
3. Created fan pages for each bachelor/ette. See our example.
4. Created a landing page with bios to generate excitement.
5. Sent out reminder messages to people who accepted the Facebook event invitation.
6. Posted on other free websites such as IloveSeattle.org, Craigslist, and Twitter.

Kudos to the TGAL committee, Roses and Rosemary and everyone who played a part!

–Bianca Abate

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