As we reach the point where every Fortune 1,000 brand has a Facebook Page under management, we’re also reaching the point where ROI and differentiation become a must. Moving forward, to achieve success and drive ROI, brands have to focus on developing more compelling consumer experiences that align consumer goals to the brand’s business objectives and direct consumers through an experience funnel that ends in the desired brand action.
Say you are managing a brand that has both a corporate and a localized presence and you are planning to roll out a directory on your Facebook Page. Yes, you want to ensure that the look and feel are on brand, that the interface is seamlessly integrated into the Facebook experience and easy to navigate, and that you have unique interactive components to keep consumers continually engaged and sharing. But what happens after the consumer has navigated through the directory and found what they wanted? Have you given the consumer the opportunity to execute on their findings? Do you have the appropriate Call To Action in place at the appropriate time? Is there a “contact us,” a “make an appointment,” or an “add to cart”? If not, you’re miss-aligning goals and providing partial value to both your brand and the consumer, and possibly even causing aggravation if the consumer has to complete additional steps outside of their environment of choice.
As Facebook becomes saturated with brands, two things will happen:
- Like billboard advertisements that contribute to noise and get tuned out by the consumer, the prevalence of campaigns and consumer experiences that do not present value to consumers will increase.
- Smart marketers will evolve to develop well planned out campaigns and richer consumer experiences that fully align consumer and brand goals.
It will be the latter of the two groups, the marketers that learn how to effectively present true and full value to the consumer, that will rise to the top and cut through the clutter to gain traction and achieve tangible business results within Facebook and other social channels. Which camp are you in?
So, how does this all get done effectively? When designing social engagements, ensure that your concept takes into account not only the end goal of the brand, but also the wants and needs of the consumer, and ensure to align the goals into a mutually beneficial consumer experience. For example: Don’t just let consumers browse through reviews of vacation destinations; enable them to book a trip and incentivize them to do so. Don’t just let consumers take a virtual test-drive of your new model; let them contact their closest dealership to set up an appointment for a real test drive and again provide a compelling reason for the consumer to do this. Don’t just let users leaf through your digital weekly circular for deals; let them add items to a shopping cart or printable shopping list and give them motivation to do so. To deliver compelling executions you will need to develop or find a partner firm with the following competencies:
- An intricate understanding of how consumers operate within various social platforms
- Expert knowledge in the development and integration of social technologies
- A creative process that considers the intricacies of the technical aspects of the campaign in the initial development of the “big idea”
Marketers will dramatically increase the success and long term viability of their social marketing programs when the brand’s campaign objectives align to provide utility to consumers, and the consumer experience is developed to funnel consumers into taking mutually desired actions at the right times in the right places of the consumer experience funnel.
