UTILIZING

for BRANDAWA R E NE S S & ENGAGEMENT

FACEBOOK

• FACEBOOK FEATURES

• QUICK FACTS

• WHY INVEST IN FACEBOOK?

• POSTING AND PAGEMANAGEMENT TIPS

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Facebook is the world’s largest and most popular social

network. As of December 31, 2013, it retains a total of

1.23 billion users, with an average of 757 million active

users daily. Facebook’s agenda, as stated by founder

Mark Zuckerburg, is to...

“...give users the

power to share

and make the

world more open

and connected.”

For individual users, your Facebook profile is also known as your Timeline. Based on your privacy and posting settings, past activity—including post, media uploads and shared content— can be viewed by visitors of your profile.

Due to the permanent nature of Facebook, it’s important for page admins to carefully pick and choose what content they decide to share. Facebook profiles and pages present an opportunity for people and brands to tell a social narrative by sharing ideas, news and other content that matter most to them. Your Facebook profile is where social media content strategy lives, visible to most of your online audience.

Timeline

Facebook Pages are public profiles of businesses, brands and companies that enable interaction with the Facebook community. This is where social media meets PR, as companies engage (and control) a social conversation with their fans, customers and/or community.

If you are a Page admin, you’ll notice a wealth of data provided in the Admin Panel just above your Facebook Page. This is the control center of your Facebook Page where admins can access Facebook advertisements and export engagement data. Within the post textbox, admins can schedule posts in advance through the activity log. This feature is handy for a pages that update frequently, such as live-event marketing or news outlets.

NOTE: In March 2014, Facebook announced a redesign of Pages to make navigation easier for admins and visitors. Learn more here.

Pages

Features to ConquerFACEBOOK FEATURES

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Launched in 2010 and then purchased by Facebook in 2012, Instagram is one of the most popular photo and video sharing mobile apps. Instagram continues to gain traction in social media marketing and can be easily incorporated with user profiles or a business page. Several entities use Instagram as a marketing platform, but brands with appealing visual content (such as restaurants, clothing vendors, artist and home decoration) tend to be the most successful with their respective Instagram community.

Quick Stats• 150 million active users

• 60 percent of users are from outside the U.S.

• 16 billion photo shared

• 1.2 billion likes per day

• 55 million average photos shared per day

Instagram

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As the core aspect of the Facebook “Home,” the news feed is a constantly updated collection of posts from pages or people users decided to follow. It monitors activity, trending topics, events and groups. It’s extremely important to curate who you follow in order to manage what content shows on your feed—your user experience depends on it. This is where you can leverage and share outside resources that align with your brand messaging.

Facebook is constantly testing, redesigning and updating its news feed algorithm to optimize content delivery. Recent updates include an emphasis on high-quality content (described as relevant, shareable and engaging), pages to use the native link-share feature when posting a link and increased reach when tagging other pages.

News Feed

Features to ConquerFACEBOOK FEATURES

Again, due to Facebook’s public, permanent characteristics, what users post to their pages or profiles has to be carefully curated in order to tell the story of that personal or commercial brand. However, Facebook Groups offers conversational privacy

within the network. Families, friends or teammates can share updates

within the privacy of the group. This feature is primarily meant for

groups of individual users rather than a business or brand that wants

its activity to be seen.

Facebook Groups

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Quick Facts

Features to ConquerFACEBOOK FEATURES

YEARS OLD

101

BILLION

MOBILE

USERS

AVERAGE TIMEON FACEBOOK

18 MINUTESOF USERSARE 18-29

83%

Hashtags: Use them. Don’t abuse them!

Use the native link-share feature; Facebook recognizes hard content.

Features to ConquerPOSTING AND PAGE MANAGEMENT TIPS

When Facebook changes its News Feed, the organic reach of a Facebook post changes with it. In December 2013, Facebook changed its News Feed algorithm to reflect better, relevant content to its users. In doing so, branded pages took a hit in post visibility and reach. Studies found an average 44 percent decrease in reach among various brand pages, and—without paid advertising—brands could expect to reach only 3 percent of their followers.

This means brands and social admins must invest in quality content, now more than ever, to even register as a blip to their following. Here are a few tips you can do to boost your posts reach:

#

@ Tag other Facebook Pages relative to your post. This can potentially reach both your audience and the tagged page audience.

Stay Active, Reciprocate: Go beyond simply posting your content and like, comment or share

other’s content. This shows transparent community engagement.

Encourage Engagement: As a social coordinator, it’s critical to encourage not just your Facebook following, but also your friends, family and entire company to get involved in your social media activity. Their participation with your Page can give your content the boost it needs to go beyond 3% of your following.

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Frequency: Depending on your marketing goals, consider your posting frequency. Some brands benefit tremendously from posting multiple times per day, while others may be seen as spam.

Leverage Trending Topics: Frequent Facebook’s latest Trending feature to keep your social sense in the now. If you use the right hashtag at the right time, your post might gain the traction it needs.

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has been ranked as the best hospital for cancer treatment and patient care in the U.S. for the past 12 years. Not only is MD Anderson a world-renown

medical institution, but it is also a member of the University of Texas, offering several degree programs for aspiring

medical students.

MD Anderson’s Facebook page is great example of how a large medical institution can have a meaningful, effective

presence on Facebook. With 83,000 likes, the content the communication department decides to posts must cater to

a passionate audience: cancer patients, doctors, students and those whose family and friends are affected by cancer.

MD Anderson’s Facebook content consists of:

• Patient Success Stories

• Community content, patient photos

• Patient Care tips

• Clinic news

• MD Anderson research

• Educational announcements and spotlights

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Features to ConquerS T E L L A R E X A M P L E S O F FACEBOOK BUSINESS PAGES

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MD Anderson’s social community is

educated, concerned and hungry for

information. Posted content (3x per day)

often garners several likes, shares and

enthusiastic, supportive comments. Users

post on MD Anderson’s page to share

their satisfaction, disdain or questions.

This isn’t a brand or business page

motivated by sales. This is a hospital dealing

with life-or-death concerns of

a community.

Because MD Anderson’s content is

helpful to so many people, it has issued

a disclaimer in the about tab outlining

community guidelines. Content and links posted by its community are not endorsed by the hospital. In fact,

community engagement is so high the hospital has to draw a line between official MD Anderson content and

user-generated content.

Features to ConquerS T E L L A R E X A M P L E S O F FACEBOOK BUSINESS PAGES

Peterbilt is of the most recognizable, premium truck manufacturers in the U.S. It offers a variety of

truck models for different occupational purposes and can commonly be seen on highways, construction sites

and logging roads. Peterbilt has an established brand presence in the trucking community, and its Facebook

Page reflects its popularity.

Peterbilt has 51,000 likes, yet only posts an average four to five updates per month, which seems to be an

adequate social strategy for their audience: truckers, truck enthusiast, mechanics and automotive engineers.

The company updates consist of:

• New product features and spotlights

• Company news and events

• Throwback photos of historical, discontinued trucks

• Shared, relative content (Peterbilt featured in outside publications)

• Community engagement (“Good morning Peterbilt Nation!”)

Peterbilt

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Features to ConquerS T E L L A R E X A M P L E S O F FACEBOOK BUSINESS PAGES

The most outstanding social media tactic employed on Peterbilt’s page is an emphasis on images of Peterbilt trucks,

old and new. Images are an easy way to share the company’s historical narrative of truck manufacturing. They are

easily consumed by the Peterbilt audience, thus encouraging engagement and propelling the reach of the post.

Indeed, #ThrowbackThursday can be powerful tool when it comes to social storytelling.

This type of community engagement works well if you have passionate brand advocates who love your product.

It feels like Peterbilt, the company, is reaching out to its followers for a one-on-one conversation, reciprocating

community loyalty with acknowledgement. Imagine if your favorite brand reached out to you? Would you say

hi back? It’s simple, and it works.

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ANOTHER NOTICEABLE PART OF PETERBILT’S STRATEGY IS THE TEXT-ONLY COMMUNITY OUTREACH:

Jive Software is one the most profitable SaaS companies in the U.S. It provides a “social business solution” to large businesses that want to maximize their efficiency through software designed to connect, communicate and collaborate with everyone in the user company.

With 10,000 likes, Jive’s Facebook page

can be commended for employing smart

social media practices. Upon visiting, its

obvious the graphic design team works

in tandem with its social admins. Jive’s

marketing messaging stands out thanks

to well-designed, sponsored graphics

(posted at least once per day). These

graphics usually accompany a link to

Jive’s community blog. However, Jive

noticeably neglects the native link-share

Facebook offers, choosing instead to post

large, attention grabbing visuals and a

shortened hyperlink.

Note: The reach of Jive’s posts could be impaired due to the preference of the larger custom graphic over the native link-share feature. The limited engagement could be a reflection of that decision.

Jive Software

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Features to ConquerS T E L L A R E X A M P L E S O F FACEBOOK BUSINESS PAGES

W H Y I N V E S T I N FAC E B O O K M A R K E T I N G ?

Facebook is the world’s largest social network. Businesses should consider if this is the right channel to reach their target audiences and tap into the platform’s more than 1 billion users.

Transparency is another reason to consider investing time into

marketing via Facebook. A strong presence on this channel shows

visitors and fans your business is active and engaged. Your business’

Facebook behavior reinforces your brand, encouraging trust and

approachability.

Please note, no business should be entirely rooted on Facebook. Diversify your channels. Facebook is just one tool in the digital marketing toolbox!

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