Facebook isn’t as bad as it seems

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Danielle Faber

In a recent post, Ian compiled a list of patterns he observed while conducting interviews for our Social Media Coordinator position. He described a general consensus among social media mavens-to-be. We all loved the Oreo campaign that ran during the Superbowl, we are avid Twitter lovers and users, and overall, the Toronto social media scene is full of up-and-coming thought leaders.

The one observation that I take issue with is our general distaste for Facebook. I must say, I get it. I am one of the applicants that contributed to this observation, but after some more thought on the issue I’d like to retract my previous statement.

As a Social Media Coordinator, I use social networks both personally and professionally. Personally, my Facebook has become my tailored events calendar, hot-or-not list, and search and discover platform for everything from fashion to music to gadgets. Doesn’t that sound awesome?

So with a professional mindset, I want to help create that for our clients. The most effective way to use Facebook as a professional tool is to create content that you would want to consume, whether it be in the form of text, photo, video, or a combination of everything. I was recently in a meeting with one of the UX strategists at Facebook, and he told us that all of the Facebook integration strategies have seen incredible successes. So we see that Facebook can be used as an effective social media marketing tool, and as users we love it but as producers we aren’t as keen. Why? I attribute this to the reasons below:

It used to be free, and now it’s not.

Nobody likes it when you take away their toy, and in order to get it back you have to surrender something else. This is what it felt like when Facebook introduced promoted posts. We had this amazing network with unlimited possibilities, that was free of cost. But, as we all know well, there isn’t much that is free in this world, and access to millions of potential customers and brand advocates is definitely not one of them. Marketers: We must adapt!

It can be complicated.

With exposure to Facebook promoted posts, I have learned that the possibilities are even more vast now than ever before. I have seen these posts reach 5000+ users for only $5 worth of promotion. How you ask? I couldn’t tell you. That is for the growth hackers of our industry to know. Content is our responsibility, and without great content 5000+ sets of eyeballs will reap no reward.

We don’t know what to post.

Each social network has its own distinct purpose. Content must be adapted from one platform to the other, and if we are replicating our content from platform to platform, it just won’t work. Facebook is a visual tool, unlike Twitter which is textual, so creating awesome, aesthetically pleasing content will appease your fans. Facebook is also a great tool for contests, so think of something great to give away, get your designer to make you an awesome graphic, and you should have the start to a Facebook campaign.

Of course, it’s crucial to use Facebook in conjunction with all of your other social networks within a greater marketing strategy to ensure you’re optimizing its value. These obstacles are not meant to be a deterrent from the great Facebook beast, rather a nudge in the right direction to begin using Facebook to its full potential.

Danielle is a Social Media Coordinator at 88 Creative. Follow her on Twitter @DFabes .