There are 500 million fans on Facebook. Unfortunately, for marketers, interacting with brands is low on their list of reasons to be on the site. That hasn't stopped marketers from targeting them - or from making mistakes as they do so. A new study by ExactTarget, Facebook X-Factors, suggests companies rethink their approach to Facebook marketing - or at least reconsider why their customers are on Facebook in the first place. Oftentimes, when a marketing campaign on Facebook fails it is because a company did one or more of the following:
It didn't figure out why their customers are following them on Facebook. It is highly likely that most consumers that have "fanned" a brand is not interested in receiving marketing communications. In fact, ExactTarget points out in its report, a previous study from the company found that 70% of consumers who "fanned" a brand on Facebook didn’t feel they’d given this company permission to market to them. Instead, they did it to express their personal endorsements and approvals of companies with other Facebook friends. Only 31% of consumers become fans to get freebies or giveaways and 25% to receive sale notification.
It didn't make it fun. Consumers linger on Facebook because, simply put, it is fun. In fact, 30% of consumers think of it as a guilty pleasure much like the secret pint of ice cream in the freezer, and 31% say they must monitor the time they spend online because it is addicting, ExactTarget says. "One participant shared, 'I got to the point where I was neglecting my 'real' life in order to play these games. Why? It killed time, and put me in a place where nothing mattered and no one judged me. It was like an alternate life.'"
It approached Facebook as though it were another search channel. Consumers know how to use search to find information, ExactTarget says. They don't go to Facebook looking for something specific. Rather, what appeals to Facebook users is its serendipitous quality. "Its greatest strength as a marketing channel results when consumers discover things they didn't set out to find in the first place." Friends' recommendations, for that reason, are particularly valuable, ExactTarget said. The "endless connections that make up social communities like Facebook provide an opportunity for viral marketing to be unleashed, and this can be a powerful way for marketers to increase their brand awareness - even when consumers aren’t consciously looking for brand messages."
It wasn't useful. Consumers are less tolerant of brand messages on Facebook than most other channels. That is because they are afraid such messaging will crowd out wall posts from their friends and family. "If the conversations marketers initiate aren't perceived as valuable - offering entertainment, novelty, or worthwhile monetary incentives - consumers tend to give marketers the boot to save precious space on their Facebook walls." Hence, consumers are even less tolerant of irrelevant Facebook messages than they are about irrelevant emails or Tweets.
