Marketers Are Still Using Facebook Wrong

Marketers Are Still Using Facebook Wrong:

Yet another brand sent me an email this week telling me that if I like it on Facebook, I’ll be entered for the chance to win an iPad. I do like the brand, but not enough to give it access to my Facebook page, which I would like to keep free of random marketing messages from brands. It takes more than the mere possibility of a free iPad or a discount to get me to open a line of communication with a brand online.

The problem is that so many brands are falling into these tactics to target Millennials. It’s lazy, and perhaps even worse, Millennials will ignore it because they see these invitations everywhere. It’s fan interactions that start from disconnected giveaways and random discounts that are making it so difficult to put a value on Facebook fans. The one that follows a brand for the freebies isn’t worth nearly as much as the one that has an actual interest in interacting with the brand.

So how should brands be using Facebook to reach Millennials?

First, the connection should be meaningful. Gaining thousands of followers for the dirt cheap price of $500 (the cost of an iPad) doesn’t mean your brand now has thousands of fans. It means thousands of people want a free iPad or some other enticement. Remember that the primary reason people are on social media is to connect and communicate. Entice fans by giving them sneak peaks of new products and ask how they’d put them to use — a clothing retailer could reveal a forthcoming style and get fans’ reactions on how they’d wear it themselves. Sharing with the brand and other fans lets them feel connected and invested in the brand.

Remember that your brand has a personality — let it come across in communication with your Facebook fans. It helps drive interaction if fans feel like they know who they’re talking to online. Last year, Mountain Dew activated some of its top Facebook fans to choose its new flavor. The fans acted as street teams, devising grassroots activities and getting new fans to vote for which new flavor would hit shelves. New fans had a reason to get involved and like the brand online. It wasn’t a bait and switch — they got exactly what they signed up for: fun, authentic interaction with the brand and its other fans.

Give your fans something useful. Depending on your brand, that could be anything: a little entertainment diversion, tips related to the product category, recipes, creative ways to use the brand, and more. The important thing is to give value in return for a “Like.” That will not only retain fans, but also gain their attention when they see a new post from the brand.

Get the social media interaction right, and your brand won’t need to lure fans with meaningless technology giveaways. Instead, your fan page will be inhabited by actual fans, which is way more important than how many fans your brand has.