Facebook has recently released their Facebook Media page, detailing the best tactics for the brands, publishers and individuals attempting to properly utilize the social media platform for greater user engagement and sensational campaigns. Although this new website will regularly update with additional examples of stellar Facebook usage and general tips, we’ve created a list of the top nine things that anyone with a Facebook page should learn from Facebook Media.
Share Videos
Although it isn’t YouTube or Netflix, over 1 billion videos are watched on Facebook each day, and that alone should give Facebook a high priority for your video sharing campaigns. It’s only natural that you will only upload high quality content, but since Facebook videos play automatically in the News Feed, hopefully you’ve used something particularly eye catching in the clip within its first few moments.
While you have a viewer’s attention, leave a note for them to visit your website, buy your products or see more of your content alongside your videos. Don’t forget to keep watch over how many views your videos have had with Facebook’s Video Insights tool, as the data you can learn about how long viewership was held and how many unique viewers saw the content is invaluable for polishing your campaign.
Example: Pixar’s “Shark Testimonies” Clip from Finding Nemo:
Connect TV & Facebook
Facebook provides a host of application programming interfaces that easily integrate Facebook with your television programming for a seamless interactive experience that drives feedback from your viewership. These API tools can be tuned to Facebook users from certain nations, while collecting and displaying a range of information including the top trends in various categories, the number of times a specific hashtag had been used within a specific period of time and a constant stream of Instagram posts. When it comes to using this data from practical purposes, you are only limited by your creativity- These tools make it much easier to run live polls, contests, Q&A sessions, discuss trending topics among other imaginative uses.
Drive Followers to Your Digital Content. Remember, you really aren’t trying to get people to look at Facebook itself, as much as you want them to become enthusiastic about your own brand via Facebook, so you’ll need to incorporate some clever tactics to drive users to your own digital content. While it might sound redundant, the most successful Facebook marketers post quality images, videos, links and other brilliant content on a regular basis.
Other ways to pull your followers to where you want them the most include tagging other pages in your posts, posting about trending topics, add Facebook Comments to your website to promote conversation and sharing, and adding Live and Share buttons to allow fans to easily share your content on Facebook.
Example: Mobage post driving people to check out Royal Defenders:
Entertain Your Fans
Once you have followers, give them a reason to stick around by sharing exclusive content, sneak-peeks, relevant videos and other entertaining material on a regular basis. Remember to celebrate your fans by mentioning milestones, such as hitting 10,000 followers to remind supporters of how important they truly are.
Example: Interesting exclusive image of two galaxies interacting from NASA:
Learn From Success Stories
What better way to succeed with your Facebook campaigns than to learn from the best? Facebook Media features a host of brands that have knocked it out of the park with their tried and true strategies, such as Pepsi’s “IPL Cricket Tournament” and Donald Trump’s series of #AskTheDonald Video Q&As. We’re excited to see that the website is continuously updated with new tales of creative hit strategies to learn from, and you should be too.
Example an #AskTheDonald video:
Be Yourself
There is a good reason that someone likes you and your Facebook page, it’s because you are you! Not only does everyone appreciates reading posts that are sincere, authentic and casual, the conversational tone of your posts will naturally get people who care to leave a comment. Ask your community questions, and be sure to personally respond to great comments to demonstrate that you care what your followers have to say.
Communicate with followers to give them a sense of community and to show them how much you care. Take in questions from your enthusiasts and answer them in your brand’s voice to show them that you are listening.
Example: Stephen Amell (The guy who plays Green Arrow) posted about his toy collection, along with a reply about buying a vintage doll below:
Use Facebook’s Tools
There are plenty of valuable tools available to you to trace and fine tune your Facebook presence, and it’s up to you to take full advantage of them. For instance, the Page Insights feature collects and organizes a huge amount of data in regards to your Facebook pages, apps and web domains to display exactly which pieces of content are the most effective. If you are an individual influencer, consider the Facebook Mentions app. This tool lets you know when people are talking about you, so you can jump into the conversation and surprise a fan or two. While Facebook itself seems like an all-in-one tool, it’s a good idea to identify yourself with its many precision features.
Best Practices
Not all Facebook users are the same, as the tactics a musician may use to keep audiophiles interested in their latest digital album and how a non-profit group dedicated to stopping the illegal poaching of black rhinoceroses are probably a little different. The Best Practices pages are especially helpful if you need advice for launching a successful Facebook page in a specific field. Facebook Media has dedicated nine specific sections on its blog for different groups to get the most out of their Facebook pages, including journalists, television, government and sports.
Example of a non-profit’s page that goes perfectly with the article:
Don’t be Afraid to Seek Help
If there is a certain aspect of Facebook that isn’t working as you think it should or any other questions that you may have, check the Facebook Media Support page to see if they have your concerns covered in its FAQ section.
With Facebook proudly extending its reach into popular sporting events, news programming, live television, charity drives, award shows and beyond, it is crucial for media brands to learn how to capitalize on charming Facebook’s 1.3 billion users. Although no two pages are the same, just remember to be fun, genuine and thoughtful of your fans to ensure that they will hang on your every Facebook post!
