Should Facebook Dominate Your Social Media Strategy?

Facebook has been the place wherein majority of the vast viewers you needed are present. Better have your posts come along with a link and you'll just be surprised with the traffic that you're getting

RT @jaybaer: Should Facebook Dominate Your Social Media Strategy? http://bit.ly/9hgTDY

RT @jaybaer: Should Facebook Dominate Your Social Media Strategy? http://om.ly/rKQd

RT @jaybaer - Should Facebook Dominate Your Social Media Strategy? http://om.ly/rKQd (Good read. Pros and Cons)

RT @benasmith: Intersting post from @jaybaer - Should Facebook Dominate Your Social Media Strategy? http://bit.ly/b0Xt4t

Intersting post from @jaybaer - Should Facebook Dominate Your Social Media Strategy? http://bit.ly/b0Xt4t

RT @jaybaer: Should Facebook Dominate Your Social Media Strategy? http://om.ly/rKQd

RT @jaybaer: Should Facebook Dominate Your Social Media Strategy? http://om.ly/rKQd

RT @jaybaer: Should Facebook Dominate Your Social Media Strategy? http://om.ly/rKQd

RT @jaybaer: Should Facebook Dominate Your Social Media Strategy? http://om.ly/rKQd

Interesting read - RT @jaybaer: Should Facebook Dominate Your #SocialMedia Strategy? http://om.ly/rKQd

RT @impactmax Should Facebook Dominate Your Social Media Strategy | Convince & Convert http://ow.ly/2qulG

Should Facebook Dominate Your Social Media Strategy | Social Media Marketing | Social Media Consulting - Convince & http://bit.ly/16JSdO

Should Facebook Dominate Your Social Media Strategy | Convince & Convert http://ow.ly/2qulG

RT @jaybaer: Should Facebook Dominate Your Social Media Strategy? http://om.ly/rKQd

Dominate is a strong word, but very valid points. RT @jaybaer: Should Facebook Dominate Your Social Media Strategy? http://om.ly/rKQd

@jaybaer: Should @Facebook Dominate Your Social Media Strategy? http://om.ly/rKQd <-- good question!

RT @jaybaer: Should Facebook Dominate Your Social Media Strategy? http://bit.ly/9hgTDY

RT @lissnup: RT @witnessorg: If int'l outcry can keep a woman being stoned, can same get a woman released from prison? http://ht.ly/2gCh ...

Old post but still makes u think when conceptualizing ur SM strategy. Should Facebook Dominate Ur Social Media Strat? http://ow.ly/10Cp8

Should Facebook Dominate Your Social Media Strategy? -- http://bit.ly/7CcSOn

Liked: Should Facebook Dominate Your Social Media Strategy | Social Media ...: 7 Reasons Facebook Could Do.. http://bit.ly/16JSdO

My stats show that when I tweet & update FB status with a link, the FB users spend more time on the site. Numbers that click on the link on a % basis are about the same from both.
[rq=13385,0,blog][/rq]Why Do We Sell The Products We Do?

My stats show that when I tweet & update FB status with a link, the FB users spend more time on the site. Numbers that click on the link on a % basis are about the same from both.
[rq=13385,0,blog][/rq]Why Do We Sell The Products We Do?

Facebook is the greatest of all social mediums for word of mouth use, especially in the age range of 30 to 45 years olds; however, it doesn't give you reallly much area to showcase your business and a lot of people don't get around to getting to the group page often or give you support to go direct to other tools like twitter.

I still believe that a person's "home base" should be their website, with links to all other social networking.

Facebook is the greatest of all social mediums for word of mouth use, especially in the age range of 30 to 45 years olds; however, it doesn't give you reallly much area to showcase your business and a lot of people don't get around to getting to the group page often or give you support to go direct to other tools like twitter.

I still believe that a person's "home base" should be their website, with links to all other social networking.

Facebook should not be a homebase, it's just one tool among many to use. What you gain in a base of people (how accurate is the 200 million number?) you lose in control. You're dependent upon Facebook, and that makes no sense. Consider the number of people and strengths of Facebook versus other formats strategically instead.

Thank you for the great articles and information. You're very helpful and knowledgeable.

Facebook should not be a homebase, it's just one tool among many to use. What you gain in a base of people (how accurate is the 200 million number?) you lose in control. You're dependent upon Facebook, and that makes no sense. Consider the number of people and strengths of Facebook versus other formats strategically instead.

Thank you for the great articles and information. You're very helpful and knowledgeable.

RT @tweetmeme Should Facebook Dominate Your Social Media Strategy (7 reasons why it should, 4 reasons why not) http://bit.ly/41edVW

RT @jlysneReading "Should Facebook Dominate Your Social Media Strategy?" by @jaybaer http://bit.ly/AIaKr Facebook is cool but overrated

Reading "Should Facebook Dominate Your Social Media Strategy?" by @jaybaer http://bit.ly/AIaKr

RT @Don_Crowther: Should Facebook Dominate Your Social Media Strategy? http://ow.ly/2MPv

Fascinating article comparing pros and cons of using a Facebook fan page as your ~ gasp ~ main web page. http://ow.ly/2MPv

RT @Don_Crowther: Should Facebook Dominate Your Social Media Strategy? http://ow.ly/2MPv

If you have the money to advertise on them then you will get your desired audience but if you are thinking of building your friends that will be along one.

Paul U’s last blog post..How to create your own RSS subscriber reminder

Your list of 4 as to the not side of using Facebook as an outpost, are incredibly compelling. While insight is good, the data Facebook provides isn't the best. I also think many companies have too much of a problem activating those fans... that should be the biggest driver, does Facebook facilitate what you're business needs to do to communicate and co-create with your audience. Good stuff, as always :-)

Maria Reyes-McDavis’s last blog post..Marketing Book Review: Me 2.0 by Dan Schawbel

I'm a believer. I wasn't when I joined FB 3 years ago, but I am now.

Instead of doing my usual Google Ads this year I recently implemented a (free!) Facebook campaign for a grassroots movement that already had a 6-year-old web presence and highly active message boards. The results from outreach to my non-message board users was astonishing. It brought my lurkers into the light and gave them a forum that was comfortable for them to openly share.

I also made a Facebook Page that fed into my official pages but featured exclusive pre-release content. It worked out well in generating buzz among the fringe market that normally would have not been reached through my own Constant Contact list or message board member roster.

My Analytics are proving that a significant amount of traffic came through Facebook activity, and the event I was promoting sold out. That's all I was after. Mission accomplished on a shoestring and with a little creative content.

Facebook Username: Modern Phoenix

If you have the money to advertise on them then you will get your desired audience but if you are thinking of building your friends that will be along one.

Paul U’s last blog post..How to create your own RSS subscriber reminder

While I do think that FB is better as an outpost for many corporate sites, it does provide tools for engagement that marketers may not currently have access to on their own website (e.g. discussion forum, etc.). Also, I think sites like FB provide a good testing ground where marketers can 'dip their toe in the water' of more two-way engagement - often without the same restrictions imposed on them by their corporate policies. We have seen situations where successes on FB have made management more open to trying new things.

Your list of 4 as to the not side of using Facebook as an outpost, are incredibly compelling. While insight is good, the data Facebook provides isn't the best. I also think many companies have too much of a problem activating those fans... that should be the biggest driver, does Facebook facilitate what you're business needs to do to communicate and co-create with your audience. Good stuff, as always :-)

Maria Reyes-McDavis’s last blog post..Marketing Book Review: Me 2.0 by Dan Schawbel

I'm a believer. I wasn't when I joined FB 3 years ago, but I am now.

Instead of doing my usual Google Ads this year I recently implemented a (free!) Facebook campaign for a grassroots movement that already had a 6-year-old web presence and highly active message boards. The results from outreach to my non-message board users was astonishing. It brought my lurkers into the light and gave them a forum that was comfortable for them to openly share.

I also made a Facebook Page that fed into my official pages but featured exclusive pre-release content. It worked out well in generating buzz among the fringe market that normally would have not been reached through my own Constant Contact list or message board member roster.

My Analytics are proving that a significant amount of traffic came through Facebook activity, and the event I was promoting sold out. That's all I was after. Mission accomplished on a shoestring and with a little creative content.

Facebook Username: Modern Phoenix

@Will Good point about being able to modify pages using FBML. The tab landing pages is a good idea, too.

@Chuck Absolutely. You would think FB would be considering some sort of SEO love at some point?

@charles Thanks for the clarification on fanning showing up in the news feed. I'll tweak the post.

@stefan I agree. Whether or not Facebook is the answer, corporate Web sites are going to have to change. It's going to be about atomized content.

@Katie Hi there. Great to see you. Thanks as always for the comment. That sounds like a cool app. I'll check it out.

@Jennifer Thanks for the link. Good stuff. I also love how Ben & Jerrys is allowing for flavor voting via Facebook Connect. Awesome.

@Matt Indeed. I don't think Facebook is the long term answer, for the reasons I've illustrated here. But it's increasingly a big part of the puzzle, if nothing else because you have an audience of 200 million people. Your corporate Web site doesn't.

@Ari Thanks as always for stopping by. Really interesting point about Facebook bans in the workplace. I hadn't thought about that angle, and I'm going to add it to the post. In terms of having to have a FB account to interact, that one doesn't bother me as much, given that 200+ million people have a FB account. Of course not everyone has a FB account, but a lot do and it's an easy, inexpensive way to handle brand interaction.

@Stems Thanks for the clarification on FB vanity URL pricing. I've amended the post.

@Stuart I agree. I like Facebook as an adjunct to your corporate site (like what H&M; is doing) more than I like it as the whole shebang.

@Owen You could very well be correct. Facebook could face defections and end up being the next Second Life. I'd bet against that happening, but you never know. Yahoo once dominated search....

@Paul Hooray. You are 1000% correct. Exactly the point of my "activate customers, don't collect them" post that's linked from the original post. You gotta have a strategy, regardless of where/what your home base may be.

@Cyndee Thank you for the excellent comment. I hear you, the hurdles for using FB as a home base are not that challenging operationally. It's just scary, and in many ways the comments here have painted a better case for the negatives than I did.

As William beat me to it but Facebook does do some vanity urls but only with REALLY big campaigns or companies. As for us normal people we get shafted, and there's not even any link juice in the urls or pages either... maybe someday they'll make a big SEO move like twitter did? Maaaybeee

Good post Jason, but I think you're calling it for Facebook too early.

One major additional downside of Facebook is the lack of tools for Community Management. Not being able to assign roles and rights to community members, an inability to set taxonomy and keep a community in order is a major issue.

Perhaps for cool global high-engagement brands like Coke or H&M it's OK to ignore the role of a Community Manager, but for the majority of firms building engaging communities, it's not enough to turn up at a popular place like facebook and hope fans will notice you and engage.

Too many firms jump into Social Media thinking it's about technology or being where the mass market resides. Our experience at FreshNetworks suggests that for all but the most cool brands, community engagement has to be worked at. And good Community Management is the key. Sadly Facebook does not yet give the kind of community management tools required by most brands.

Charlie

While I do think that FB is better as an outpost for many corporate sites, it does provide tools for engagement that marketers may not currently have access to on their own website (e.g. discussion forum, etc.). Also, I think sites like FB provide a good testing ground where marketers can 'dip their toe in the water' of more two-way engagement - often without the same restrictions imposed on them by their corporate policies. We have seen situations where successes on FB have made management more open to trying new things.

Great post Jason!

In the why not to use FB section a couple of comments:

If you know FBML (Facebook's version of HTML) or just regular, there are a few options for developers/designers to customize the look of a business page. It still fits within a tab, but if you're creative you can do a relatively good job with making the page look more like your web site. Also, you can specify a default tab for new fans to land on, so rather than seeing the wall they can land on this more "designed" page

And to the URL point - yes, this is a major pain. Site redirects work well (www.mycompany.com/facebook) for now, but FB seems to be rolling out vanity urls to companies too. There are a few already for more popular "brands" www.facebook.com/barackobama or http://www.facebook.com/dell

Ouch! When you consider many businesses and government agencies ban or outright block access to facebook.com, I'd argue a FB page as the home base is a very bad strategy.

Moreover, when you further consider I need a FB account to interact with you, it's a double whammy.

Ari Herzog’s last blog post..Guest Post by Mark Havenner: How to Cure Twitter Block

@Will Good point about being able to modify pages using FBML. The tab landing pages is a good idea, too.

@Chuck Absolutely. You would think FB would be considering some sort of SEO love at some point?

@charles Thanks for the clarification on fanning showing up in the news feed. I'll tweak the post.

@stefan I agree. Whether or not Facebook is the answer, corporate Web sites are going to have to change. It's going to be about atomized content.

@Katie Hi there. Great to see you. Thanks as always for the comment. That sounds like a cool app. I'll check it out.

@Jennifer Thanks for the link. Good stuff. I also love how Ben & Jerrys is allowing for flavor voting via Facebook Connect. Awesome.

@Matt Indeed. I don't think Facebook is the long term answer, for the reasons I've illustrated here. But it's increasingly a big part of the puzzle, if nothing else because you have an audience of 200 million people. Your corporate Web site doesn't.

@Ari Thanks as always for stopping by. Really interesting point about Facebook bans in the workplace. I hadn't thought about that angle, and I'm going to add it to the post. In terms of having to have a FB account to interact, that one doesn't bother me as much, given that 200+ million people have a FB account. Of course not everyone has a FB account, but a lot do and it's an easy, inexpensive way to handle brand interaction.

@Stems Thanks for the clarification on FB vanity URL pricing. I've amended the post.

@Stuart I agree. I like Facebook as an adjunct to your corporate site (like what H&M is doing) more than I like it as the whole shebang.

@Owen You could very well be correct. Facebook could face defections and end up being the next Second Life. I'd bet against that happening, but you never know. Yahoo once dominated search....

@Paul Hooray. You are 1000% correct. Exactly the point of my "activate customers, don't collect them" post that's linked from the original post. You gotta have a strategy, regardless of where/what your home base may be.

@Cyndee Thank you for the excellent comment. I hear you, the hurdles for using FB as a home base are not that challenging operationally. It's just scary, and in many ways the comments here have painted a better case for the negatives than I did.

I think something should, but I don't think it should be Facebook. I've referred to it as a social hub, and since most dot coms are simply online brochures, its easier to simply turn to Facebook. However, I'm not sure this is a good long-term strategy.

But something should be a social hub. And you're right, programmers and art directors should shudder if more brands pick Facebook.

Matt Hames’s last blog post..Will social media open us up to new ideas?

Great post, Jason. Thanks! I think that, as H&M has shown, it's possible to use FB in conjunction with a blog or Web site to create a strong crossover presence but it shouldn't 'dominate," per se.

Another great article that contains additional tips on how to optimize your brand's FB presence (concurs w/your vanity URL workaround): http://mashable.com/2009/04/01/optimize-facebook-p....