Do Companies Need a Facebook Page?

11 Questions to Ask BEFORE You Set Up Your Brand’s Facebook Fan Page

We’re getting this question a lot these days: “Should our company have a Facebook page?” Everyone else is doing it, right? Or are they?

The answer, like so many “should I have” questions in marketing, is “It depends.” For companies in the public eye, and particularly those with loyal consumer advocates, it tends to make sense. But still…it depends. For what others might consider “stuffy” business-to-business, service-oriented firms, like a life insurance agency, for example, the benefits might seem hard to define. But still…it depends.

Before you knee-jerkedly answer the question yes or no about your company’s prospects on Facebook, ask and answer these questions:

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

1.) Who’s going to care?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Brands like Apple, Coke, Moosejaw or Nike truly have fans. There are brand loyalists and evangelists who feel like they get value simply by associating with their favorite soft drink, computer company or outfitter. They also want something from these brands, which the brand can deliver on. If the brand delivers, the fans are more than willing to be vocal advocates for the brand, amplifying the brand’s message for it. Does your company truly have fans, or is it reasonable to believe that you can make them true fans of your company?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

2.) What are you going to give your fans?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Chris Brogan likens it to bringing wine to a picnic. If you bring wine to a picnic, you’re adding value. If you just show up, you’re adding nothing. Fans will expect something of you, and you need to think about what that thing of value is that you’re going to bring to the party. If you don’t deliver value, you will fail. Keep in mind, “value” is defined by the audience’s perception of the term, not yours.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

3.) Who’s going to manage it?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Managing the Facebook fan page will take time, strategy and resources. Simply creating it, suggesting the fan page to all of your friends once, and hoping for the best is not a strategy for regenerative success. Who will drive the process, and do they have the time and know-how to accomplish whatever objectives you have?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

4.) How often will you engage with your fans?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

You need to identify and outline an engagement schedule. Once you’ve identified the value you’re providing and determine who’s going to provide it, you need to outline a schedule. It needs to be strategic, not reactionary or compulsive. Without this schedule, your efforts will be spotty, and you’ll get fatigued and likely give up.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

5.) Are your fans even on Facebook in the first place?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

We assume, because Facebook is so prominent, that everyone we need to get in front of can be found on Facebook. Not true, especially for those in the B2B world. If the decision maker you need to reach is in the C-suite, reaching them on Facebook might be a challenge.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

6.) What do you hope to get out of it?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Do nothing without clearly defining what success will look like, and map your strategy to achieve it. If you create a Facebook presence with no strategic direction, nothing will happen…or you will have no way of measuring it if it does.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

7.) What happens if you can’t engage?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Most smaller brands see what the big boys are doing and assume it’s as easy as “build-it-they-will-come.” Not so. Let’s assume that Mike’s Tool & Die can’t muster more than the 26 family members who are obliged to accept Mike’s fan page invitation. Then what? Do you have a plan to engage a larger audience? If so, how?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

8.) Are you doing it because everyone else is doing it?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

What’s driving your urge to establish a Facebook fan page? Is it envy? Curiosity? Delusions of grandeur? Doing anything because of a perception that everyone else is doing it is not a strategy; it’s reactive. Do your research. Ask not “Who else is doing it,” but rather, “Who’s doing it well, and how?”

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

9.) How will you measure whether it’s a success?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Clearly define success and establish metrics to measure it. Is it fan count? That tells you little. Is it engagement? Is it traffic to your website? Is it new relationships established? Make your metrics strategic, measurable, attainable, realistic and tangible.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

10.) Is Facebook really the best way to reach your target audiences?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Again, why are you stuck on Facebook in the first place? Think back to what motivated you to consider a Facebook fan page in the first place. Now, pretend Facebook doesn’t exist, and ask how you would reach your audiences in that scenario. Does Facebook still seem like the best way to engage your critical publics?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

11.) Are you comfortable crashing the backyard barbecue?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Facebook isn’t Twitter; and it’s not LinkedIn. If social media in general is the online cocktail party, Facebook is the backyard barbecue. Friends and family gather here. We share rather private things about our personal lives. We share photos of the baby, we air grievances about work, we talk about Jersey Shore, we make plans for the weekend. Just like a family-and-friends party, it’s more relaxed and it’s fun…it’s where we go to get away from the office.

Are you comfortable invading that personal space with a marketing message about business? If so, you’d better be pretty confident that it’s welcome in that forum. Marketing via Facebook can be off-putting to some, annoying to others, and for some, completely damage a relationship and your brand’s reputation.

Again, Budweiser can do it; Starbucks can do it; Adidas can do it.

Can Johnson and Levitt, LLC, Wholesalers and Distribution? Not so sure.