Facebook Tactics And Underlying Strategy

During the holiday season – or really any time – it’s all too easy for marketers to try and think with a “bulk” mentality.

That’s the kind way of saying “throw s@#$ on the wall and see what sticks.”

Now, I would never be the pot calling the kettle black and denounce the occasional (or frequent) aggressive trick here and there. But these are tactics – and tactics change all the time as the game changes.

Here’s the thing – the “internet” is a living, growing thing. Marketing online TODAY isn’t the same as it was in 2005, 2008, or even 2010. It isn’t really the same as it was in January, 2011. Sometimes the changes are small and sometimes they are seismic. But change – in every form – is the norm.

So let’s think about Facebook. It’s pretty big. It’s not Google. In fact, it’s the polar opposite of what Google is.

Facebook is about engagement. It’s a massive Starbucks where dweebs and non-dweebs alike get together and find people they forgot they knew, share photos of their cat, and regret adding their mother to their friends list. So at some level FB is about:

1. sharing
2. associating

OK, let’s pretend you think marketing on Facebook is a smart idea. Now, over the past few years there have been lots of tactics on how to pimp CPA offers, get penny ads and the like. But let’s take a step back and try and think of a STRATEGY that’ll (a) last; and (b) still let us play with some aggressive tactics if we want.

The secret is to think about why people are on Facebook – to share, and to associate. And that gives us a super simple tactic (and overall strategy) we can implement:

• Create something that people can associate with (aka “Like”) – a fan page about a brand for example.
• Deliver content of interest to this mini-tribe on a regular basis to engage them. Do NOT sell.
• Eventually, incent them (aka bribe them) to take a small action with you
• Make money from those that give you that first “small yes”

I know, I know, this is still a little too abstract. Here’s an example:

Create a fan page around Tiffany Jewelry. Use advertising and posting on other fan pages to get “Likes.” Delivery content on the fan page’s wall about celebrity sitings wearing Tiffany, old stories of famous Tiffany jewelry, sales and special offers, etc.

Not this Tiffany! The jeweler...

Now create a super bribe like a content give away of a Tiffany bracelet in exchange for people to take action – that could be join your mailing list, etc. Or you can just give them a super ninja lead magnet. NOW you start to gently market to them – or not so gentle depending on the time of the seasons and the type of audience you’ve cultivated.

And of course, you’re not just marketing “Tiffany” to them. Once they take a small action with you past the initial “Like” you can market adjacent products to the same woman oogling that Tiffany necklace she saw in the display window at Tysons Corner.