The basis of any campaign or marketing strategy based on Facebook obviously goes through the identification of the needs of users and our potential contact market, so creating a transparent, committed, useful, enjoyable space that adds value to the promotional proposal is the appropriate strategy.But how do you know exactly what people are looking for on Facebook or what reasons make someone become a fan of a brand?Both are common questions asked not only by online marketers, Community Managers, and senior managers. Any individual who is considering or has started a personal venture and who considers Facebook as a promotional platform or any SME that is trying to increase their market share also becomes it is simply the value of information. Like market trends and fan preferences, they are dynamic processes over time and they change according to the degree of consolidation of Facebook as a platform for contact between people and them with products and / or services, so let’s analyze information on the preferences of users on Facebook and most importantly; what they want, seek and expect from brands in their relationships with their consumers These data published by the prestigious publication eMarketer give us an idea of this, also providing data from 2010 and 2011, so we can clearly see the dynamics of the process and the mutation of preferences.
Fans of brands on Facebook seek benefits and information
From the results of the survey conducted in 2010, we found that 25% of the participants indicated that the main reason for being a fan of a brand on Facebook was to have access to promotions and discounts, compared to 8% who did it just to obtain more information about the brand and its products, while the 2011 data indicates that the greatest motivations of people to belong to the community of a brand is with a significant 62% – it is that of receive the latest news and information published directly, followed by a no less important 61% who do so for being aware of new products. change in trend between 2010 and 2011, there may be many reasons apart from the natural maturation process of the social network and of the people who interact, but possibly the two most important, which are also related, are the verification that Facebook is not a point of sale, but one of brand building and community creation between the company and its products. or services and its target audience, where much more complex variables are put into play in terms of loyalty and relationship building than a call now.The second reason that may have caused this change in trend is the high degree of saturation that the companies are causing. Promotional messages on Facebook and other network platforms in users, especially since the emergence of Groupon and its multiple clones, both local and global and that begin to turn any space on the Internet into a large market full of sellers convincing you to buy their products. offers, discounts and various promotions.
What do fans ask for on Facebook
If we carefully analyze the second graph published by eMarketer, in which the direct suggestions from fans are tabulated, we find interesting clues, which have a lot of logic if we cross the data with the previous information.
We have said that in 2011 people become fans of a brand to receive direct information, as well as to know details of new products, but in a much more active and direct way than simple brushstrokes of information. In the new trend, the challenge is to emotionally involve fans in new developments and productsIn such a way that there is a relationship that goes far beyond the simple sale or discount coupon; although they are not exclusive factors. The best exponents of this new trend of relationships between fans and brands on Facebook can be found in the motor industry, where the main manufacturers use their multiple pages on Facebook effectively to create the much-desired loyalty; some providing exclusive details about their new models, images, videos and the like, as is the case with Ford and Volkswagen, while others like Fiat have opted for a more social path and report on musical events and entertainment. Another of the powerful functions that Facebook offers to brands, beyond the simple dissemination of information, is to create excitement and prepare its public for important events to come, such as new launches or relevant announcements, without having to be exclusive with exclusive promotions, offers and benefits for members of your community.
Nor should we forget, as the fans themselves indicate, the implementation of online games and competitions, as well as the undeniable promotion options that the social network provides when promoting events and meetings outside the virtual world, creating again expectation and announcement.
The current challenge for brands on Facebook, according to what the study indicates, is to create new and better ways to create closeness and proximity -which is not the same- with their users, through an activity and permanent updating of quality information, as a channel for creating a community with similar tastes and as an enhancer and articulator of the brand’s activities with its users outside the Internet; In the real world.