With 59 million active users spending an average of 20 minutes “socializing” on the site every day, Facebook is more than a cultural phenomenon. In many cases it has become THE centerpiece of social interaction, enabling users to effortlessly keep in touch with family, friends and business colleagues, while making new acquaintances along the way. And if you think Facebook is just for the younger set, you’re in for a surprise. While 35 percent of Facebook aficionados were between the ages 18-24 in 2006, that segment shrunk to just 23 percent of total users a year later, with the greatest area of growth for the site in the 35+ category (from 36 percent of all users in 2006 to 45 percent in 2007). For brands with adult target audiences that extend beyond the U.S. borders, Facebook becomes an even more compelling proposition, since there are smaller concentrations of Facebook users under the age of 24 years in countries outside the United States, with older demos solidly represented along the age spectrum. “COMMUNICATING NOT ADVERTISING” Charlene Li of Forrester Research says that Facebook marketing, “requires communicating, not advertising.” Companies like Chase that conduct marketing activities on social network sites must approach the opportunity not as advertising, but as a means to provide relevant and useful branded content to users. To do so, Li advises marketers considering social networks to first do their homework in order to understand how online groups relevant to the brand’s marketing goals meet or don’t meet the needs of their users. Such research might reveal an idea for a brand-sponsored group that provides a unique benefit not available elsewhere. Another tenet of social network marketing is to build in as many opportunities to interact within the sponsored group as possible – using discussion boards, walls, opportunities to post photos and video clips, etc. Most importantly, brands should be transparent about the group’s role and perspective on the products and services being promoted. With more than 200 corporate entities sponsoring Facebook groups, it’s becoming commonplace to consider the site as a resource for learning about and engaging with products, in addition to catching up on the latest gossip. As with any social relationship, it’s a two-way street and it is important for brand-sponsored groups to monitor user postings and respond to comments and feedback in a timely manner. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE Chase’s bold move to conduct a Facebook-exclusive campaign in order to launch a product apparently paid off – at least in terms of the size of its Facebook group, which numbered more than 36,000 members. BEYOND FACEBOOK Meanwhile, Google is developing OpenSocial, an attempt at standardizing the codes behind social applications so that they are transferable to many different sites. When rolled out, these standards will help advertisers who offer branded applications to reach larger audiences across a multitude of social networks. TRACKING IT ALL So how are advertisers tracking it? Not very well, according to one recent Sapient survey of digital marketing managers, which found that 51 percent of participants said they felt only “somewhat confident” or “not confident at all” about their ability to track social network campaigns. What makes it difficult to measure is the fact that social network media includes not only web sites but also blogging, messaging, video, widgets and gadgets, with no centralized means of consolidating tracking data. The gap will likely be addressed, however, with higher spending levels anticipated in 2008 for the development of web analytics that focus on social media. WORLD'S LARGEST FOCUS GROUP Nielsen designed Hey! Nielsen specifically to create a new method for measuring social buzz around products, media and entertainment properties in real time. Yet another way to leverage all of that online chatter powering social media – with many more applications to come, for sure. Charlene Li of Forrester offers one more piece of advice when it comes to marketing in social media: just when you think you’ve figured it out, think again, because marketing practices will continue to morph and evolve as millions of users join the social media revolution – and move the target along the way.
One “early” pioneer of social network marketing is JP Morgan Chase, which selected Facebook in 2006 as the exclusive outlet to launch its Chase +1 credit card to college students. Chase made this bold decision after research revealed that young people prefer to interact with brands in familiar surroundings.
The Chase +1 Facebook group page is restricted to college networks, offering exclusivity and “insider privilege” to the target audience. Group members are offered the opportunity to accumulate “karma points” to buy amusement park tickets or audience-appropriate movie DVDs. They can also contribute to charitable causes, get tips on how to use credit cards wisely, and for pure trash entertainment purposes, find out how celebrities spend their money (does Britney really spend that much at her neighborhood 7-Eleven?).
Other social networking sites are racking up their user counts, too. MySpace claims to have more than 100 million registered users, with 45 to 54 million of them logging in every month. LinkedIn has become a popular business networking site, plus Bebo, Xanga and Twitter (which offers stalker-like features that allow you to track your friends and family online) are all building critical mass with their respective audiences.
No matter how you slice it, online social network marketing is growing substantially, with $865 million spent by advertisers in 2007. By 2010, marketers are expected to spend $1.9 billion annually on social network efforts.
One company is harnessing the power of social media by using its own social network site for real-time research. During this year’s Super Bowl, Nielsen conducted the largest online focus group ever assembled. Using its recently formed social community, Hey! Nielsen, the ratings company called on the site’s 43,000+ members to rate the Super Bowl ads in real time. Results of the first-of-its-kind survey were shared with Nielsen clients following the Super Bowl.