This may be a bordering-on-blasphemous opinion among some “social media experts,” but not every company in the world needs a Facebook page. This is so true that our integrated marketing agency doesn’t even have a Facebook page (gasp!) because we have other strategic priorities (see strategic questions below).
Yes, the social network has nearly 140 million monthly users in the U.S. So, if you’re seeking to connect your business with, well, anyone of most any age, really, at this point, there are indeed a LOT of them on Facebook. Absolutely, for many, many businesses, Facebook can be a powerful tool to connect with customers and others. That alone, however, does not justify the “We need a Facebook page!” knee-jerk reaction that we sometimes see.
Keep in mind that while most people (87 percent) do “like” brands on Facebook, that doesn’t automatically mean they are going to interact with you. If they don’t interact with you, the Facebook Edgerank algorithm is going to stop putting your posts in their newsfeed. On average, just 17 percent of those who “like” a brand on Facebook see the brand’s posts in their feed.
As with any social media tool, before you launch your Facebook effort, make sure you have solid answers to the following questions: What is our objective? Is our brand the type of brand that our audiences are likely to want to engage with on Facebook? What is our plan for creating content our audience is going to want to engage with? How will we maintain the high quality of that content on a continuous basis? Are there other channels through which we might achieve the same objective with this audience more easily? Is the return we can realistically expect to get commensurate with the time and energy we will need to invest? Is this among our top strategic priorities/initiatives right now, and why?
Facebook is most definitely not a “build it and they will come” proposition. If your brand, your objective, your audience, your content and the channel all fit together, then, and only then, go for it.
– Sue Spaight is director of strategy at Milwaukee-based Jigsaw LLC
