David Clarke of BGT Partners offers a powerful analysis of three brands — Tesla, Goldman Sachs and Netflix — that failed to use their Facebook pages properly for maximum marketing impact. Tesla neglected to provide additional engagement components on their Facebook pages; Goldman Sachs launched no strategy at all. And Netflix blatantly ignored negative comments, sparking a snowball effect of customer outrage. Clarke provides strategic suggestions on how each brand — and your brand — could have addressed each scenario.
There’s no denying the power Facebook has had on businesses. You’ve probably recognized the increased use of that unmistakable Facebook icon on company websites, print ads and commercials, as well as the rise in custom-designed Facebook pages. But with the push to gain fans, many businesses are finding themselves unprepared to handle the “engagement” that comes from asking people to ‘”like” a business page.
Facebook is becoming the Borg — you had better embrace the collective and make the best of it, or it will find your brand and build its community. Companies need to apply the same business sense, crisis management, and strategic planning they would to any brand messaging, marketing campaign, or customer-service protocol. Perhaps even more forethought is needed when it comes to social media, as customers will “talk back” and companies need to be prepared.
This is especially true when it comes to customers posting their ideas, suggestions, concerns or problems on your wall. If your business is primarily communicating with customers via wall posts and you have a large fan base, you run the risk of coming across as unresponsive, or worse, not listening if a response is not timely.
One other missed opportunity I’ve been noticing is the high number of businesses not using Facebook to leverage their corporate brand. Here’s a perfect medium for communicating with present and future customers that what you have to offer is worth purchasing, and too many companies don’t seem to know how to use this social-media tool to their advantage.
To illustrate this further, I’ve selected three companies who I think are failing when it comes to marketing on Facebook: Tesla Motors, Netflix, and Goldman Sachs.
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Source: David Clarke, iMediaConnection
