We talk about Twitter and its role in public relations a lot on the Communiqué blog. While we believe Twitter is a great tool and can be used to reach millions of people almost instantly, it is important not to ignore the biggest social media platform, Facebook. It not only dwarfs Twitter in the number of users (500 million registered Facebook users to 75 million Twitter users), but can provide organizations with a unique way to build and extend their brand and engage with key audiences.
A recent study from Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business, found that companies that use Facebook to reach fans see customer loyalty significantly increase among their fans. As such, Facebook recently began seeing an increase in companies harnessing the power of the platform to deliver their key messages.
Facebook can be extremely effective in reaching key audiences. When one person “likes” a fan page, that piece of information will show up his or her friend’s news feeds, allowing them to see the page and possibly “like” the page as well. This acts as a sort of word of mouth tactic and can help a product or brand gain more followers.
Additionally, when someone “likes” a page, they are given the option of inviting their friends to “like” it as well. Once a customer “likes” a page, they will then receive updates directly in their news feed, making it extremely easy for businesses to deliver their message to their fans.
Customers can comment and “like” specific posts and write their opinions or thoughts on the company’s Facebook page, providing businesses unfiltered information. This data can then drive new offerings, adapt messaging or help improve a product.
To help PR professionals learn the power of Facebook, the company created a fan page called PR on Facebook. The page is run by Facebook itself, which hopes to “share what we have learned about creating social content, promoting events, optimizing Pages, and integrating with tools off of Facebook.” I recently took a close look at the PR on Facebook page and want to share my initial thoughts.
Much of what is shared on the PR on Facebook fan page is how Facebook uses its own platform for day-to-day PR activities. However, all examples shared can be easily applied to any fan page. Facebook has shared examples such as how to provide reporters with permalinks to screenshots and announcements, and criteria for building and maintaining a successful Facebook Pages.
Most recently Facebook has shared how to set up a live stream box, which lets users visiting your Website or application share activity and comment in real time, on a fan page. To illustrate this functionality and the benefits, Facebook,
PR on Facebook illustrated how a PR professional could use the live stream box to help a company announce a product launch or do a daily segment with fan interactions, much like what the Facebook Engineers did in the example shared on the page. While the page is still in its infancy it appears to be a resourceful tool for PR professionals looking for ways to integrate Facebook into campaigns and initiatives.
So the next time you are planning a PR campaign don’t over look Facebook, consider integrating your activities with this powerful platform. PR on Facebook is a good resource as you investigate how to leverage the medium to your advantage.
Have you used the PR on Facebook fan page? We’d love to hear your thoughts on this as a PR resource.
Tags: Blog, Facebook, Jeff Wilson, live stream, Mashable, PR, pr on facebook, Public relations, rice university, Social media, Social Networking, Twitter Filed under: INDUSTRY, Social media
1 Comment
Louann Wiszynski |
A big thank you for your blog. Want more.