Lately, there’s been this growing trend of including a link to the brand’s Facebook fan page in TV advertising.
It’s really something I don’t understand – it is definitely a huge branding failure.
The Unilever Example
Here’s an example – Unilever’s Lynx product. Instead of using their brand name and inviting users to connect with the brand – they drive potential consumers to Facebook to connect with the brand.
Herein lies the problem. Facebook boasts about the amount of time users spend on site and number of pageviews – Facebook Users Average 7 Hours a Month. Advertisers sending consumers to Facebook just sent potential connections to an online black hole.
Users with the intent to find you on Facebook could just as easily get lost into their Farmville game or peruse their photos before ever reaching your fan page. Instead of driving consumers to connect with you, you’re actually increasing Facebook’s bottom line.
The Solution
Instead of using the Facebook link on your advertising, consider creating a “Connect” page. Example – Connect Online with Samir [http://samirbalwani.com/connect].
The page uses the Facebook Like widget and Twitter’s @anywhere to allow consumers to connect with me online without leaving my branded page. Now, instead of getting lost on Facebook users are perusing my latest posts and products.
Remember Branding
As the number of profiles and platforms begin to increase, it becomes easy to forget your brand’s website. Remember, social media API’s make it simple to pull their functionality into your website itself.
Don’t drive consumers to social media platforms, bring them to your hub. Capture visitor interest on your branded website and allow them to find your social media profiles from there.
How are you advertising? Are you spending ad money to drive consumers to social media sites? Does your business card include your Facebook fan page or Twitter account instead of a connect page?
