Web Marketing on Facebook: There is More To It Than Having Million of Fans

With its 500 million members, Facebook marketing has become a must. Yet, when you look at it closely, very few businesses are actually able to utilise Facebook effectively. One of the trends you'll continually observe is the obsession to increase the number of company fans. This may be a popular strategy but it isn't necessarily a very good one. Similar to the way that SEO is more than just about rankings, web marketing on Facebook also requires companies to plan a strategy that will encourage fans to stick around over the long term.

It is easy to get fans. For instance, offering contests and freebies can help you get your target number within a week or even just several days. But there should be a reward to encourage fans to continuously visit your site. Offering regular freebies is one way but it all comes down to consumer engagement. After the campaign to get fans, below are some examples you might want to follow.

The Starbucks Experience

Anyone who studied marketing management has probably heard about the "Starbucks Experience". It is the feature that propelled Starbucks to global dominance. While its main product is coffee, people go to the coffee shop for its ambience and relaxation. The atmosphere is conducive to a lot of activities including reading, surfing the web, and bonding with friends.

The company has taken the "Starbucks Experience" to a whole new level on the internet. Rather than hard selling, it instead started conversations with customers. They are talking to people, not at them. As a result, customers are responding the "right" way.

If there's one thing they did right, it's the fact that they got people to talk about their favorite drinks. So their members weren't only given the chance to air their views to Starbucks, they also got the chance to interact with others and compare preferences. Above all, it made people want to go to the coffee shop to have a drink.

Restaurant and Retail Store Strategies

As was mentioned earlier, it is important to sustain interest among your online community. Aside from holding contest, it might be a good idea to give out "Facebook fan only" discounts and gift cards. Members should be encouraged to join in on the discussion though. For example, they can receive these freebies when they share holiday stories that are somehow related to your company.

Keep things exciting by making the rewards program and the giveaways unpredictable. Hold contests for major holidays such as Christmas and New Year. And most of all, always keep your page updated because it will let members know that you are very serious about web marketing.