Recently I read an article called “Why I Don’t Like Your Brand on Facebook” by Brian Solis. (If you want, you can read it HERE) He started off the article with a rant from his boss who said; “This morning my yoghurt told me to find it on Facebook. It didn’t tell me why, it just told me to find it. Why on Earth would I want to find yoghurt on Facebook? It’s a yoghurt!” How many times has that happened to you? All sorts of products and companies I interact with in my daily life tell me to follow them on Twitter or like them on Facebook – laundry detergent, toothpaste, lip balm, clothing stores, restaurants, etc. The point of Brian’s article was that no one tells you WHY to follow or like them. He found this out by doing a weeklong experiment where he liked everything on Facebook that told him to, and out of the 46 brands he liked only 10 gave him a reason WHY.
As a social media junkie of sorts, I was astounded. Less than 25% of the brands even tried to tell Brian why he should check out their page. We’re far beyond the point of people needing to be informed that almost every brand, product and company has it’s own Facebook page and Twitter account – so why was their message lacking such an essential bit of information? It’s a good question, and now I hope every reader out there is asking themselves, why should a random consumer, such as Brian, go to our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter?
What does your Twitter or Facebook page offer other than regular and constant tidbits of your brand’s information? Do you have special deals, offers or contests only for social media followers? Do you provide sneak peeks into upcoming products? These are things EVERY brand should be doing and most already are. And given the average consumer interacts with thousands of brands on almost a daily basis, what is going to make them excited about your Facebook page or twitter feed?
Brian said that lots of the brands were “building really fun, engaging content in these spaces, but not making people aware of them” and cited some amazing Alan Partridge content on the Fosters beer page. But in his next paragraph he hit on the key point I want to make. He said, “My week as a social consumer left me tired and confused. It left my Facebook newsfeed so crammed with nonsense to the point that I could scroll entire pages without seeing my friends.” Bingo. Most brands aren’t friends. They talk but don’t listen. They transmit but don’t bother to respond. All game folks out there know that games are better when there’s ongoing conversation and banter with friends. And as a game company you need to show that you understand and value this social interaction. So whoever is doing your social media needs to have a name, a face and needs to be out there responding to content and making friends with followers. If you do, odds are they won’t click “unlike” to your brand when they feel they need to clear the clutter that is consuming their Facebook feed.
Great Advice Kim. Some of us (Geezers) have no idea what to do with the social media stuff if it is not personal. Thanks!
Posted by: Rick Buchner | May 16, 2011 at 01:11 PM
LOL Rick! I think people forget that we (as a society) have changed how we connect and social media is a great way to reach out and actually talk with your consumers on a hourly basis for FREE. Years ago people would have drooled at that type of opportunity, now that it's here there are so many companies that can't leave behind the traditional advertising model which is to constantly transmit, whereas now you need to interact and attempt to have a dialog otherwise you'll get lost in mix.
Posted by: Kim Vandenbroucke | May 16, 2011 at 02:37 PM
Spot on, Kim! Social media is a very important piece today. You do a fantastic job engaging people on your website, twitter and facebook.
You article affirms our decision to put together a Social Play in Media Conference for November 18th - a full day covering the points you brought up and more targeting the toy and game industry.
Posted by: Mary Couzin | May 16, 2011 at 07:13 PM
Thanks Mary! :)
Posted by: Kim Vandenbroucke | May 16, 2011 at 07:16 PM
Eye opening and useful info - thanks Kim!
Kerri Neubek / Games for Dames
Posted by: Kerri Neubek | June 5, 2011 at 06:17 PM
Thanks Kerri! Glad you found the article useful (and even more for letting me know!)
Posted by: Kim Vandenbroucke | June 7, 2011 at 02:34 PM