Up to this point, the top metric for social media marketing success was site traffic, but more and more focus has been given to other values such as fans / followers and positive buzz.
Although only 15.4% of respondents to an eMarketer survey felt that Facebook had a significant ROI, this number is growing rapidly. Now is the perfect opportunity for your business to take advantage of the opportunities that social media offers for getting found by prospects and interacting with prospective customers. While other companies struggle with whether or not to participate, you can be out in the trenches gathering fans and gaining evangelists.
One great way to do this is through a Facebook Fan Page. These pages offer a venue for your fans to interact, participate in discussions regarding your business, and stay informed about what's going on at your company. Creating a Facebook Fan Page is easy, but before you do, take a look 20 companies I've compiled that have gotten a head start, and find out how they are doing it right!
1. Skittles
Skittles launched a "Win the Rainbow" contest, asking its fans "what they would do for a Skittles vending machine," which garnered entries that racked up hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube.
2. Zappos
The Zappos Fan Page has a great call to action that tells visitors exactly what they should be doing the first time they come to the site. They also have a "Fan of the Week" section where they ask fans to send in pictures of themselves posing with a Zappos box in the photo.
3. McDonalds
McDonald's Fan Page includes a number of short and quick mental games that are not only addicting but also allow fans to share their scores with their friends, thereby promoting viral sharing.
4. Harley Davidson
Harley Davidson's page includes a number of informational resources that educate their fans on interesting topics ranging from how to ride to the history of Harley Davidson.
5. iTunes
The iTunes Fan Page brings much of the functionality of the iTunes Store right to their Facebook page. Search for artists or check out the most popular hits of the week, right from Facebook!
6. Jones Soda
The Jones Soda page has a number of engaging opportunities for fans. From the fan page, you can order personalized Jones Soda, get the iPhone App, or take the weekly poll.
7. VitaminWater
VitaminWater is using its Fan Page as its main online presence. Learn about upcoming product releases, such as their newest flavor Stur-D, right from Facebook.
8. Doritos
Doritos uses their Fan Page to share all of their recent commercials, including many of the ones submitted by fans. The quality and hilarity of many of the video shorts is sure to keep fans coming back.
9. Best Buy
Best Buy's Fan Page lets you shop and read reviews from products right on Facebook. Not sure which flat-screen TV you want to buy? Get feedback from their over 2.5 million fans so you don't make a bad decision.
10. Porsche
Porche has built its popularity on the style and elegance of its cars. Its Facebook Page capitalizes on this, allowing you to flip through a number of their models, and includes the ability to "start a web special" if one catches your eye. If their cars are a little out of your price range, you can use the color styler to create a custom make and model and send it to a friend who, if you're lucky, might let you sit shot gun.
11. Kaplan SAT
Kaplan's Facebook Fan Page makes studying for the SAT fun. Join the SAT Quizbank Daily Challenge to compete against other fans answering realistic SAT questions.
12. Redbull
Redbull's page is another great example of an incredible CTA. Upon first visiting, you only have one option - to "Like" their page. After that you can watch a number of their extreme sport videos from all over the world.
13. Dell
Dell was one of the first big companies to embrace social media. They continue to build their customer engagement by allowing fans to ask for advice, get reviews, or get personlized recommendations right from their fan page.
14. Starbucks
Starbucks recognizes that one of the best recommendations is going to be one from a friend. That's why it has made the main offer on their Facebook Fan Page the ability to give a Starbucks gift card.
15. REI
REI's page is another great example of CTA usage and customer education. They're being very clear about what they have to offer and what they want you to do.
16. Burt's Bees
Burt's Bees gets cute with their Fan Page by playing on the emotions of their fans. We like you... don't you like us? Well then click the "Like" button! =)
17. Victoria's Secret
A picture is worth 1,000 words, and on the Victoria's Secret Fan Page, you get access to their iPad and iPhone apps. Now you can "get sexy, anywhere, anytime."
18. Sony
Another example of fan engagement, on the Sony Fan Page you can vote to help decide how their game, LittleBigPlanet 2, is designed.
19. NFL
The call-to-action at the top of the page pretty much says it all. "Like the NFL to receive breaking news updates, exclusive offers, and the best content and information from around the league."
20. Coca Cola
Coca Cola has a wide variety of resources on their Fan Page. They do a great job of promoting their presence on a wide variety of social networks such as Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, and Flickr.
What are some of your favorite fan pages? Leave them in the comments below!
An Introductory Guide: How to Use Facebook for Business
Let's face it: your prospects are on Facebook whether you like it or not.
Download the free eBook and learn to use Facebook to achieve your business goals!COMMENTS
Specially like the REI and VS ones. Frustrating they don't click through to pages though!
posted on Friday, March 04, 2011 at 2:06 PM
by
gia
So what are the take-aways for B2B pages on Facebook? How much, or how little, should B2B emulate?
posted on Friday, March 04, 2011 at 2:17 PM
by
Roger Draper
I've seen a lot of blog posts about great facebook pages but this one
really showcases some of the best ones I've seen yet. Thanks for
sharing.
posted on Friday, March 04, 2011 at 2:24 PM
by
Jeff Woodruff
They're beautiful, but how do we do what they did?
posted on Friday, March 04, 2011 at 2:38 PM
by
pete
Thats an awesome list. I'd add Kohl's, Oreo.
posted on Friday, March 04, 2011 at 2:40 PM
by
Shrinagesh
These are great. What are the bet b2b examples out there?
posted on Friday, March 04, 2011 at 3:11 PM
by
Melissa Mahoney
So are facebook pages becoming the new websites for small business?
posted on Friday, March 04, 2011 at 4:51 PM
by
Pat Chiappa
@Pat Some small businesses are opting to use the Facebook Fan Page as
their entire online presence. I believe that there is a place for both,
but ignoring the popularity of social media sites like Facebook would be
a big mistake for any small business.
posted on Friday, March 04, 2011 at 11:14 PM
by
Eric Vreeland
Thanks everyone for your comments. Most of the good examples shown in
this post translate to B2B as well, but I will work on another post that
shows some good examples from B2B companies.
posted on Friday, March 04, 2011 at 11:15 PM
by
Eric Vreeland
Great examples but they are all consumer goods examples. A question,
are we saying that a facebook page doesn´t work for a professional
services company?
posted on Saturday, March 05, 2011 at 1:48 AM
by
Barry Davys
I like the CTA part especially. Very clear, very concise, and very calling
(to act)!
(to act)!
posted on Saturday, March 05, 2011 at 4:37 AM
by
Abhishek Syal
I like the CTA part especially. Very clear, very concise, and very calling
(to act)!
(to act)!
posted on Saturday, March 05, 2011 at 4:40 AM
by
Abhishek Syal
I like the CTA part especially. Very clear, very concise, and very calling
(to act)!
(to act)!
posted on Saturday, March 05, 2011 at 4:43 AM
by
Abhishek Syal
Gr8 example of where the facebook pages are heading to , with
flexibility of creativity, engagement and companies taking this platform
for BRANDING.
http://www.facebook.com/fortishospitals
http://www.facebook.com/fortishospitals
posted on Saturday, March 05, 2011 at 8:42 AM
by
Akhilesh
These are great, but for a firm that's all about how to present your
business to the outside world, the literacy level is sort of appalling.
Not to sound like an uptight grammarian, but in case you missed it in
elementary school: IT'S = it is. ITS = possessive (Porsche has built its
popularity on the elegance of its cars). Once is a typo, ten times is
ignorance. If you care about having authority, proofread, or get someone
who knows the English language to--even on the web! Otherwise you
undermine your credibility.
posted on Saturday, March 05, 2011 at 8:47 AM
by
Jill
These are nice examples. I particularly like what Mitsubishi Electric is doing with Cooling and Heating Solutions, HVAC
posted on Saturday, March 05, 2011 at 9:00 AM
by
Allan
This is a very good list of samples. Another page I would suggest is The
Social Cartoon. Strictly an entertainment and user engagement site. The
site organically grows as more users participate in their weekly
content.
www.facebook.com/thesocialcartoon
www.facebook.com/thesocialcartoon
posted on Saturday, March 05, 2011 at 3:55 PM
by
Claudio Venturini
Thanks for sharing these list. But it would be most be helpful when you
can provide us a list of business pages that we can set as an example...
posted on Saturday, March 05, 2011 at 5:31 PM
by
Nicole Summers
Check out Jeep's new Facebook page, Adventure U: http://www.facebook.com/adventureu
They have also have this addictive app called Mud U which allows you to sling mud on friends (http://apps.facebook.com/muduapp)
They have also have this addictive app called Mud U which allows you to sling mud on friends (http://apps.facebook.com/muduapp)
Social Media is becoming increasingly more important for companies to
include in their marketing toolkit. You have some great examples above.
Thanks for sharing!
posted on Saturday, March 05, 2011 at 9:11 PM
by
Wendy
We're developing our own facebook fbml page. It's such a neat concept
and thank goodness they offer it! Thanks for the great examples.
||Integraphix, a really cool design company in Chicago
http://www.integraphix.com
||Integraphix, a really cool design company in Chicago
http://www.integraphix.com
These are great examples, just wondered if anyone had examples of how
smaller businesses are using facebook in a similarly inspiring way.
posted on Monday, March 07, 2011 at 3:59 AM
by
Dawn
Awesome pages. They can really catch every fans eyes. Thanks for sharing. :)
posted on Monday, March 07, 2011 at 4:51 AM
by
Aurelius Tjin
How do you create these pages? I have a business and want the something like this on my facebook
posted on Monday, March 07, 2011 at 12:04 PM
by
emmett
once someone Likes the page though - how likely are they to view
anything than what comes up in the News Feed as this is where most
people get info - not from actually visiting the page but viewing a
status update in the Feed. Also - was under the impression you should
only have one custom tab as those that have more are less likely to see
any traffic on them. think it's great for new people - but after liking
a page - how many people are further than the info they're fed in the
News Feed?
posted on Monday, March 07, 2011 at 12:14 PM
by
ad_chickadee
I agree with Dawn, on fan pages for smaller companies.Also, I would love
to see some great examples of fan pages from service industries. THANKS
posted on Monday, March 07, 2011 at 1:46 PM
by
Carol
You can see that the conversation is different for everyone. Important reminder to us all. Thank you.
posted on Monday, March 07, 2011 at 1:59 PM
by
Janet Osterdock
I think many are missing the point of a "like" for the Facebook page
owner - this allows access to the users demographic/contact information
and regardless of engagement, serves as a pretty slick market research
and marketing tool, as a like implies opt-in for feeds and direct email
marketing - right?
posted on Monday, March 07, 2011 at 2:09 PM
by
Darrin
I agree with other comments that a top 20 B2B Facebook fan pages article
would be interesting for service businesses. I think it's more of a
challenge for businesses to get "likes" and come up with valuable
content for their fans.
posted on Monday, March 07, 2011 at 3:02 PM
by
Susan Young
These are great examples of what a huge, national or multi-national
corporation with ridiculous amounts to spend on marketing can do, and
yes, any business can adapt many of the strategies seen here for their
own needs. But I'd love to see someone spotlight well-done pages that
are run by smaller businesses, perhaps those with regional audiences or
small niche markets that are unable to outsource their social media
activity.
posted on Monday, March 07, 2011 at 4:56 PM
by
Allison
Because of Facebook Policy, are these companies going through a 3rd
party app developer? or is that just for contests, promtions, and polls?
posted on Monday, March 07, 2011 at 5:10 PM
by
Kim
those are great applications. i didn't know we could do such things on Facebook...
posted on Monday, March 07, 2011 at 6:55 PM
by
MGA
Skittles always seems to dominate. Did anyone else notice the misspelling of Porsche in the article?
posted on Tuesday, March 08, 2011 at 8:33 AM
by
pkay
Great list Eric but shame there isn't a 'cause' related Facebook page in
the group. World Vision, CNN Heros and others have done great
fundraising work in Facebook. Here's something I recently worked on out
of Sydney Australia. Keen to get your thoughts:
facebook.com/cerebralpalsyalliance
posted on Tuesday, March 08, 2011 at 8:52 AM
by
davidh
Extremely helpful! Thank you! Awesome!
posted on Tuesday, March 08, 2011 at 9:40 AM
by
Elena Patrice
You've inspired us to upgrade a landing page for us at Barkeater Chocolates!
posted on Tuesday, March 08, 2011 at 9:43 AM
by
Jim Morris
The only thing lacking from this article is links to each of the fan pages you talk about. Otherwise, a good overview.
posted on Tuesday, March 08, 2011 at 12:01 PM
by
Sam Beamond
Just saw this page using iframe. I love it.www.facebook.com/3lionsmedia
posted on Tuesday, March 08, 2011 at 3:59 PM
by
Lionel
One more example: http://www.facebook.com/CashBackDeals
posted on Tuesday, March 08, 2011 at 4:20 PM
by
Tom Gibson
I agree with Sam. But overall really good and helpful information. And
also just twitted about the article. You got to have facebook and
twitter in today's world, business or personal.
posted on Tuesday, March 08, 2011 at 4:38 PM
by
chandani
Hah! These are so two weeks ago :-)
Funny how those top blue tabs look so, um, old fashioned now.
Hold on as Time accelerates!
Funny how those top blue tabs look so, um, old fashioned now.
Hold on as Time accelerates!
posted on Tuesday, March 08, 2011 at 4:50 PM
by
Tim Ware
awesome samples! how can we create these visual effects on fb? charges,if any?
posted on Wednesday, March 09, 2011 at 1:40 AM
by
Vanillasky
All B2C examples. I know you're working on B2B, but I still refuse to
see a B2B application for Facebook. It's social and our blog and
LinkedIn efforts are as social as our B2B prospect want to be. They want
resources, not chatting. For that reason, they don't frequent
Facebook--in fact most shun it.
posted on Wednesday, March 09, 2011 at 10:34 AM
by
Jack Pierce
Yes,all great examples...for really, really big businesses...Would like
to see showcased small businesses with great sites on limited budgets.
posted on Wednesday, March 09, 2011 at 12:14 PM
by
Carrol
What a list!
What a delight!
What a pleasure!
A real demonstration how joyful and useful altruism can be
What a delight!
What a pleasure!
A real demonstration how joyful and useful altruism can be
posted on Wednesday, March 09, 2011 at 12:39 PM
by
Frank
@Darrin: "like implies opt-in for ... direct email marketing - right?"
Absolutely not. Admins to a fan page do not have access to email addresses of fans.
My take: landing pages are all fine and good for ONE visit to your Fan page, but without regular, engaging news feed posts, you're one and done. When I'm in line at the DMV, I'm scrolling down my news feed, not seeking out new fan pages. I'd say the ratio of time spent liking new pages versus reading news feed is 1:200. What are you doing for the other 199 units of time?
Absolutely not. Admins to a fan page do not have access to email addresses of fans.
My take: landing pages are all fine and good for ONE visit to your Fan page, but without regular, engaging news feed posts, you're one and done. When I'm in line at the DMV, I'm scrolling down my news feed, not seeking out new fan pages. I'd say the ratio of time spent liking new pages versus reading news feed is 1:200. What are you doing for the other 199 units of time?
posted on Wednesday, March 09, 2011 at 10:33 PM
by
JADE
Thanks for the list! Really interesting pages.
posted on Thursday, March 10, 2011 at 3:34 PM
by
Patricia Linares
very concise, and very calling
(to act)! like the CTA part especially.
(to act)! like the CTA part especially.
posted on Thursday, March 10, 2011 at 9:59 PM
by
Abhishek Syal
Awesome 20 Examples of Facebook Pages! They really stand out with such creative and unique designs.
posted on Friday, March 11, 2011 at 5:35 AM
by
Justin Dupre
My vote for a good small business FB Page goes to 9026-Eyes ... http://www.facebook.com/pages/9026-Eyes/49296023806
posted on Friday, March 11, 2011 at 3:43 PM
by
Jim Campbell
Inspired by these and other great samples I've done an Inbound Marketing page for Brazil.
It's in Portuguese but it's one of the 1st custom fan pages here and perhaps in LA.
Check it out at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Harley-Davidson-Brasil/188633771175289?sk=app_6009294086
Rgds//
It's in Portuguese but it's one of the 1st custom fan pages here and perhaps in LA.
Check it out at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Harley-Davidson-Brasil/188633771175289?sk=app_6009294086
Rgds//
posted on Friday, March 11, 2011 at 9:19 PM
by
Marcelo Fernandes
Excuse my ignorance , but how do you create pages like these? Is it
something you can do yourself, or do you need to use a developer who
knows facebook code? Thanks Craig
posted on Monday, March 14, 2011 at 5:38 PM
by
craig
Hey Kathleen, with our business growth we were about to launch two new
FB fan pages. Then I saw your post. I have to ask the same question
posted by Craig on 3/14. Can we make pages like this, or does it have to
be done by someone who really understands FB code?
Thanks Robbie McLean
Thanks Robbie McLean
posted on Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 7:12 AM
by
Robbie Mclean
These can be created two ways: 1) use the FBML app or 2) create your own
Facebook iFrame App. It's much easier than it sounds. Here's a
tutorial.
http://www.hyperarts.com/blog/adding-iframe-application-to-facebook-fan-page/
I used the tutorial to create an iFrame for my page (primarily because I was having problems with CSS inside the FBML app): http://www.facebook.com/MarketPointDesign
I use the FBML app for this page: http://www.facebook.com/CashBackDeals
http://www.hyperarts.com/blog/adding-iframe-application-to-facebook-fan-page/
I used the tutorial to create an iFrame for my page (primarily because I was having problems with CSS inside the FBML app): http://www.facebook.com/MarketPointDesign
I use the FBML app for this page: http://www.facebook.com/CashBackDeals
posted on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 at 12:01 PM
by
Tom Gibson
With FBML being deprecated as of March 11, 2011, it looks as though iFrame is the only way to go.
posted on Thursday, March 17, 2011 at 2:52 PM
by
John
Great idea that needs to be taken further. What are the key lessons
(what exactly are they doing "right"), how can these lessons be
translated to B2B, and can you find examples done by small businesses?
posted on Friday, March 18, 2011 at 12:20 PM
by
Don Metznik
All of these Business Pages look great, but how is a company without a
large budget going to create these? I found a great tool that takes all
of the guess work out of making fb business pages. This platform allows
single click publishing with out a line of code. This video demo is
definitely worth the 3 and half minutes to check out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBK5NEzoU70
posted on Monday, March 21, 2011 at 10:53 AM
by
Kyle Lemmon
Great list of pages!
Especially the color preview of Porsche I find very oool :)
Martina
Especially the color preview of Porsche I find very oool :)
Martina
posted on Thursday, March 24, 2011 at 7:41 AM
by
Martina
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