Inside//Out: Facebook

Facebook is riding a huge wave of popularity right now and it is a viable platform for marketers looking to reach their customers. This edition of Inside//Out takes a 30,000 foot view of how Facebook works for users and what the marketing hooks are. Creativity is paramount in approaching this community and opportunities can be created if, and only if, you play by the rules and remember:

• You have to add value to each interaction
  
• Use the naturally viral nature of the community instead of forcing it
  

[Feed readers please click through to the post if you cannot see the video.]

One of the biggest downsides with the network is it is a walled garden. It's great at collecting information and sharing it internally. However, it is abysmal at sharing that information with outsiders. Embedding Facebook content on other networks is not possible at this point in time. Similarly, all of the messaging is contained only in the system. Messages from other users bring people back to read them and the status dashboard that I showed you cannot be subscribed to via RSS.

On the other hand, Facebook's F8 developer platform makes it very easy to reach users at the profile level by enabling applications to be built on top of their technology. This openness is allowing Facebook to reach more people through more active development than rival networks like LinkedIn or MySpace. I foresee a lot more effort by those sites to catch up to Facebook in order to stay relevant. LinkedIn has the advantage of focus (professional networking), but it's like a plain, boring resume right now. Facebook is like having drinks with a person and learning about them...for good and for bad. I think there is a balance between the two somewhere.

Jeremiah Owyang at PodTech had an interesting thought on how Facebook could become a defacto standard for personal authentication around the net. For example, if you were to leave a comment on this post (which I hope you will) you would have the option to log in with your Facebook ID and have your information pulled over automatically. Very interesting theory.

Marketing options on the site include (but are not limited to):

• Flyers - small ads that resemble classifieds. These are generally not effective as they're not valuable to the readers
  
• Banner ads - these have very low click through rates (no value added)
  
• Create a poll - ask a specific group of users questions
  
• Create a group - engage your customers/fans and spur conversation
  
• Applications - using the power of the F8 platform, you can allow users to pull you right in to their profile pages
  
• Other options - Facebook will work with you to create custom programs
  

No matter what tactic is right for you, keep the rules in mind:

• You have to add value to each interaction
  
• Use the naturally viral nature of the community instead of forcing it
  

If you have any questions please leave me a comment or drop me an email.

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Technorati Tags:
strategy, marketing, advertising, interactive marketing, user generated content, trends, social networks, social marketing, Techno//Marketer, Matt Dickman, web2.0formarketers, Facebook, social media, Inside//Out

Comments

[Jeremiah Owyang]

Great show again. I'll be checking you out here and there.

Here's my latest rant about Facebook.

http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2007/07/18/all-your-widgets-are-belong-to-facebook/

[Rodney Rumford]

Nice intro to facebook from a marketing perspective.

You might want to keep up on the facebook applications here. Ratings and reviews of useful applications http://www.facereviews.com

Rodney Rumford

[Alex Fielder]

Hi Matt, I just watched your Inside//Out: Facebook video and I was wondering whether you knew of a way of integrating an RSS feed into a group that I run on FaceCrack?

[Matt Dickman]

Jeremiah -- Thanks for the comment and welcome! Nice centralized resource you're collecting there.

Rodney -- Glad you like the video and thanks for providing that resource. Keep tuned in for more on Facebook soon.

Alex -- I'd be happy to chat with you about what you're trying to do. I'll shoot you an email

[Josh]

you need to stop saying "you know" 30,000 times in a single blog. It's really distracting and shows a lack of professionalism. Just a thought. Other than that i cant see any of the facebook words since the video is so small. Maybe shooting it at a bigger resolution may help for next time.

Hope this helps towards your future endevours.
Josh

[Matt Dickman]

Josh -- Thanks for the comment. I do shoot the video at high resolution, but it's not practical for the web. Listen to what I say and let your imagination do the rest. I think it's pretty evident what is happening.

I think you're being a little picky with the use of "you know" honestly. I'm going this for your benefit, so if it bugs you you don't have to watch.