Last night we attended the mima/PRSA “Facebook for Business” event with guest speaker Joe Benarroch. Despite dedicating an embarrassing number of hours per week to the social platform, Joe still taught us a few things:
“Everything is built around people – people are at the center of everything.”
As an advertising platform, Facebook presents an overwhelming opportunity. There’s magic behind this business opportunity – you have the ability to reach the people that matter most to you, at the moment that matters to them.
But not so fast – it’s not a game of bigger budgets = getting in front of more people, more often. Actually, that’s possible, but not smart. As Joe explains, “Be thoughtful. It is a privilege to be part of these moments.”
At the intersection of technology and tradition; personal human interaction and commerce; one must engage in a manner that’s both natural and delightful. If you’re gonna distract people from News Feeds full of cute baby pics, birthday wishes or hilarious cat vids – it better be worth it.
Next we discussed the mobile experience. Revolutionary, right? Actually, we didn’t talk about the importance of having a mobile presence, rather people’s behavior with their mobile devices. The power of literally sitting in the palm of one’s hand. The power of mobile daily active users who check Facebook not once, not twice, but an average of 14-15 times per day.
People check Facebook 14-15 times per day and pick up their phone 100+ times a day #Mimaprsa
— Heather Cmiel (@prchck123) September 18, 2013
One of my favorite takeaways (mainly because it validates what we’re doing here at The Social Lights) was the notion that those leveraging the power of Facebook to advance a brand need to be comfortable with data and copywriting. Art and science. As Joe said, “It takes a lot of thought power to be intimate with your fanbase.”
…See Community Managers, those monstrous content calendars and in-depth analytics reports are worth the time and effort!
What else do brands need to do to be successful on Facebook? Hire The Social Lights. Only kidding, sort of. It takes a deliberate audit of People – Process – Technology. Any gaps in these three areas need supplementing! In some cases, The Social Lights can do a good job of that ; )
Now let’s focus on the News Feed: the most accessible thing on the Internet! Millions of personalized newspapers are published every day, in real-time. And despite changing media consumption habits, this is one that rarely fluctuates.
Then we went through a bunch of ideas for generating great Facebook content and leveraging said content. Not gonna give away the ship, but several tips were great reminders to keep your audience and their behaviors top-of-mind. Ultimately, Facebook wants you to feel that deep emotional tie to them because it encompasses,
“All the people that matter to you. All the moments that matter to them.”
Awwwww.
Key takeaway for me —> mobile, mobile and more mobile. #MakeThumbsHappy #mimaprsa — Alicia Amling (@AliciaAmling) September 18, 2013
Yes! “Start with a business objective not a social metric” #mimaprsa — Catherine Engel (@CatherineEngel) September 18, 2013
Great crowd tonight for insights from @facebook‘s Joe Benarroch #MIMAPRSA pic.twitter.com/xJHquhFSjZ — Lauren Melcher (@lgmelcher) September 18, 2013
Were you there? Tweet us your favorite takeaway or lingering question – @TheSocialLights
