// Facebook F8 Conference//
The 2011 F8 Conference is all about content. It’s relevance, engagement, and personalization level.
For work, I put together a very robust POV on what the Facebook changes are and what they mean for marketers. The conclusion was that exact same thing. Content and relevance will reign.
What’s interesting though, is we all know content is king. We’ve heard it since SXSW 2011. But what we have yet to figure out is what “good” content means.
So, it got me thinking about the power of content, and how marketers (in my opinion) are approaching it the wrong way on Facebook.
We ask people to Like our brand page. We beg them to Like us. When we should be winning over their Likes.
We say things, on our own brand page, to try to get a reaction. We are trying to basically entertain a tough crowd. And, any performer who is entertaining a tough crowd realizes, that the crowd loosens up when the performer begins to interact with the audience — where instead of standing on stage, begging for applause, walks into the audience, to specific individuals, engages them and wins applause.
So, what if instead of trying to get users / fans to write on brand page walls, a brand wrote on its users’ walls?
What if: Instead of trying to get users to write “I love Sprite!” on the brand page wall, Sprite created a Facebook app that (with permission) pulled user birthdays, current city, or even keywords.
Let’s say a user has allowed the Sprite app permission to access his information.
The user is a 27 year-old male, who lives in Austin, TX.
On the user’s birthday, Sprite would post on his wall:
- “Cheers to you. Have an Arizona Sunset today: 3 shots vodka, 3 shots lemonade, 3 shots Sprite, 1 handful ice. Happy birthday!”
In August, because the app knows the user is in Austin, it also knows that there is a severe heat wave and drought. Sprite would post on his wall:
- “We want to make sure you stay cool in the heat. Here’s a $1 coupon for a 2 liter.”
And, imagine if the Sprite app could even read for keywords, such as “basketball.” If the user posts a status update or photo album containing “basketball.” Sprite would comment:
- “Take me with you next time!”
Brands have to begin acting the way two human BFFs act towards each other on Facebook, and stop acting like elite brands who never leave their page. Have a brand personality. And, humanize it.
