Marketers are becoming more and more interested in measuring the ROI of social media. According to eMarketer four out of five US businesses with at least 100 employees will be using social media for their marketing efforts this year. This makes measuring the effects of these marketing efforts even more important.
Up to this point the top metric for social 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. 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 Page. These pages offer a venue for your fans to interact, participate in discussions regarding your business, and stay informed about the going ons at your company. Creating a Facebook 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 quick mental games that are not only addicting but also allow fans to share their scores with their friends 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 fan's answering realistic SAT question.
12. Redbull
Redbull's page is another great example of an incredible CTA. Upon first visiting you only have one option "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 card as gift.
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 playing on the emotions of their fans. We like you don't you like us? Well then click the "Like" button =)
17. Victoria Secret
A picture is worth 1,000 words, and on the Victoria 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
Cocal Cola has a wide variety of resources on the Fan Page. They do a very good job of promoting their presence on the wide variety of social networks such as Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, and Flickr with their fans.
