There’s a great deal of excitement about using the world’s largest social network to sell direct to consumers, while there’s an element of doubt about how effective Facebook as a direct sales platform will be.
Heinz in the UK is one of the first F&B brands to trial Facebook as a direct sales tool. 3,000 bottles of its new limited edition Tomato Ketchup with Balsamic Vinegar went on sale exclusively via Facebook, with the manufacturer reportedly selling 1,200 bottles of the sauce on the first day of the campaign. While this suggests an eagerness among Facebook users to buy through the social network, it’s worth considering what happened before and after the sauce was launched.
Prior to launch, Heinz had established a community of more than 700,000 Facebook fans. This meant it was launching the limited edition sauce to an audience interested in its products and interacting with the brand via Facebook. Following launch, the manufacturer used Facebook to complete free market research about the popularity of the limited edition sauce against its standard variant. Pre- and post-launch, Heinz has actively connected with Facebook users and is listening to what they say.
There’s a temptation among brands to use Facebook in a similar vein to other forms of communications such as advertising and direct marketing. Brands use the platform to solely transmit messages designed to promote awareness and drive sales. This can work in the short-term as brands build up fan numbers, but is simply not effective in the long-term. It doesn’t engage users, who will switch off from brands they feel are bombarding and exploiting them.
Facebook is based on sharing, interaction and user ownership. Brands that respect this can effectively create audience advocacy for their products, services and messages. This leads to positive endorsements and recommendations among users, helping brands to connect with an ever-growing community of users that, in the main, will favour what the brand has to offer.
Connecting with social media users can be achieved in a number of tactical ways and should always be underpinned with strategies that prioritise users over sales. On that note, brands must consider the age of the users they’re attempting versus their current and future spending power.
More on that in my next blog.
Andy Poole is digital strategist regions at Weber Shandwick North
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