Marketers: Plan for ‘Facebook Fatigue’

From: http://blogs.forbes.com/melaniewells/2010/08/30/facebook-marketers-digital-marketing-advertisers-privacy-agencyq/?boxes=financechannelforbes

By Melanie Wells
Aug. 30 2010 - 3:59 pm

Marketers are in a frenzied rush to engage fans on Facebook. Some are even neglecting their own corporate sites in the process. That’s not a bad thing, necessarily, according to some digital marketing watchers who see social networks as the key to consumer engagement for years to come.

Then, again, Facebook’s user growth slowed down earlier this summer among adults aged 18 to 44 years old, a group highly coveted by advertisers. Some are concerned about privacy, certainly. Younger users, meanwhile, are probably irked that there parents are using the site too. A blip or signs of a looming backlash?

Either way, marketers should be prepared. P.J. Urquilla, pictured in this post and digital strategist at agencyQ a digital marketing shop, says it’s time for marketers to make sure they have strong, content-driven Web sites. It’s impossible to recreate Facebook on a corporate site, but Urquilla has some tips to help companies create a more compelling, collaborative site that helps them track customers:

Personalization: Bringing your fans home gives a marketer more control and more options, Urquilla notes. Marketers should personalize content delivery based on the user’s site experience and preferences.

Security: Facebook is a dynamic platform but “there will continue to be shifts in policies and security practices,” says Urquilla. “Information you can gather about your fans today might not always be available to you. Your fan base is a corporate asset—so keep it close to home.”

Advertising: Facebook Advertising lets a marketer target messages to users, but it also helps its rivals reach them too.

Relationships: Marketers want to cultivate direct relationships with their customers for future opportunities. Says Urquilla: “Connect your site audience to your CRM through email opt-in and lead capture to provide data to drive community analytics.

What if a marketer has a robust Facebook community? Why not poll fans there to see what they seek in a social Web experience and use that information to make your corporate site better? Urquilla suggests companies talk to real people in real life, too. Remember what that’s like?

Sure, he preaches what agencyQ practices, but it makes good sense for marketers to have a good way, other than Facebook, to connect with customers online.