Why you shouldn’t view Facebook as another communication channel!

Posted by Anders Colding-Jørgensen on september 28, 2009 under Facebook, Marketing, Psykologi | Read the First Comment

What is your mental model of your relation with people on Facebook? I mean: What do you think makes people become fans of your Facebook-page? What do you think drives people to share your link on Twitter?

This T-shirt represents (yet another) political cause that became a tool for self promotion and identity creation. Supported by a strong Facebook presence!

Your mental model of your user’s motivation is your basis for creating a good presence. Well… clearly that’s true for any kind of communication – but if you rely on some kind of social spreading of your messages, understanding why people spread (or refuse to spread) your content is really key. This means that the creating of anything remotely great on Facebook starts with your own mind set.

So let me ask you again: What do you think would make people want to be fan of your Facebook fanpage? If you answer: “because they want news about my company”, your are most likle wrong – very wrong. And in that case, I would guess that you view Facebook as just another communications channel – to supplement websites, email, SMS, RSS etc. But that is where you are wrong – because social applications have one really important feature  - one that changes the game totally: Transparency! When people join your mailing list – only you and they know. When people visit your website – it’s also between you and them. But when people connect to you on Facebook – all of their connections can potentially see it! Since Facebook is anchored in our real social networks, joining a cause on Facebook is almost like putting up a poster in our own homes!

This transforms Facebook from just a communications channel to an arena for identity creation and self promotion. Surely, you can communicate directly into people’s feeds in a more or less traditional style – but only after they decided to join your page!! Thus, viewing your relation to people as purely information driven, will not tell you how to attract people in the first place!

So, if you want to attract people and make the want to join your cause or be fans of your business Facebook page – stop viewing your Facebook page as a mailing list and yourself as an information broker, reporting about your company and product line. In stead, begin to think of your Facebook-page as a badge, promoting some value, attitude or life style, that someone would like to wear.

Start asking: What kind of symbolic and cultural value are we providing for individual people? How can your offering make people look good (or at least not make them look bad or boring)?

(if you need help answering those questions, give me a call ;o)

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