We all know that Facebook is an online power house with over 500million users: we ignore it at our peril, which is why most of us feel obligated to incorporate it as part of our business plans and marketing efforts. There is no doubt that Facebook has the potential to drive a wealth of business to you, however, this is much easier said than done. So it’s no surprise that an increasing number of our clients are coming to us to design custom Facebook pages and apps.  This is why I’ve wanted to write a post on Facebook apps for a while but delayed doing so as I wasn’t 100% sure on the stance I wanted to take, until now. This afternoon as I was reading the article by Search Engine Land ‘Likes Are Not Loves – How To Waste Time “Marketing” In Facebook’ it came to me: apps are an ideal means of capturing lead data to follow-up offline or via other communication channels. They’re also great engagement tools that increase the quality of traffic you’ll get from your Facebook page and are also likely to increase your conversation rate. Let’s face it; most of us don’t just have a Facebook page for the sake of it, we have it because we want it to help us achieve our business goals, whether that’s direct revenue, indirect revenue or promoting a cause. Facebook apps are a great way of help you achieve this.

Here are a few examples:
Chase Community Giving

This app not only gives this page a unique and personalised feel, but it also provides two calls-to- action:

1. Explore the top 100′s Big Ideas and vote now!
2. Learn more

Both of which engage visitors beyond a ‘like’ and are a more effective means of delivering more qualified leads i.e. the type of fans that are genuinely interested in and like the content that is being delivered. Fans that act on these calls-to-action are also more likely to engage further with ‘Chase Community Giving’, than fans that merely ‘like’ the page. I also like the use of voting and polls; a highly effective engagement tool that has been incorporated in a unique and interested way.

Smart Insights

I’m a fan of ‘Smart Insights’ and what I really like about its Facebook page is that it integrates seamlessly with the rest of the company’s marketing communications, including; email campaigns, blog, eNewsletter and Twitter activity. The company hasn’t just created a Facebook page for the sake of it, but has ensured the page is consistent with the brand ethos and the business goals it wants to achieve. With the clear purpose being to give those that prefer to consume content on Facebook (as opposed to other channels) the option to do so. Facebook apps are used to help achieve this:  The screen shot above shows the ‘networked blog ‘ app, this app enables page owners to integrate their blog feed into their Facebook page. There is also a custom tab called ‘wall paper’ which in effect is a collage of news and stories covered by Smart Insights across its communications channels, so that Facebook fans are kept up-to-date with all the latest information without having to span all its other communications channels.

One last Example is ‘Social Media Examiner’

I like the use of video and the use of a lead capture form . I am personally a fan of video marketing because it builds a personal connection with viewers that’s hard to replicate using other digital mediums. It’s a great way to build a connection with fans and foster a relationship beyond a ‘like’.  The combination of the video and the lead capture form together attracts attention, provokes interest, has the potential to create desire and provides a means for Fans to take action (The AIDA model).

I hope these three examples have shed some light on how to maximise the value of your Facebook Page and given you some ideas on how to use Facebook apps to engage your Facebook Fans beyond a ‘like’.

If you’d like our advice on how to achieve more with your Facebook page or would like us to create a bespoke Facebook page or application for you, then let us know. We create custom Facebook pages from as little as £250.