PR via social media – the use of Facebook fan pages

15 November 2010
by Anna Heaton
Tags: brands on Facebook, consumer interest, Facebook fan pages, PRmoment research, Social Media

Recent research by PRmoment found that more than half of Facebook users have never become a fan of a brand on Facebook. This caught my eye as I am an avid Facebooker and the features I personally find the least useful are fan pages, having unfortunately had some bad experiences. Of the pages I have become a fan of, the constant updates on my homepage were a hindrance rather than helpful. Similarly, PRmoment found that of the users that are fans of brands, only 40% actually find the page useful. However, companies are increasingly using social media methods to raise awareness and in my opinion there are ways of doing this effectively without annoying Facebook users.

So, going back a bit, why do companies use Facebook? Is it thought that a fan page will impact sales, or is it just a way of gauging consumer interest? Perhaps the reasons companies are throwing themselves into social media is because they fear they will get left behind or miss an opportunity?  Either way, if the statistics from PRmoment are anything to go by, stopping and thinking strategically as to whether a fan page is the right option, is what companies should be doing

Facebook is particularly consumer based, so competitions are a good way to engage people, as this is an incentive to visit the page. People would also be interested in seeing updates for events, such as an exclusive concert or a product launch. But inundating people with information is extremely off-putting. Therefore quality not quantity is the way forward with Facebook fan pages.