Facebook embraces the power of WOM, now what?

Beacon shines the light on your purchases

Beacon is to online shopping as a branded bag is to mall shopping, only better. Not only does Beacon allow people to shout “I bought something at the Gap,” it broadcasts their specific purchase to friends and directs them to the retailer’s door to follow suit. There’s a saying in teen marketing circles that defines the conflict between individualism and the need to fit in: “I’m an individual, just like everyone else.” For a certain personality/ consumer type, this unadulterated celebration of consumerism will be adopted, revered and evangelized.

Conversely, groups are surely being formed right now in Facebook to lobby against Beacon. Facebook purists will revolt against this level of commercialism in their community. A percentage of Facebook users will adjust their settings to avoid this feature. There will be backlash, like there was against mini-feed, on the grounds of privacy. A smaller percentage still will leave Facebook in protest, seeking the next “pure” social networking experience. I predict that like the battle over mini-feed, the uproar will silence over the coming weeks, and the two camps will adjust to the bright light of Beacon shining on our purchase decisions.
From a marketer perspective, adopting Beacon needs to be weighed carefully. A prompt at checkout to broadcast a purchase on Facebook is a big deal. For brands with a customer demographic wider than the Facebook sweet spot, this has the potential of being a disconnect at best, a nuisance at worst. It is like asking all you customers to present their college ID at check out. For pure play youth/teen marketers it is a no-brainer. But if I’m Travelocity, catering to the Alaska cruise crowd as much as the Spring Break set, doesn't facebook have more to gain than the brand?
Lastly, what’s in it for the user beyond the inherent surge of pride in broadcasting you have bought the latest Puma’s at Zappos? If engagement with a brand is a dial, this action is moving towards eleven.

Ads Just Got Smarter and More Personal

This is the least interesting part of the announcement for me. Ho hum, a new ad format with better targeting. What makes this move provocative is that brands now have the permission to use my photo and inferred endorsement to sell my friends the same product or service I just bought. There are so many potential issues here, not the least of which, it is creepy. A landslide of users will oppose being used as a shill for a brand in which they have a passive interest. Sure I get it for an iPhone purchase, but do I want friends to know I just bought new Haynes undies at the Sears?
Again, the value proposition is skewed to the advertiser. Where’s the value for the user. Where’s the “thank you” for selling out for this product? Where’s the effort to locate true advocates vs. any indifferent shopper. There are plenty of companies to which I’ll lend my credibility, if recognized accordingly. Little something for the effort…?

“Sponsored Groups” are Liberated. Free at last!

Today is one of the few days I’m happy not being a facebook sales-guy. Having to explain to clients that their $300,000 “sponsored group” is now obsolete will not be fun. And oh, by the way, other brands, bands, and politicians can create something called a “Page” with oddly similar functionality for free. As someone who has been railing for a year now that these “Sponsored Groups” and “Sponsored Profiles” should be free, it’s a very satisfying day. What marketer in their right mind would build a “community” on a platform that goes dark when the very expensive media meter hits zero? This is a fabulous move for everyone. Brands will build these beachheads and test the waters. Most will realize they’re not as popular as they’d hoped, and will need to plug the media meter to drive traffic and find “fans.” Win, win.

Without saying so, Facebook is admitting that these “Sponsored Groups” were overpriced and under-delivered for most of their advertisers that are not Apple or Victoria's Secret. They are not alone, Myspace needs visit the same confessional and purge itself of the sin of selling “added value” masked as community.

Speaking of Myspace, doesn’t this move make Facebook considerably more Myspacey. The rush is on for everyone to create a page in Facebook. Location alone will not ensure traffic, and it certainly will not magically create brand “fans.”

What’s a marketer to do?

For all those marketers not ready to dump huge sums of advertising dollars into an advertising adverse community, choosing an approach has been daunting. Many recognized the promise of applications and before they had the chance to fully engage it has become clear that applications are just one powerful tactic of a comprehensive strategy now required to enter the social networking game. If Google's “Open Social” announcement taught us anything, it is that we need to think broader than building just a Facebook strategy. We also need to be nimble enough to take full advantage when the game changes again. And it will.

The common denominator here is enabling your “fans,” evangelists, and/or brand lovers, to do some heavy lifting for you. Some of us who have toiled in the Word of Mouth Marketing industry have been helping brands “enter the conversation” for quite some time, so we thank Mr. Zuckerberg for shining a Beacon on the strategy. WOMMA's conference next week just became an even hotter ticket.

Online or offline, referral from trusted friends builds business and sales. So welcome to the next 100 years indeed, because that fundamental truth will not change.

Another common thread is the need to establish a "return on engagement” strategy. It is poor form to treat your best customers like pack mules for your messages without recognizing and rewarding the effort with a carrot or two. The single most powerful question in human decision making has to be: “What’s in it for me?” Brands that get that get this equation right will succeed in attracting and growing their own “brand networks” and social networks will simply become social utility again, just as founders of Friendster, Myspace and Facebook all intended in the first place.