Driving engagement on Facebook

Aaron Lee's contribution on Mashable explores different ways to generate the right type of buzz around your brand on Facebook. His article focuses on six key mechanisms that he believes are effective in sparking potential customer’s interests.

Marketing your brand through visual tactics  is on the top of the list, as the adage goes, "a picture says a thousand words”. With the type of busy, hectic and multi-tasking lifestyles people lead in this day and age marketing messages need to be so effective that in one glance they hit you between the eyes. Pictures are a great way to do that, without having wordy long captions which automatically diffuses people’s interest, a colorful picture will easily relay the message a marketer is trying to get across. Especially with intense adoption of mobile, pictures are now more accessible and relate better to human psyche. On Facebook there are many large and small firms that are relying on this method of advertising to promote their products and services. Many restaurant owners have created their own Facebook pages and have befriended regular customers -- posting pictures of freshly prepared meals right before lunch and dinner time to lure their regular customers (and their friends) in.

The second marketing technique that firms use on Facebook to capture the attention of inquisitive minds is the “Fill in the blank” method. This tactic prompts people to engage in lively and constructive discussions with the owner of the post and engages the general public to offer their two cents regarding the product or service. This provides helpful feedback to the firm and also assists them to relate to their customer base on a more personal level. The one thing that lacks these days from customer service is the personal element and by Facebook interaction some firms are able to revive this key marketing aspect and thrive as a result.  The one danger with this approach is that if its not done right, it could spark outrage in a very public way.

Some other suggestions included in this article are:

3. Photo captioning, where businesses can post a picture and ask people to post a caption exchange for a prize for the best one. Attracting customers by incentive of reward is almost always a sure shot to obtaining a credible response from them. 

4. Having a question in the headlines of a post is also another very effective way to engage people and almost compel them to interact with each other. 

5. Tips - Some businesses for example Chase credit cards post tips on their companies page, tips such as how to manage your wallet when going on vacation, how to save money on grocery and gas by setting up your credit card to receive cash back etc. These tips again personalize the whole business model and make the customer feel like they are in good trust worthy hands, not just someone who is out to get their money.

6. Uplifting and humorous daily quotes is also a great way to touch the customer base at a personal level.  

Facebook through its various different and crafty marketing techniques engages the average user to be a more involved and can drive decisions and attitudes towards different products and services.  

Here's the full article:

Building Facebook Engagement