This week we talked about how companies should use social media properly. Ad Age recently commented on how Ford failed to properly leverage Facebook for its Ford Focus campaign.
(see article - http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/ford-blew-facebook/230815/)
From the onset it appears that Ford understood the value of using social media and drove nearly 10K likes to its fan page. After reaching those fans, Ford should have harnessed the power of their fan's social networks. The fans acquired were the perfect to aid Ford in spreading their message. Heck, they could have gotten 10K friends to be brand advocates and endorse their cars.
This misstep cost Ford in a more intangible way. They lost the opportunity to develop brand advocacy and loyalty. They also lost the opportunity to quickly and cheaply grow their fan base. If you assume that each fan has on average 140 friends, they could have broadcast an advertising message to 1,400,000 people (10K fans x 140 friends each). This word of mouth could have translated into an ever growing number of consumers becoming fans of the page. And, if Ford was a little more forward thinking they could have used this forum of fans to provide instant feedback on the car, have them vote on new commercials, provide special deals/offers for individuals looking for a car, etc.
From this example we should walk away remembering that Facebook offers brands an opportunity to not only reach a targeted audience but then tap into their large social networks and leverage the power of consumer word of mouth!
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