We had a chance to talk with Dan and Alison Zarrella, the husband and wife authors of the book titled appropriately enough, The Facebook Marketing Book (not an affiliate link). Alison is a social media consultant and Dan is a social media scientist. Considering they were editing this book on their honeymoon it is safe to say that they are dedicated to their craft. Here’s what they had to say about Facebook and marketing.
MP: With the popularity of Facebook (some saying that there are 600 million accounts worldwide) is it a ‘must’ for marketers to be on Facebook?
Alison: In my opinion (and I think Dan agrees), it’s definitely a requirement. Younger generations especially expect brands to be on there, and there’s a huge disconnect when you can’t find them. If your competitors are on Facebook, as they are in most major industries, you’ve got to keep up. If they’re not on there yet, you have a chance to be the first and really set yourself apart as the most “with it” brand in your industry. Either way, it’s another way to connect with fans, try new things and secure another spot for your brand name in search results.
MP: If a business was making a decision for search marketing with Google v Facebook marketing how do they determine which is best for them? Is it necessary to be in both places rather than either or?
Alison: Facebook is indexed for search, so search marketing and social media marketing really go well together. Your Facebook Page doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel. Use what you’ve learned from writing and optimizing content for your website and apply it to Facebook. Turn blog posts or articles into smaller segments for status updates and drive to your site for the full post. Assets designed for your website can also be used on Facebook in an FBML tab. Your Page should have the same look and feel of your site, broken into more manageable bite-size, shareable chunks.
MP: What skills does an effective Facebook marketer need? How is this responsibility being handled by companies? Do you see dedicated staff? Is it another duty of the marketing department? Is it an outsourced responsibility?
Alison: A Facebook marketer needs to really understand the site from a user perspective. They need to know what the Newsfeed looks like when you “like” over 100 Pages, and what makes people click “like” on some Pages and not others. Companies handle this in many different ways, but the smartest plan is to have an in-house person or team who knows the business inside and out. They can answer questions confidently and quickly and make sure that everything stays on brand. Most importantly, they (hopefully) care about the company and what they’re doing on Facebook.
MP: Many businesses don’t have the resources to commit to Internet marketing for a variety of reasons. What do you recommend to companies that say “We would love to but just don’t have the time, money etc”?
Alison: I want to know what they are doing instead. Facebook is free. With the exception of advertising, you can do everything we outline in the book with absolutely no money. Yes, you need time and some skills, but if you start small and build your way up you’ll get the hang of it. People think Facebook has to take all day, but that’s not the case. The more familiar and comfortable you are with the site, the less time you’ll need to spend on it. You’ll learn how to multi-task and check in periodically without letting it takeover your whole day.
MP: In your research were there any surprises that you just didn’t see when you were thinking of writing the book?
Dan: Yes, in fact when you ask any publisher what days not to publish content, they’ll generally say Saturday and Sunday. But when I looked at Facebook sharing, I found that articles that were posted on the weekends tended to be shared more than articles that were posted during the week.
For more info- http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2011/01/win-a-copy-of-the-facebook-marketing-book.html
