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Consumers trust marketing content posted on social networking sites, Vancouver expert says Curt Cherewayko With nearly half a million Vancouverites and 1.45 million British Columbians signed on as members, Facebook offers marketers a consumer population that can be wedged, sliced and diced into any demographic. Originally a social networking site for individuals and groups, Facebook opened itself up to business last November. Marketers have since realized its full potential as a marketing tool. Vancouver-based 6S Marketing, an Internet marketing firm that is an industry leader in fusing social media with marketing, created a Facebook profile for the Taste of Yaletown, a week-long annual dining event this October that involves 22 Vancouver restaurants. Since its launch last month, the event’s Facebook page has attracted nearly 650 “fans” who receive – via mini-feeds on their own Facebook page – regular updates, photos, menus and news about participating restaurants.
Chris Breikss, 6S’s co-founder and director, noted that Facebook users log onto the site numerous times a day and tend to trust its ad content more than other advertising. “There are really no other websites, other than instant messenger application sites, that allow you that kind of exposure,” said Breikss. While Facebook’s ability to maintain the privacy of its users has been questioned, the intimate information that many users divulge on the site is a marketer’s dream. Ad campaigns can target Facebook users by age, gender and location. As well, marketers can use keywords – “snowboard” or “Canucks,” for example – that appear frequently on a member’s page to target that member by his or her interests. 6S launched its Facebook marketing service last April, a few months after Facebook began allowing businesses to create profiles. Previously, companies could only create individual or group profiles. On a business profile, companies can tie advertising to their site, and target “fans” with news, updates and other company information. As well, businesses can monitor visits and ad-clicks. Businesses can also change the creative content on their site daily, noted Breikss, unlike a regular website that requires knowledge of website programming. “With close to half a million people using it in Vancouver, it’s a much quicker way to get your message out than traditional media,” said Breikss. Earls Restaurant uses its Facebook profile, which was created by 6S, as a portal for recruiting workers. 6S also manages advertising content on the Opus Hotel’s Facebook page, which has more than 1,800 fans. The creative content on Opus’ page – which includes an ongoing series of videos, songs and restaurant reviews – is managed by Vancouver-based Soya Marketing, a web marketing firm formed this January by two marketing veterans in Vancouver, Jacqueline Voci and Deborah Collins. The Opus hotels in Vancouver and Montreal wanted to attract more nightlife to their frequent social events and to Koko, a new restaurant that opened in the Opus Hotel in Montreal last May. According to Voci, Facebook was an ideal place to market Opus’ target demographic of 20 and 30-something urbanites. “It’s an easy way to get into social media marketing, rather than building your own complicated and expensive website,” said Voci. Facebook is one of many social networking sites that Soya uses to market clients. The company creates campaigns around relevant keywords that will get high placement in Google search results. “When companies are thinking about their branding strategies they need to be asking themselves, ‘What terms on Google are crucial for us to influence?’” said Voci. For example, Soya created a marketing strategy for Job Magnet, a new Vancouver-based recruiting agency, around the phrase “jobs available in B.C.” That phrase appeared frequently in Job Magnet press releases, which Soya distributed to online newswires, Facebook and other social media sites like Digg, del.icio.us and MySpace. When a web user searches the phrase on Google, a Job Magnet press release appears as the fourth search result. “People want to find content that is helpful and authentic,” said Voci, “and not just a marketing message.” •
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Business in Vancouver October 14-20, 2008; issue 990 |
