Facebook is Not Where People Come to Engage with Brands

Oh nooooo....Timeline for Brands! What shall we do?

I know I am talking to marketers vs people today. Sorry you aren't people. You are marketers. You want to help clients or your brand sell to the masses. You or your clients have a Brand page and a Twitter account. You are trying to connect directly to your customers.

We have a problem in Oz. Your customers view Facebook as a place to connect with Friends and Family and a handful of Brands they love. They might LIKE all the Brands they have a positive view of but they will engage with just 2-5 regularly.

Facebook with their upcoming IPO need site traffic. They want Brands to buy Facebook ads. They want Brands to think Facebook is about connecting with their users. Because even though Facebook ads are so much less effective than Digital Ads off Facebook there is this lure of 'People spend all their time here'.

So instead of some lengthy discussion with stats like I normally go way deep on:

People watch over 4 hrs of TV per day.

People spend almost the same amount of time online.

The average Facebook user spends just 20 minutes on the site.

Only 25% of the people who log into Facebook today will do more than read (meaning click or upload or like or share).

You can not reach 80% or even 90% of your customers using Facebook. The ones you can you have a slim shot today. That is it. This means have a Facebook page. But focus on your website traffic. On your product and service. On traditional marketing methods like TV, your store sign, location location location!, your customer service, etc. You need an integrated marketing effort. Because Facebook is really a communication platform for people to connect with people. It is not where people come to connect with brands.

Little fact: MTV now has 100mil total Fans. The main MTV Facebook page has 32mil. When they post they get from 1,000 to 7,500 comments + Likes. Which is 0.005% to 0.02% engagement for fans worldwide. Remember Facebook is global. MTV needs to reach probably 25mil people world wide each day and at least 10mil viewers worldwide each day. Are they succeeding in reaching their viewers via Facebook? No.

Social Tuesday - Your Brand is not a Social Media Rock Star

Unless of course you are a Rock Star!

With all the Social Media Talking Heads trying to con Brands into thinking that Social Media is such a game changer for Sales in hopes of raking in Speaking Fees and Selling Books, does their Yapping hold up to reality? No of course not. 

I have blogged about why Social is not in the C Suite of Major Brands. LINK

I have blogged about why we don't care about your Brand being on Social. LINK 

Unless of course we are pissed and then you had better be. LINK

But the question comes down to why. Why do we on average only engage with about 4 Brands regularly via Social Media? Seriously think of the hundreds of Brands in your life today all around you. How many will you engage with via Social Media today? Do a test. Count them after you read this. Remember almost every Brand now has a Facebook Page or Twitter Account. Count them.

I think the reason is passion. 

We are passionate about a lot of things in our life. But very few Brands are we passionate about. And even fewer are we so passionate that we want to engage with them during our day. I might love surfing or rock climbing and have specific gear I am sold on. But it's the sport not the gear I am most passionate about. So here are some recent observances to prove my point:

The Chemical Brothers have 755,000 Fans on Facebook and got 270 Engagements in 15 minutes from a post.

Doritos with 5 million fans posted this on Jan 16th and I took this snapshot on Jan 28th. 723 Engagements in 12 Days!

World reknowned DJ Sasha has 166,000 Fans and got 135 Engagements in 3 Hours.

McDonalds has 7.1 million fans and had 918 Engagements in 3 Days.

The Glitch Mob has 95,000 Fans and got 777 Engagements in 3 hours.

But some Brands truly drive passion. But this is rare.

Volcom Clothing has 1.15million fans and had over 1500 Engagements in 17 hours yesterday. I am passionate about Volcom. Though as with any Facebook post I did not see this because we only see 5-10% of Posts in our stream on a good day!

The moral of this story is people are never going to be as passionate about your Brand as you you feel they are. You compete with a lot of things in people's lives. There are priorities. Many consumer Brands are beloved and bought and used by loyal dedicated customers, but just because you are now using Social Media does not mean you will be elevated above a Band or someones best friend.

Remember Social Communication Technology is a Revolution in Interpersonal Communication. Not a Revolution in Marketing. 

At any moment Brands can be locked out of the conversation. People will be migrating to new networks and take more of their discussions private, which is going to happen. So the best advice you can have because a Facebook Page or Twitter Account is not going to impact a big Brand the way the Talking Head you overpaid for advice told you:

Stick to the three pillars of excellence Great Product, Right Price, Great Customer Service.

I just don't care about your Brand, your Company, or your Product

Seriously. Why should I engage with you via Social Media? I use Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family. It keeps me up to date with some of my favorite musical artists and DJ's and some of my Social Communities. I chat on Twitter for Business Networking purposes with many of my connections turning into true friendships even over long distances. It is a place for discovery. For insight. And now many of my Facebook friends (real life friends) are migrating to Twitter which I am excited about.

I only have so much time in the day. I will allocate 10 mins a day for Brands. I have 5,000 Brands and Businesses that want to talk to me. You want to engage with me? Well those Social Networks, Mashables, and Social Media Rockstars that tell you everyone wants to talk with you are lying our their ass. They care about only one thing and trust me that is not you or your Brand. It's their bank account.

What makes you special?

Chances are you are not special. Chances are you are like every other Brand out there. If I want to engage with you its on my terms not yours. My conditions and circumstances. Can't I already call you 24/7, go to your website, show up at your store or business and talk with your employees anytime I want? Can't I engage with you by watching your TV commercials, seeing your Billboards, reading your Print Ads? Can't I turn off Ad Blocker Plus on my browser if I want to see your digital ads? Don't I already get emails from you because I signed up but now never open them because I get 500 a day?

What makes you special?

You already reach me in more places than I want to be reached. Why should I want to engage with you via Social Media? I know you are there. Trust me. We all know you are there. But sorry I don't need to talk to my Trash Bags, my Kitchen Appliances, my Beer, my Hamburger today. I am busy. What makes you so special that I should allow you into my busy life on the same terms of my best friend, my sister, my girlfriend, or my favorite DJ or Band?

I either already think you are special. And all of us have favorites. But if you are already my favorite I am already a brand ambassador. I am already telling friends via Social and Offline about you. I am already buying your product or patronizing your business because you are a favorite. Even if I don't engage with you via Social Media. And I would probably talk with you via Social but is it adding sales? Probably not. You already have mine cornered!

For the rest of you. Make yourself special. Show me why I should engage with you via Social Media. If you can't. Leave me alone. I bet we all feel this way. We all have MAYBE time for 10 or 20 Brands in our life via Social Media in terms of consistent participation and communication, out of the 1,000's that want my attention. Good luck making that list. Do you know how many Brands want my attention right now? Everyone in my local yellow pages. Every Brand I see on a TV commercial. Every Brand I see on the billboards when I drive by.

I wish to state this post is only focused on the false snake oil being pushed by many Social Media Talking Heads, Mashables, and the Facebooks that we wish to engage with a ton of Brands 24/7 in a non-stop conversation making them a part of our lives via Social. My next post will cover why it's good to be there and accessible should someone wish to connect for whatever reason. 

Make yourself special. Show me you are special. 
Don't you wish you were special? Do you know how?