The Facebook Marketing Series is supported by Buddy Media. Power your connections and turn fans and into real connections when you run technology powered by Buddy Media. Download Buddy Media’s free guide for Successful Retail Social Posting to learn how to drive results with your social postings.  Businesses rely on Facebook to increase brand awareness, build community and strengthen customer service (for starters).  But how can companies effectively leverage Facebook to amplify new product launches? We spoke with some companies — large and small — that used Facebook to effectively introduce products to the marketplace and generate new sales.  To ensure that time spent online is time well spent, businesses must focus on building and cultivating a targeted audience. Start by defining your audience and developing a strategy to attract that demographic to the Facebook Page. A content strategy, social giveaways and Facebook ads can help companies reach the right people.  As sneakpeeq co-founder and president Henry Kim says, “We learned that if you get the right audience to share your product in the beginning — and getting this audience excited about your company is a giant step — you can do this with little money. Be creative. Where else can you get an instant audience for your company?”  A growing Facebook community is also an evolving community. Sheri Wallace, who works with Dandelion, seller of eco-friendly baby products, notes: “The community at 10,000 fans is not the same as it was at 2,000.” She adds that keeping in touch with the parents has been crucial to increased growth and to the success of newly launched products.  As Nike Golf launched a new golf ball during the Master’s Tournament, it offered a select number of limited edition green swoosh 20XI balls to Facebook fans in three time-based giveaways in the days leading up to the tournament. The giveaway occurred several weeks before the 20XI balls were available in retail stores, so the public did not yet have access to the product.  In addition to giving away a small number of golf balls, Nike Golf also offered a free shipping promotional code as a “consolation prize.” According to Brian Carter, digital marketing manager for Nike Golf, the launch doubled interaction rates and led to a significant increase in impressions. Most notably, the revenue generated from the campaign’s promotional code was six times the cost to run the campaign.  In some cases, Facebook can function like a traditional website landing page. Transparent Corp, a software company that exclusively sells its products online, has used Facebook Page tabs to create “condensed and easily sharable versions of the landing pages for new software products,” according to Aaron Smyk, the company’s director of social media and marketing.  Smyk offers the following tips to create effective landing pages within Facebook:  If a business has effectively built a Facebook following that resembles the target market, this network can be a major research and development asset. Ask for feedback, design input and functionality requests. If you’re launching a product with a beta testing period, ask the Facebook community for volunteers.  If the product announcement includes a soft launch targeting specific cities, take advantage of Facebook’s geotargeting tools, including ads and customized status updates.  Facebook ads can be targeted by state, city or zip code. But, don’t stop there. Dig deeper to create a more targeted, cost-efficient, effective campaign. For example, if your product appeals to people who work in a specific industry, research the major players in that space and target the ad to people who work at those companies and live in the city you’re trying to dig into.  But, sneakpeeq’s Kim warns, “Be smart about spending money on Facebook. Do a lot of testing and find out what works. Start small and when you find something that works, keep doing it and on a broader scale.”  In addition to geotargeting ads, posts can be directed toward certain locations. Just click the button underneath the status box to customize who can see the update. The default setting is “public,” but page admins can select a country and then specify states or cities.  In 2009, Little Debbie used the launch of the new Little Debbie Chocolate Cupcakes as a centerpiece of the brand’s entrance into Facebook. The product launch included:  According to David Griner, director of digital content for Luckie & Co., the agency that helped Little Debbie develop and implement these campaigns, Facebook continues to be a major components of their product launch strategy. “With each launch, we feature the new products on Facebook, solicit fan feedback and offer occasional giveaways to encourage sampling. Since the cupcake launch, we’ve doubled the Facebook audience to more than 1 million Likes, thanks largely to giveaways and other promotions that help fans feel engaged with the brand.”  Companies want to get creative with giveaways, but as Kim notes, it’s important to stay true to the brand and use giveaways as a learning opportunity. “Everything we gave away was something we were already selling or planning to sell on sneakpeeq in terms of product/brands. We also used the launch on Facebook to educate consumers about what sneakpeeq is — a social shopping site with a twist.”  What advice can you offer to companies who want to incorporate Facebook into their product launch? Let us know in the comments below.  The Facebook Marketing Series is supported by Buddy Media. Power your connections and turn fans and into real connections when you run technology powered by Buddy Media. Download Buddy Media’s free guide for Successful Retail Social Posting to learn how to drive results with your social postings.
How can companies leverage their Facebook fan-base to kick off new products and services? We spoke with a handful that have had success.