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Need some inspiration to pump up your Facebook marketing?
As the Facebook news feed continues to change, it’s important to figure out how to make the platform work for you.
In this article I’ll share Facebook pages from both large and small brands, and tips to incorporate their tactics into your Facebook marketing plan.
#1: Qatar Airways
Qatar posts a number of pictures about football (soccer in America), which is what their fans care about. Fans are very responsive to questions and posts on the company’s page, as well.
Qatar also changes their cover photo often, which is a great way to promote something new.
Key Takeaways: Post what engages your audience and change your cover photo often.
#2: Dove
This inspiring video helped Dove get close to half a million views and thousands of likes, comments and shares. In the video they hardly mention the brand. This isn’t a commercial—they’re telling a story.
Dove also encourages tagging by asking their fans to tell a story about someone who means something to them. Tagging someone else in a post can also be a great way to help get the word out about a timeline contest (for more on this, see #9).
Key Takeaway: Post a video that will help your fans or inspire them.
#3: Oreo
Oreo continues to dominate Facebook with their delicious cookie. It’s almost too easy. Beautiful images combined with recipes and a creative use of hashtags also help.
The #OOTD hashtag stands for Outfit Of The Day. It’s widely used. Notice in the illustration below that Oreo isn’t hijacking the hashtag, rather participating in a fun way.
Key Takeaway: Add an image or montage that shares a tip or tells a story.
#4: Humans of New York
Humans of New York is a bit different as a brand in that it started as a photographer telling stories. It developed into a book and a movement to connect on a deeper level with individual people who live in New York.
Each day, they share several posts that tell people’s stories, along with their image.
Key Takeaway: Tell your fans a story about your brand directly in a Facebook post.
#5: Agilent Technologies
Agilent is a B2B company that uses their Facebook page to tell where their instruments are being used. They brand their images and make them eye-catching.
Agilent also connects people to the brand by sharing personal information. For example, they featured their longest-serving employee with then-and-now photos and a link to her story.
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Key Takeaway: Tell a story about one of your employees.
#6: Girls Who Code
This non-profit does a great job of mixing up the posts on their Facebook page. They keep fans up to date about what’s happening with their mission.
Girls Who Code also entertains their fans with games.
Key Takeaway: Come up with a fun game that’s related to your niche that people can play directly from a post on Facebook. For example, have them find something in an image, solve a puzzle or play a word game.
#7: Stella and Dot
Stella and Dot is a network marketing jewelry company using their page to promote their products and share information. One thing they do very well is cross-promote to their other channels, such as Instagram. When you connect to your audience on multiple channels, it improves your chances of being seen.
The company also provides shareable images to inspire their audience. Quotes are a great source of inspiration.
Key Takeaway: Cross-post to other social sites, where your fans connect with you regularly.
#8: Neil Gaiman
While you might not consider an author a brand, these days authors are branding themselves, as well as their work. Neil Gaiman does a great job of getting personal with his audience.
Key Takeaway: Get personal on Facebook.
#9: Illegal Pete’s
This restaurant has a small fan base, but gets good engagement by running contests.
Illegal Pete’s also connects to their fans via the Postmates app.
Key Takeaway: Run an engaging timeline contest and give away something small to the winners.
#10: Starbucks
With more than 37 million fans, the Starbucks Facebook page is in the top 10 brand pages.
One of the things Starbucks does right is they give people tips to help them use their products.
Starbucks shows holiday-themed images that are a little different and fun.
Key Takeaway: Create and post unusual images to catch people’s attention.
Over to You
It may be more challenging to get organic engagement on your Facebook pages these days, but it’s not impossible. Pages are still a great way to connect with your audience where they hang out.
To get more engagement, likes and shares, inspire your audience; use great graphics and video; make your information shareable, useful and fun; and cross-promote to other channels. Plus, show your personality throughout your Facebook marketing.
What do you think? How do you leverage Facebook for your business? What brand pages on Facebook do you enjoy? Which tactics work for your page? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
