The Social Network: 500 Million Facebook Friends & Your Brand

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Across the globe Facebook users spend nearly six hours per month on the site – and hordes of people have already swarmed theaters to spend another two hours engrossed in “The Social Network.”

It’s this dominance of the social networking scene (no pun intended) that has brands flocking to Facebook to connect with their target audience, but how are those efforts being received by Facebook users? Text 100 grabbed some Flip cameras and took to the streets to answer that question in our own social networking video. Don’t mind the rough edit – we’re no David Fincher*.

The thoughts expressed here come as no surprise – although people are all over Facebook, they are still most influenced by what their friends share – and with all of Facebook’s new features, it’s easier than ever for users to customize what they want to see when they open the site.

So what can brands do to best ensure their news is being heard? Users want engaging, relevant content – not just a news stream of random updates. Brands should consider if the content they’re posting on Facebook will truly benefit the end user – is there an element of entertainment (such as a funny video), or an opportunity to offer a promotion, discount or contest to your loyal Facebook fans? Is a recent product enhancement going to help make your customers’ lives easier? Appeal to the personal side of customers, and brands will win out every time.

*Director of “The Social Network”