There are five ways to keep your Facebook pages working for you - and your fans - without running into cycles or idle chit chat, says Italian digital media agency Frozen Frogs. They did some work to figure out fan engagement rate and found that:
(1.) New product releases
Let's face it, our brains are wired for novelty. Hence the love for shiny new objects.
What if you don't have a lot of new product releases? What would constitute new? How about new uses for a product? Maybe suggested by your fans somewhere else - in forums or at your blogs - that you can work with them to repost there, after vetting as necessary to make you feel comfortable.
Run a video interview via Skype of your customer talking about the new or innovative use for it, then post it. This would also pay off the fifth way listed here.
(2.) Promotions and discounts
Putting cash back into people's pockets is still a great way to get traction.
Things may be tight for many businesses at the moment. Points towards a purchase, or a way to create a community bartering system for certain parts of the service might be an interesting option.
Another idea here is to allow customers and fans to earn points towards a charity and then profile them talking about the reason why they picked that charity - there's the story again.
(3.) Eco-friendly initiatives
For real though, not green washing. Eco-friendly can be minimizing your company's footprint, supporting causes the community cares about, building a tangible and concrete story around responsible care.
Car companies have a good angle here.
(4.) Something remarkable
Think about something special and unexpected you could do for your fans. If you're a very popular brand, think in terms of access - giving them access to a unique experience they cannot get elsewhere. Make sure it ties into your brand.
Surprise fans every now and then with something unexpected. You can combine this with special promotions.
(5.) Video narrative
Telling a story visually is very powerful. There are so many ways to involve the community with video - company-driven promotions, special community profile stories, new product uses, guest evangelists. I'm sure you can come up with very creative ideas.
Thoughts? Questions? Reactions? We've got to get the Ducati people or someone working on the Ducati digital initiatives in here, don't you agree?
[engagement levels for Wired and Ducati]
