This is not the first list of “Best Facebook Pages” and it certainly won’t be the last. You can view a list of Facebook pages ranked by popularity in a number of locations, but if the information you seek is for marketing inspiration… you’ll need to ignore highly popular pages on topics, such as “I Love Sleep”.
In other words, there may be many lists out there which describe model branding pages for social media marketing. This is the only list I will bother to make, because things do change quickly. I hope, in the near future, that I can create a new list focusing on smaller businesses and organizations (the brands that are less familiar) which have utilized social media effectively to help grow their brand.
In any case, the following examples of effective Facebook Pages for familiar brands are chosen based on why I view these pages as positive examples, and a brief explanation is given for each page for your convenience. Enjoy!
K-Mart (http://Facebook.com/Kmart) has a Facebook advertisement announcing that they are giving away a $20 gift card every 10 minutes. Like their page to qualify.
Toyota has launched a series of TV commercials drawing viewers to visit http://Facebook.com/Toyota and “share your story.” (There is one commercial that drew a large response, but it was misleading and was removed. The remaining commercials continue to work effectively.)
Pepsi, on http://Facebook.com/Pepsi, focuses that they give away millions in grants each month. Talk about Positive PR! More importantly, they spark interaction by encouraging you to support your favorite project, categorized by cause.
Coca-Cola– on the other hand– is the 3rd most popular Facebook Branded page (just beneath Facebook, naturally, and Starbucks.) At http://Facebook.com/CocaCola you’ll find a great example of viral and attractive engagement. A photo contest (snap a photo which includes Coca Cola in the summer cans, and you could win) is simply brilliant, don’t you think? The graphic landing page doesn’t even mention what the prizes are. They range from branded Coca-Cola t-shirts (more attraction marketing, of course) to a “cheap-ish” digital video camera & photo frame. Photo and video contests are effective, and you don’t have to offer expensive prizes but you do need to offer some form of incentive to encourage participation.
Starbucks provides Facebook users with an app to monitor the balance of a Starbucks card, and even surprise friends by adding funds to other cards as a gift. (http://Facebook.com/Starbucks)
Geico is well known for their advertising campaigns, and for good reason. At http://Facebook.com/Geico, you can view a Youtube feed of funny Geico commercials, “gift a gecko” (viral attraction marketing), participate in a poll (Currently “Which is your favorite Geico mascot? – Cavemen, Gecko, or Kash) and also view livestreaming News and Twitter feeds.
Pizza Hut offers an App at http://Facebook.com/PizzaHut which allows you to order pizza – carry out or delivery – without ever leaving Facebook. Enough said…
Zappos does not miss a beat! The landing page at http://Facebook.com/Zappos is an amusing graphic pointing to the ‘Like’ button, and it reads “Let’s Be in a Like-Like Relationship”. Talk about a Call to Action! Even afterwards, this is a fun, friendly page with playful and engaging updates.
San Francisco offers a great model for government usage of social media at http://Facebook.com/SF. From a great usage of Events and video integration to fresh content, this is a good example of how Business & Tourism Development organizations can utilize Facebook into routine marketing efficiently.
Skittles provides a very entertaining Page at http://Facebook.com/Skittles and it’s the status updates that keep it interesting. What better way to build loyalty than to keep fans laughing? Most updates contain some mention of “rainbow” which is the brand that Skittles is successfully maintaining. More importantly, not all updates are entirely self promotional. Every update has been liked and/or commented on by thousands of page fans, and this leads to attractive viral marketing. An example of a highly popular, non-promotional update: “It’s kind of insane how angry piñatas make everybody.” Just for the fun of it, another example: “Ants never complain when humans ruin their picnics.” Short, simple, and oh-so-effective! (Of course, there is the occasional update such as “If Skittles had an anthem, what would it be?”
