30 March 2011 | Author: J. Morton News Editor

Facebook official says fans aren't enough

With brands gaining thousands of fans on their Facebook pages but leaders still scratching their heads from lack of seeing a return on investment, Facebook's own David Parfect said marketing efforts shouldn't stop with clicking the Like button.

The head of agency sales at the social media titan explained to those in attendance at the Social Media World Forum, 29 March, in London, that brands need comprehensive strategies to effectively make use of the new medium of the social network.

"Just because a brand has 17,000 fans on Facebook, that does not mean these fans are engaged with them," Parfect explained. "That is just where the marketing should start."

Other members of Parfect's panel agreed that too much emphasis has been placed on how many Likes a brand or product has, rather than how best to use the social media platform to connect and engage with consumers.

Other speakers at the Forum suggested businesses will need to integrate their social efforts into an overarching strategy to start to see benefits.

"In order to monetise social media, it should not be seen in isolation and needs to be integrated into the wider marketing mix," said Procter and Gamble head of e-commerce marketing Usama Al-Qassab.

This mirrored Parfect's assessment that "Marketers need to transform the way they think, and social media should not be siloed."

Al-Qassab also explained what he feels is the most important piece of the social marketing puzzle: "Unless you have content, there is no point. The content you deliver and the investment behind that is key, much bigger than straight media dollars."

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