Facebook Timelines for Business
Published: June 2012
Having a Facebook page for your business is a great way to extend your online presence from your website!
We’ve chosen our 15 favourite Facebook for businesses examples so you can see how the big brands are adopting social media to engage with their fan base. All your loyal customers in one place! What more could you ask for…
1. Urban River
We use our own Facebook timeline to share blog posts, press releases and other useful articles. We also like to interact with clients and suppliers, and tell our fans when we have completed a new project that they may be interested in. As they company was set up in 2002, we have used the timeline feature to show our fans the awards we’ve won and how the company has developed over the years – especially our brand and website (some of which look very retro if we do say so ourselves!)
2. Coca Cola
The Coca-Cola Facebook page is a collection of fan stories showing how people from around the world have helped to make the brand into what it is today. Their ‘Move To The Beat’ app lets fans access the TV ad, win tickets to Euro 2012 and explore exclusive artist content all from Facebook! Photos from worldwide events that the company have sponsored also play an important part in their timeline profile.
3. Dove
With 7.4m fans on Facebook, I think Dove is doing something right! The beauty product firm like to post questions on their status updates; engaging with their fanbase. Asking questions is a great way of getting your fans talking and so is offering them competitions to win free samples of their products; proving if you share a little, you get a lot in return!
4. Red Bull
Founded in 1987, Red Bull has taken advantage of filling in the gaps between then and now. Everything from their first appearance in the press, first advert and their first branded mini is showcased on their Facebook timeline. In 2012, Red Bull has made the most of promoting their sponsorship of various extreme sports. Surfing, skiing, dirt bike racing and many other sports represent the brands ‘giving wings to people who want to be mentally and physically active and have a zest for life’ ethos and they’re using timeline to highlight this.
5. Ford
Rewarding or incentivising fan behaviour is another great use of Facebook timelines for business; as demonstrated by Ford. To encourage likes, Ford has installed an app competition ‘Swap Your Ride Give Away’ which encourages users to view a choice of 10 car promotional videos before entering the competition. This increases product awareness whilst gaining likes – brilliant!
6. Fanta
Instead of promoting the company’s ethos and brand values, Fanta have opted for a more fun and commercial use of Facebook timeline. To aid the seamless link between offline and online, Fanta have based their timeline page on the characters from the TV and billboard advertising campaigns; Facebook fans have to help the characters get back to the future! Fanta also hold UK-wide events and use the photos as a great way of getting their fans involved after the event has taken place.
7. Livestrong
Livestrong serves people affected by cancer and empowers them to take action against the world’s leading cause of death. The charity was set up by cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong in 1997 and the Livestrong Facebook page encourages people affected by cancer to share experiences and tips and tricks to dealing with the after effects of cancer. As well as promoting their message, the charity’s page is a great example of a brand community coming together to help each other.
8. Starbucks
2.9 Million fans later and Starbucks’ Facebook timeline page is still going strong; you can definitely see how Facebook is using the vast amount of data it collects to the user’s advantage here. Even if the user isn’t a fan of the Starbucks page, Facebook will detect if any of the user’s friends like Starbucks; and then if they have commented about the brand! This makes the brand more approachable and encourages more users to like the page.
9. Goodwill Industries International
Goodwill Industries International are North America’s leading non-profit provider of education, training, and career services for people with disadvantages as well as those with physical, mental and emotional disabilities. To encourage brand sharing, whenever a Facebook user likes their page they we will donate $1 to Goodwill which is helping people find and keep good jobs.
10. The Economist
The Economist mainly uses their Facebook page to drive traffic back to their website. By sharing news stories through Facebook, users can interact with the story by commenting or liking it. This is a great way to get real-time responses to news happening around the world. The Economist can also monitor which stories have had the most interactions and give their Facebook audience more of what they want in the future.
11. The Guardian
You wouldn’t think it but one of the main features of The Guardian’s Facebook timeline is their YouTube account. Linking social media is a great way to ensure your fan base can hear your brands messages from various platforms! The Guardian’s YouTube app allows Facebook users to view the clips from Facebook instead of having to view their YouTube channel too. They also have a Jobs app which directs users to their website.
12. Ben & Jerry’s
Encouraging fans to share photos is a great way to get people talking and Ben & Jerry’s don’t even need to do anything themselves! However, Ben & Jerry’s have added their own content to the Facebook page through a Shop Locator app (postcodes at the ready) and promoting free cone day.
13. Barack Obama
Brands and companies often use Facebook to humanise the brand. As a public figure, Barack Obama’s page features family photos, quotes and pictures from conferences he’s attended. This combination of posts ensures the US president appears approachable and as a role model whilst sharing his message.
14. The New York Times
The New York Times are very vigilant in managing how their Facebook fans interact with their timeline. They “aim to create a space where readers can exchange intelligent and informed commentary that enhances the quality of news and information”. Although commenting on posts is encouraged, they ask fans to keep comments polite and on-topic. They promote their page as “a hub for conversation about news and ideas” and share links back to their own website to promote it.
15. Coldplay
Coldplay are using the number of people who record videos and take photos at gigs to their advantage. Their Live Archive allows fans to upload content via their website and make their memories and experiences viewable to people worldwide whether they were at the events or not. The UK band is also quick to adopt s-commerce (social commerce); their UK Ticket Shop app directs Facebook users to a list of tour dates with links to buy tickets to each show.
Check out our Facebook timeline or get in touch and find out how you can maximise the potential of Facebook for your business.
