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The Key Success Factors of Social Media Marketing:
Case Studies of the Use of Facebook to Enhance a Brand Community
by
Tanya Dentham and Kritsadarat Wattanasuwan
Thammasat Business School
Bangkok, Thailand
Email: kritsadarat@tbs.tu.ac.th
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The Key Success Factors of Social Media Marketing:
Case Studies of the Use of Facebook to Enhance a Brand Community
ABSTRACT
The paper explores both successful and failure case studies of the use of Facebook in order to
identify the key success factors of social media marketing. Observations as well as content
analysis are employed to study the Facebook pages of eight selected brands. Interviews with
social media marketing experts are also conducted. The findings suggest that the successful
employment of social media marketing depends on the characteristics of the brands, the
involvements of the consumers or fans, the attractiveness and contents of the Facebook pages
and the communication strategies/campaigns and offers.
INTRODUCTION
In recent years, several social media websites such as Facebook or MySpace have been
established in order to connect people and to create a community. These social media not only
allow consumers to express their ideas, thoughts and most importantly their identity, they also
allow consumers to interact and build relationships with each other. As popularity of these social
media among consumers increases, businesses start to see an opportunity to incorporate this new
media platform in their marketing research and communication activities. Basically businesses
utilize social media to gain consumer insights and to generate interaction between their
organizations/brands and consumers. Social media marketing then becomes a new tool for
marketing as it allows marketers to observe and explore consumer behavior as well as to
encourage interaction and feedback on the marketing campaigns.
From a marketing
communication perspective, social media is a low-cost media platform that businesses can use to
communicate a brand activity, to enhance a brand image and to create a bond between a brand
and its consumers.
Ultimately, businesses expect social media marketing to facilitate the
development of a brand community. However, while some businesses can employ social media
marketing successfully, some are still struggling to make it work. This study explores two
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successful cases of social media marketing against two unsuccessful cases in order to identify
key success and failure factors of social media marketing. The study conducts observations and
content analysis of Facebook pages of four selected brands as well as in-depth interviews with
social media marketing experts. The findings suggest that the successful employment of social
media marketing depends on the characteristics of the brands, the consumers, the Facebook
pages and the communication strategies/campaigns. Unlike communicating through traditional
media, social media marketing needs a more pro-active and flexible strategy to encourage
continuous consumer involvement that eventually leads to a strong brand community.
OVERVIEW OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
Although both traditional media and social media marketing are employed by marketers to
communicate to their customers, there is a clear distinction between the two (Mangold and Fauld
2009). To do marketing communication via mass media requires significant investment in term
of production and media cost. It is also a non-reciprocal and one to many means of
communication. On the other hand, marketing communication via social media is relatively
inexpensive and it is a reciprocal and many to many channel of communication. This allows
interaction and feedback between a marketer and consumers and among consumers themselves.
Additionally, traditional media communications may take several days to produce and cannot be
altered once it has been published. This may not be preferable when compared to social media,
which is virtually instantaneous and also allows modifications, editing and comments to be made
right away. Thus, in the rapidly changing marketing environment, many businesses have started
to employ social media as an alternative marketing communication tool to reach their customers.
While many businesses have revised their marketing strategies to incorporate social media as a
tool to increase awareness of their brands, they should continue to maintain the traditional
methods of communication as well. This is because some consumers still prefer the traditional
means of communication due to familiarity. Therefore, it is recommended that businesses
integrate social media into their traditional communication mix, not to replace them (Mangold
and Fauld 2009). Basically, social media marketing can be used to enhance the effectiveness of
the traditional media as well as to create interaction with the consumers. However, for small
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businesses, social media marketing may be the main communication tool due to its low
investment.
Social media marketing comes with several benefits for businesses if carried out properly. The
very first advantage of social media is the low upfront investment and maintenance costs. Once
businesses establish an advertisement on social media platforms such as Facebook pages, it
requires very little cost to get people to go to it. Most of the traffic comes from referrals, word of
mouth and the brand itself. Therefore, stimulating people to visit the site usually incurs costs of
composing the messages and the activities.
Besides the reasonable costs associated with this marketing tool, social media provides a wide
reach. When social media content generates a viral effect to a certain level, it travels to people all
over the world in only a matter of minutes. However, other media also has an impact on this
feedback as well. It is very common to find messages that originated from the Internet, being
discussed over traditional media such as radio or television (Masterson and Tribby 2009).
In terms of engagement, social media is a highly effective way of engaging with current and
future customers, enhancing a brand’s exposure, and driving traffic to the social media site. In
the bigger picture, to have an effective social media platform, businesses must understand that
consumers nowadays are exposed to a brand more frequently online than offline. Therefore, it is
important to make sure that messages communicated about the brand to consumers are consistent
across all channels. A coherent brand message can be beneficial in converting a site visitor into a
consumer (Masterson and Tribby 2009).
Furthermore, social media allows businesses to gain consumer insights as it encourages
interaction and feedback on the campaigns. For instance, consumers may participate in an
activity campaign and are able to comment and share the content with other people. This is a
convenient way for businesses to understand what consumers want and need in order to prevent
any problems or obstacles that may arise. Social media are effective platforms to establish,
defend and boost credibility of the brand.
Once sufficient information about consumers are gathered, businesses will be able to conduct
better plans for Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning themselves and the products provided.
With a clear objective and strategy, consumers will gain a higher satisfaction and will provide
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positive feedbacks toward the brand. This also increases the brand recognition and reputation
within the market (Mangold and Fauld 2009).
With apparent benefits of social media marketing, it is very likely that there will be challenges
that businesses will face as well. Social media tools may not be yield positive results for
companies that are struggling to fulfill the needs and demands of consumers. If the content does
not appeal to the target, then the business will not gain any useful feedback.
The reason of why it is very difficult to conduct marketing on social media is because of the
channel itself. Social media is very big and powerful but sometimes it is not controllable by the
marketer Masterson and Tribby 2009). This can lead to negative publicity of the brand, cynical
consumer feedback and non-responsive sites since social media allows for two-way
communication and feedback between consumers and the brand. Therefore, the intention of
doing business and marketing on the social media is very important. Dishonest business
strategies to promote a brand for instance, creating fake profiles that misrepresent the brand or
abuses the competitors will lead to detrimental consequences. This will not only have an impact
on the brand reputation but will also result in lower sales and public outrage.
FACEBOOK PAGE
Facebook is considered to be one of important social media where consumers use to express their
ideas, thoughts, feelings and importantly their identity. It is a good platform to create a
community. Accordingly, a Facebook page has been developed by several businesses not only to
create awareness for their brands and their up-to-date marketing activities, but also to enhance a
bond between their brands and consumers. Ultimately, those businesses expect their Facebook
page to become a platform to generate a community for their brands (McKenzie-Mohr 2011).
Components of Facebook Content
To use a Facebook page effectively, companies need to understand the fundamentals within a
page. Facebook pages usually comprise of three main areas of content:
Profile Image and Cover Photo
A cover is the first large photo at the top of a Facebook timeline page. This feature allows brands
to creatively select a cover photo that is unique and individualized in order to attract attention of
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visitors. Furthermore, it allows better experience on a Facebook page and also helps people learn
more about the brand itself. Therefore, the image selected must not only be appealing but also
acts as a representation of the brand and its identity. The profile image is the logo itself, which
usually helps visitors identify the brand within the first few seconds on the page.
The Central Area
This is considered the most flexible area of a page as administrators can customuze the content
according to preferences and separate content sections into different tabs: 1) Timeline/The wall
tab where administrators can post updates, content, or photos, 2) the “about” tab that provides
information about the company like business mission statement, overview of the products and
services and website details, 3) The boxes tab that allows the feature of various application
modules that can be selected and customized. Common applications are discussion boards, which
are used to generate interaction and discuss about the products or services, events and other
information, photos and videos, which allow administrator and fans to post photos and videos.
Facebook does not have a limit of how many photos and videos can be posted making it much
more convenient for sharing, and an event is an application that helps the company promote
upcoming events such as shows, sales or exhibitions. When users RSVP to an event, the response
is then updated on the newsfeeds.
However, besides these default application modules, there are also other features that signify the
brand’s activeness. The first aspect is the number of fans, which show how many people click
“Like” on the Facebook page. The more number of fans can represent the interests that they
show towards the brand. However, since this aspect cannot tell exactly how many people are
actual consumers, Facebook has introduced the “People talking about this” feature. This
feature/metric will count "stories" - meaning anything that is "eligible to appear in a user's news
feed". This feather includes Page Likes, Posts on the Page's wall, Liking, commenting or sharing
Page posts, photos, videos, albums or any other type of content, Answering a question posted by
a Page, RSVPing to an event, Mentioning a Page in a status or a comment, Tagging a Page in a
photo, Liking or sharing a check-in deal, and Checking in at a Place (Parnell 2011).
Generally, many brands like to use unique applications as a feature to attract more people to
come onto the Facebook page. Some implement several activities to increase traffic within the
page. These applications come in interesting forms of contests or even gaming platforms as well.
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Identifying the Objective of the Facebook Page
A successful brand does not necessarily translate into a successful Facebook page. It is not
guaranteed that people will become fans of a page just because they know about the brand or
even if they happen to come across the page by accident. Since social media is an inexpensive
channel of communication and has the ability to reach a large number of people, any business
can create a Facebook page. However, by doing so, they are competing with other companies
with Facebook pages in the same industry. Therefore, each brand needs to ensure that their
Facebook page is up for competition by differentiating it from other competitors that also have a
presence on Facebook (Parker 2011).
Prior to establishing a Facebook page, brands need to identify the objective of creating the page,
whether it is to generate more exposure, create a community or boosting revenues. “Not every
brand can create a successful Facebook page. This depends on the product category and the
behavior of the target group.”1 For example, non-commercial businesses (such as the industrial
sector) may not find Facebook to be the most ideal marketing tool. Furthermore, the target
audience must also be considered – if the products or services are targeted at elderly individuals,
then it may not be effective to create a Facebook page since these individuals do not adapt to
social media and technology like younger generation individuals.
Once the objective and target group has been identified, marketers need to ensure that the
content, mood and tone fits with the people they are communicating to. This concerns the
seriousness level, the reliability, or even the visual impacts of the page as well. All factors will
help create a page that cuts through the noise of similar pages to give people an incentive to
“Like” the page and become fans. The options of incentives are endless and will most likely
depend on the specific product or brand, but it should be something that will benefit the potential
fans. Examples include contests, product giveaways, and discounts, which will only be available
for participation only if they become a fan of the page. “People like free things, so when there is
1
Kittikunanant, Pongpreeya. Account Executive. "In Depth Interview about Facebook Marketing." Telephone
interview. 1 Mar. 2012.
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something that will offer that benefit, they are likely to want it more.” 2 To make these incentives
attractive, it is useful to identify the demographics of the target group on Facebook. This target
may be different from the regular target market, in age, interests, technical abilities and more.
Like general marketing campaigns, the biggest impact is when the brand knows whom their
audience is, which will give them a better idea of what incentives to entice these people.
Traffic Generation
A lot of Facebook pages are created and left abandoned. This is because people are not exposed
to the page and have no knowledge of its existence. Facebook pages are an effective way of
communicating the brand to users. However, it can only be effective is the page is active.
Therefore, it is important to constantly update the page with new content. This ensures that the
updates are published in the newsfeeds and entices fans to visit the page. Every brand must be
aware that it is important to publicize the Facebook page to a point where it creates word of
mouth. Other methods to create buzz, increase fan base and traffic include:
Appearance
A feature of Facebook that makes in attractive and interesting is the welcome page or landing
page. This is this first thing people see when they come across a brand’s Facebook page. Since
Facebook’s interface recently changed into timeline, this feature is mainly the cover photo. Many
brands will have attractive cover designs in forms of events advertising or even just images of
the brand name. It is important that people are able to identify the brand within the first few
minutes of visiting the page. If the appearance is interesting to the target group, it will entice
people to find out more about the brand.
The Content
This aspect is the most important factor that administrators or marketers need to consider first.
The heart of a successful page depends on the layout style, mood and tone and content posted
(i.e. activities, wall posts, conversations between fans and the brand and so on). Interesting
content retain people on the page for longer periods of time and are likely to lead to more
participation. Therefore, brands need to pay attention to what the target audience is interested in
2
Kittikunanant, Pongpreeya. Account Executive. "In Depth Interview about Facebook Marketing." Telephone
interview. 1 Mar. 2012.
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and leverage on that to create content that attracts these people. An example is by having
contests.
Linking to the Page
The best way to link a Facebook page or any other social media websites is through the
company’s original website as some people still choose to visit the original website when
seeking for more information. Furthermore, these pages can also be promoted through other
different social media platforms such as LinkedIn or Twitter since it is easy to insert links to the
Facebook page from these established online channels.
Email Signature and Email Marketing
If the company’s main method of communication is through email, this is the simplest way to get
the word out to business circles, personal circles or even sending electronic updates to clients.
This will allow the brand to mention how people can benefit from ‘liking’ the page. Including
the Facebook page link as part of the Email will allow easier access to the page.
Facebook Advertisements
Buying Facebook advertisement space to promote their Facebook page, brands can select
appropriate targets according to demography, geography or even interests. They can also
determine which time of the day the advertisement should appear. This is critical because the
right advertisement space can create brand exposure and attract the right target to their page.
Facebook Monitoring Methods
The performance and effectiveness of a Facebook page depends on a variety of factors.
Marketers should constantly track and monitor the effectiveness of the page against the
marketing goals. The effectiveness of Facebook pages depends on business nature (e.g., B2B,
B2C etc.) and the goal of the page. Different objectives and goals will result in different types of
responses or interaction. For example, B2B Facebook pages may aim to inform fans about their
business and be more knowledge-based, whereas B2C Facebook pages will aim more towards
consumer activity on the applications launched.
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Successful pages can mean increasing fan numbers, increasing interaction among fans by
uploading content or commenting on the wall. Other factors of success can be driving fans to the
actual company website from the Facebook page as well.
Once goals and objectives are clearly identified, the monitoring will be based particularly on that
context. Fan/consumer behavior is an important aspect that marketers need to pay attention to as
it will allow them to make changes, such as increasing a certain content or activity type to fit
with the behavior better. A useful tool that Facebook provides is the built-in insights, which
allow marketers to access data and statistics, that relate to fans’ engagement with the page.
Examples of statistics are the number of page views, unique users or even the number of minutes
spent on the page. These data can be collected and implemented into external strategies and
events related to the business as well. Moreover, marketers can also track users’ activity on the
page such as the wall posts or the views on photo galleries as a percentage of the total visitors to
the page. These numbers will give a specific ratio of fans without interacting with them and will
enable marketers to seek improvement for the page. Not only does this built-in insight provide
statistics of user behavior, it also gives information regarding demographics and geographical
locations of the visitors.
These statistical tools are very useful for marketers to evaluate the Facebook page. And with
Facebook’s consistent improvements on the website, many new features have been introduced. A
recent development launched in December 2011 is the “Talking about this” feature, which allows
marketers to track how many users are talking about the brand. This statistic measures every post
that relates to the brand, whether they are wall posts, tags or likes. From the interview with a
Digital Strategic Planning Manager, if 5% of the total fans are talking about the brand, it is
considered to be quite good.3 However, this depends on the type of product or service. High
involvement products may generate lower percentages than a low involvement product and still
be considered successful. If brands are able to increase this percentage, it means that their
Facebook page is highly effective and active. Furthermore, the timeline interface also helps
marketers to go back in time to see the older activities and modify them according to the needs
and demands.
3
Kiatsiri Charonsiri. Digital Planning Manager. "In Depth Interview about Facebook Marketing." Telephone
interview. 1 Mar. 2012.
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With the insight tools and statistics, it is important to keep a running record of the dates of when
the content was posted and what the content is about. These actions can then be matched to the
number of unique users to help identify what changes or additions to the page are providing the
highest return.
THE CASE STUDIES
Successful Case: Starbucks Thailand
Review of Marketing Mix
Starbucks Thailand’ target group is cosmopolitan individuals with middle to high income. This is
because Starbucks’ products are priced higher than market value and offer more premium quality
than other brands. It offers high quality beverages like coffees, teas, fruit juice, blended drinks
and also bakery products. Occasionally, Starbucks may offer products that are localized to the
store locations. Starbucks’ products and services are considered to be middle to high
involvement product as people tend to put in more thought before actually purchasing it.
Starbucks in Thailand is considered to be a premium brand of which its price is doubled of the
market prices for beverages in small cafes. However, people still purchase Starbucks due to their
high brand recognition and also because their products live up to the promised ingredients as
well. In Thailand, Starbucks branches are usually located in urban areas with high traffic such as
business districts and tourist attractions as these people have the purchasing power for the
products. In terms of promotion, Starbucks do not invest in a lot of advertising campaigns and
mass media. They usually provide promotions and discount deals at the store locations
themselves depending on the season and time period. People who usually know about these
campaigns are regular customers or are customers of other companies that have co-marketing
campaigns with Starbucks.
Facebook Page Strategies
Appearance
Immediately at the welcome page, visitors will recognize and get a feel of the product. The cover
photo chosen by Starbucks is of coffee beans with the logo as a profile picture (Appendix 1). As
for the tabs in the information bar, it shows that Starbucks has a lot of activities within the page,
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enticing visitors to click on the links and liking the page as well. This shows that a clear page
design will inform people of the brand and the activities or the content is what keeps them on the
page for longer.
Number of Page Likes and Brand Discussions
Starbucks’ Facebook page has 186,061 page likes and 4,128 people talking about the brand. For
a premium beverage brand like Starbucks, there are about 2.4% of the total fans talking about the
brand. Considering the product type, price and target, these numbers are quite large. They have
captured this market quite well and gained brand loyalty along with it as well. Furthermore, these
numbers change all the time within Starbucks’ group, indicating that there is a lot of activity on
the page. For example, when numbers are lower, the content may not be as interesting and
people stop discussing about the brand. However, when there is an increase, fans frequently
respond to administrator’s wall posts and show interest in the topic of discussion.
Content and Conversation
Starbucks has successfully created a Facebook community among its customers – that is their
main objective. People post about their Starbucks experiences and share ideas for others to enjoy
as well. This shows that the main objective for Starbucks is to create a brand community within
the social media platform and these people are able to interact with each other to feel a sense of
belonging (Appendix 2). Starbucks has also stressed upon the importance of CSR campaigns by
inviting fans to join in several activities like helping out with the flood victims or helping the
rural areas and other community service projects (Appendix 3). This strategy has planted a
positioning/image in the people’s minds that even though Starbucks is a prestigious brand, it still
cares about the community as well. The brand concept of Starbucks aims to create good brand
reputation, image and impression. Because of this, when fans feel like they belong, they also post
stories about their Starbucks experiences, which is what Starbucks aims to sell as well – when
they are impressed, they share the stories with others on the Facebook page (Appendix 4). Other
activities and campaigns include Activities on the page include promotions and discounts
(Appendix 5) new product and new store introductions (Appendix 6 and Appendix 7), life style
discussions, picture posts with questions to generate interaction. As for contests, Starbucks also
has several campaigns for people to take part in, for instance, having people posting photos of
themselves with the Starbucks brand to win several prizes from Starbucks’ complimentary gifts
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and products to getaway trips to attractions in Thailand (Appendix 8). The main content and
conversation takes a very similar approach to a blogging website where the administrators posts
about Starbucks’ news and fans posts about their thoughts and feelings on the brand.
Mood and Tone
The mood and tone of the content is very service oriented and the administrator seems to care for
their customers by making every fan feel like family. The community’s content and
conversations are very warm and attentive. For example, administrators showing interests in
every customer’s posts by answering their questions and providing information about the
product, event or activity. By doing so, strong relationships are created, along with excellent
service that comes with excellent product offerings.
Page Activity
The frequency of wall posts, comments, pictures and videos on the Facebook page is very often
as there is high interaction between fans and the administrator. Every wall post shared by either
party receives active responses from the community – either by sharing, commenting or liking
the posts. This triggers fans to communicate with each other which creates positive word of
mouth and encourages them to keep sharing.
Page Feedback
The feedback of this Facebook page is quite impressive and positive and people seem to continue
to share stories posted by the administrator on their own walls. The number of likes on the page
increases daily showing the impact that the brand has on its consumers. The warm and welcome
feeling when people become part of the community is a definite selling point of the page.
Successful Case: Marie France Bodyline Thailand
Review of Marketing Mix
Marie France Bodyline targets both men and women who have the purchasing power to use
services such as slimming and beauty centers. These individuals usually have middle to high
income and are concerned about their health and weight. Marie France Bodyline provides
beauty slimming services for customers who wish to tone down and shape their bodies to
perfection. It offers tailored programs to meet specific needs, for visible and long lasting results.
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They dedicate their time to each customer’s needs with careful analysis and through uses of
advanced slimming technologies. The products and services offered by Marie France Bodyline is
considered to be high involvement as it is not a necessity and people actually have to invest a
significant amount to use their services. Marie France Bodyline’s services are usually located in
department stores all over the country. The locations are considered to be ideal as they will be
able to capture more customers walking past their stores. Marie France Bodyline has a strong
reputation among celebrities and renowned individuals who constantly endorse the brand. The
brand is known for giving a visual image of individuals before and after their treatment. This is
an effective strategy for individuals who aspire to be like those presented in the advertisements.
Facebook Page Strategies
Appearance
Marie France Bodyline’s Facebook page is quite simple. They have chosen to put their brand
name and slogan as a cover photo to grab the visitor’s attention by informing right away what
their core services are (Appendix 9). With the colorful and bold name and slogan, people will
know immediately what the offerings are and will be willing to find out more about the product.
The information bar also provides the phone number and website, indicating that the
product/service requires information seeking as well.
Number of Page Likes and Brand Discussions
Marie France Bodyline currently has 7,860 likes and 114 people talking about the brand. For a
brand that has high involvement and requires a significant amount of investment, the number of
fans is considered high. Even though only 1.5% of the people talk about the brand, it does not
mean that the page is unsuccessful. A service provider like Marie France also focuses its efforts
offline. However, to get a large number of likes, the content must be interesting enough to
generate high traffic. Furthermore, it also indicates the fact that the brand delivers results and
generates word of mouth.
Content and Conversation
The content of the Facebook page generally revolve around the brand and the service it offers.
The brand promotes the services it offers and different programs that solve different obesity
problems such as unfit body parts and cellulite (Appendix 10). These promotions include that the
package offers and also the discounts for them as well. They also provide information about the
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discounted packages and bundling them with free medical check ups as well (Appendix 11) – by
incorporating bundle services, customers are more likely to use the service and show interest.
Besides the general services information, they also provide fans with tips and advice to keep
healthy and in shape. These do not specifically concern the services but more of a general topic
such as eating healthy (Appendix 12) .In terms of interaction generation; Marie France Bodyline
provides several activities and incentives for their fans to communicate. For example, they have
a “Sunday Quiz” which is where the administrator will ask questions every Sunday regarding the
brand’s services or general questions about slimming (Appendix 13). Those who are fans of the
page can participate to win a prize or giveaway, complimentary of the company. The prizes are
limited to those who have not yet received anything during that particular month. Lastly, the
conversations also include fans asking Marie France Bodyline for advice and recommendations
as to what programs to choose in order to solve a specific problem (Appendix 14). All these
strategies and implementations show activity from both the administrators and the fans.
Mood and Tone
As a slimming and beauty service provider, Marie France Bodyline needs to represent the brand
as one that provides professional services that are safe and reliable. Therefore, the mood and tone
is in a professional manner that provides significant and important information. They act as an
advisor to recommend different things to their fans. This fits with the target audience because the
content questions are generally regarding service information.
Page Activity
Administrators post on the Facebook page very frequently with consistent activities for fans to
participate in. The content is very effective in gaining participation and attention from the fans.
There is steady interaction between administrators and fans or even amongst fans themselves.
Because these services require experience of use, people tend to post about their results after
using the service and how effective it is or even about negative experiences with the brand.
Brands like Marie France Thailand must be aware that their products or services will have both
responses, generating positive and negative word of mouth. Therefore, they must be prepared to
face several types of feedback.
Page Feedback
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The overall feedback of the page is positive, showing continuous conversations and responses
between fans and administrators. Every plan implemented receives comments and feedback from
the fans which shows that the Facebook page has a significant impact on the fans. Overall, it is
proven that Marie France Bodyline’s Facebook page provides enough information for its fans to
learn more about the brand in general and helps them understand the how the results of the
services are derived.
Unsuccessful Cases: Baskin Robbins Thailand
Review of Marketing Mix
The target group of Baskin Robbins mainly focuses on family and youngsters. Baskin Robbins
is a company in the food and beverage industry providing different flavors of ice creams and
drinks. They also serve cakes and snacks as well. Baskin Robbins has priced its products
economically and made it affordable to their consumers. However, as living costs have changed,
the product offerings have also increased their prices as well. It is not considered that much more
affordable than their competitors in the market nowadays. The products are promised to be of
quality and value for all customers. Baskin Robbins has less number of stores than competitors
like Swensen’s or Haagen-Dazs.
Facebook Page Strategies
Appearance
Baskin Robbins Thailand does not have an interesting welcome page (Appendix 15). When
visitors come across the page, there is no cover photo to capture their attention, nor are there any
tabs to click on at the top information bar. No matter how much information is posted within the
group, visitors will not look at them if they are not impressed with the page. Brands cannot rely
on the fact that they are a well renowned brand as a drive for people to be interested; they must
take into account that people judge the page by its appearance first then the content later.
Number of Page Likes and Brand Discussions
Baskin Robbins Thailand has 634 likes and only 32 are talking about it. Although 5% of people
are discussing about the brand, it is not a large amount considering the product category. With a
product that targets at a large audience base, there should be more fans and more activity within
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the page. This illustrates Baskin Robbins’ inability to generate site traffic and interaction.
Without the traffic, it cannot create word of mouth among fans.
Content and Conversation
The objective of the page is mainly used for advertisement. Administrators post contents about
new product introductions, usually ice cream flavors (Appendix 16). Along with new products,
they also introduce new store locations as well. With this information, fans can keep up to date
with the current offerings and the locations in order to select the best destination to go to and try
out new flavors. In terms of the promotional campaigns, most of them take place offline in forms
of discounts or even special deals for people who use the AIS phone service provider (Appendix
17). These campaigns and activities are usually implemented at each particular store locations
which limits the use of Facebook (Appendix 18). Because they are offline, not many interactions
within the Facebook page have been generated, causing it to be very inactive between
administrator and fans. Other contents include contests within the Facebook page, such as
guessing which celebrity starred in the Baskin Robbins commercial as a child (Appendix 19).
The first five winners will win complementary coupons to buy the products. However, it is not
very often that the online channel is used. This is a factor that Baskin Robbins needs to consider
if they want to generate more traffic. Because people are exposed to only the activities at the
stores, they dismiss the online channel because there are no incentives to liking the page at all.
Mood and Tone
The mood and tone of the Baskin Robbins Thailand Facebook page is very fun and lively, which
definitely fits the colorful brand image. Their tone of voice seems to be very friendly, bubbly and
celebratory as they talk about the different campaigns. Since the product is ice cream, their
administrators represent the brand by communicating in a young manner, including smiley faces
and symbols like hearts in their wall posts.
Page Activity
Administrators of the Baskin Robbins Thailand page are quite active in terms of their wall posts,
pictures and comments. The number of likes and shares on each post does not exceed 10. This
indicates the fact that the wall posts, comments and photos that are posted on the Facebook page
are not relevant to the fans. They are not interesting enough and do not have the ability to start
any discussion or interaction at all. People are usually interested in the promotions and
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campaigns but they are informed at the different store locations anyway. Therefore, this shows
that the brand has underused the Facebook platform; it has not promoted the page well enough to
generate the needed awareness, hence the smaller number of fans.
Page Feedback
Baskin Robbins Thailand Facebook page would not be considered as successful, however it is
not a complete failure because there is still room to grow and improve from what they currently
have. If they adjust their strategies and direct their consumers from offline to online, they will
have the opportunity to gain even more brand exposure on the Facebook community and have a
more positive feedback from fans.
Unsuccessful Case: Unisense Thailand
Review of Marketing Mix
Unisense’s targets are mainly female individuals of middle to high income who can afford
slimming services. Unisense is an international slimming institute that provides customers with
medically proven, non-invasive and effective technologies in slimming, body contouring and
facial treatments for individuals’ overall well-being and beauty. It has patented technologies
from France to ensure the highest quality treatments. The services are high involvement since it
requires a large sum of investment, more time consumption and consumers need to learn about
the service and its benefits before deciding on whether they will purchase the packages offered. .
Since Unisense uses technologies from abroad, their services are high quality. The pricing of
their services are usually market based as every brand that provides similar services have similar
product prices as well. Unisense is located at most department stores in Thailand and has major
competitors like Marie France Bodyline and other beauty and slimming institutes. Like any
beauty service provider, Unisense offers customers package deals at a cheaper price. This will
attract more customers to purchase their services because they prefer bundling the offerings.
Facebook Page Strategies
Appearance
Unisense has no welcome page at all. The page is quite dull and quiet without any movement or
activity. There is no utilization of Facebook features or cover photos. Without the profile picture,
users would definitely not know what brand this Facebook page is talking about. This creates a
negative first impression and users are likely to navigate away from the page immediately.
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Number of Page Likes and Brand Discussions
Unisense only has 49 page likes and 0 people talking about the brand. This shows that the brand
is not very active on the social media platform such as Facebook. Having observed the page over
a period 3 months, this statistic has not increased or changed in any way at all. The lack of fans
indicates that the brand has not focused its efforts in promoting the Facebook page at all.
Content and Conversation
As seen in Appendix 20, the Facebook page is completely blank without any updates or recent
posts. There are only a few wall posts since the launch of the Facebook page in 2010.
Administrators seem to discard the page’s existence and do not seek to boost brand interaction
and exposure with the fans. This can be shown from the lack of attention to fans wall posts,
questions and requests. An example can be seen in one of the wall posts where a fan has asked
about Unisense’s slimming services. The wall post has been left alone without any response. In
this case, it shows Unisense’s lack in objective and abilities to keep the page active. Currently it
seems as if they do not care for this channel of communication to their fans.
Mood and Tone
Because there is a lack in content and communication from the administrators, it is not possible
to identify the mood and tone of the page. However, from the existing fan posts, administrators
should be more attentive by providing useful and knowledgeable information for their fans. This
is services like Unisense’s requires questions from potential customers to be answered.
Therefore, the mood and tone needs to be more serious and comes from a viewpoint of
specialists in this field.
Page Activity
The most obvious aspect about Unisense’s Facebook page is the inactiveness of the
administrators. The most recent two posts are in 2011 and have been inactive since then. Because
of the lack of updates and freshness in content, there has been no interaction or increases in fan
base. It can also point out that the brand is not properly exposed and people are not aware of the
Facebook page that has been created. In terms of activities on the page, because it has been
inactive, administrators do not care about providing any activities on the page. This leaves the
page unattended and is probably the reason why it lacks traffic and audience.
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Page Feedback
There is currently no recent feedback from fans. Unisense needs to change their ways in
managing the page to improve their page and increase their fans. Their page seems to be created
just because they want to have an online channel of communication. But it has not succeeded
because it seems like the page is used like any other media and administrators do not care to
implement any strategies. The lack of Facebook activity leads to low awareness and exposure.
FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION
Key Success Factors
The observations and insights gathered from this study have derived several conclusions of
social media marketing, particularly Facebook as the main social platform. The key success
factors of the successful Facebook pages depend on a number of factors.
Product Category/Brand and Objective
There are many different objectives for creating Facebook pages such as to generate more brand
exposure or to create a community or to generate interaction or buzz about the brand. Different
brands can have different objectives as long as they are consistent throughout their
implementation plans. A clear objective will help set a direction for the strategies that will help
brands achieve their desired goals and outcomes.
Attractiveness of Facebook Page
This creates the very first impression of a Facebook page. It is obvious that people are usually
drawn to attractive appearances and designs of anything they come across. If the welcome page
is able to capture that interest, it has a higher guarantee that these visitors will stay on the page
for longer and will have the potential to become new fans.
Content, Mood and Tone
The heart of a successful Facebook page lies within its content. Throughout all cases, there are
several content types present. Most brands have the intention to create content that generates
interaction to build a community within their Facebook pages – some more than others like
Starbucks. These include events, promotions and contests as their main focus. Other activities
like tips and advice or social activities depend on the brand and its personality. The successful
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content are updated frequently to keep fans updated with fresh information. This is translated
through the mood and tone of the content that fits with the target group. The content captures the
target’s interest to discuss about the specific product and brand, and focuses on representing the
brand as a whole. Interesting content types will generate the interaction that a page needs.
However, it has to be appropriate and posted at the right times to fit with the target audience.
Why are some pages unsuccessful?
First and foremost, Facebook pages need a solid foundation, a unique brand personality and
differentiation in order to be successful. Those that are not successful do not meet these
requirements. Most of the time, they focus on the wrong brand portrayal – irrelevant content,
images, or activities that generate negative results.
“Likes” That Do Not Enhance the Brand
Increasing the number of likes is a process of gaining awareness. However, once people are
aware and taken to the page, it is important to keep them there. Not enhancing the brand will
only navigate traffic to another page that is more interesting. The Internet, social media websites
like Facebook and the instant gratification that comes along with it, has given people (especially
those in Generation Y) shorter attention spans. Therefore, brands need to differentiate their page
from others in the market since the time that people spend on a significant page is rather limited.
Fan Annoyance and Lack of Interaction
Keeping content fresh does not mean overly excessive wall posts, pictures, videos or comments.
Many of the fans that receive updates from a brand in every hour, to the point that it takes over
their news feed will make it likely for them to unsubscribe from the page. The feeling of invasion
will create more of a negative impression rather than a positive one.
Conversely, people who become part of a Facebook page want to feel like they are a part of a
community of mutual interests. The main facilitator of the page is the administrator. If a
Facebook page is created and it lacks maintenance and updates, fans will slowly lose interest in
the brand and may seek information from other sources. These sources may include offline
channels or even turning to competitors as well.
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One-Way Broadcasting
In a traditional media sense, this is acceptable because viewers or a second party cannot provide
feedback. However, in a social media platform, people need to be able to express themselves and
connect. Similarly to being bombarded with messages, people do not want to have products and
services pushed at them from one side. Therefore, constant hard selling will not work in
Facebook marketing. People have and need the right to provide feedback.
Entertainment for the sake of entertainment
It is good to be entertaining in terms of keeping the Facebook page alive. However, brands must
have a social purpose as well. When visitors come across the page filled with fun, humorous and
entertaining updates, they are likely to feel happy. But it does not provide them with any
information about the brand or the product. This means that administrators can have light hearted
posts but they have to alternate with useful things that represent the brand as well. A brand is not
only about entertainment, but more about expressing who they are to the people online.
Successful Cases VS. Unsuccessful Cases
It is evident that the successful cases and unsuccessful cases have similarities and differences.
The most apparent factor is the amount of activity within the pages. When compared, the
unsuccessful cases have very minimal activity than the successful pages.
The successful cases have demonstrated effective use of Facebook as a platform of
communication. They have successfully engaged in conversations by providing what the target
needs and wants to see. Their pages have been exposed to many people and have been able to
convince fans to participate in the conversations. This keeps the page active and livelier than the
successful cases. With regards to the key success factors, the Facebook Successful Cases have
been able to meet all requirements that a page should possess, which is why they have been able
to keep their updates running since the launch date.
Similarities and Differences
The one and only similarity between the successful and unsuccessful pages is the type of content
posted. Majority of Facebook pages aim to enhance their brand through the use of Facebook as it
is a very large community network for people to be connected. The types of contents posted
revolve around the brand’s activities and the different brand involvements or upcoming events.
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However, the successful cases present themselves more firmly as to what their brand represents
and seem to express themselves clearer and in a consistent manner than the failure cases.
The content is different between the cases. The unsuccessful cases have made Facebook merely
another medium of advertisement without considering the two-way interaction factor. Reasons
for this are because the content is not interesting and the mood and tone does not fit with the
target identified. Indications can be seen by the lack of communication and care between the
administrator and the fans. A major example is how the Unsuccessful Cases have not been able
to provide relevant posts for fans to interact with – posting information and updates about offline
activities will not help the page gain any interest. They also do not provide any response to fan
posts, which definitely does not maintain the traffic or the positive word of mouth.
Furthermore, Facebook page promotion and advertisement is also very crucial in this type of
marketing platform. The main advantage of Facebook is the ability to create a viral effect. The
first type of advertisement is through spaces that brands can invest in – they can select the
appropriate group of people to advertise to. The failures may not have invested in this space or
they may have chosen the wrong space that does not align with the selected target. Inappropriate
and inconsistent advertisement even through content updates may cause the brand to lose
exposure. Baskin Robbins Thailand is a clear example of pages that have potential to grow but
lack the finesse of utilizing social networking sites.
In terms of the page attractiveness, none of the unsuccessful cases have managed to create a
positive appearance like those of the successful cases. There are no interesting cover photos or
even profile pictures to represent the brand personality or inform people about the brand within
the first visit. This could be because of the newly introduced timeline feature, causing confusion
and lack of interest to keep the pages updated.
Gaps and Improvements
The comparisons between the successful and unsuccessful cases of Facebook clearly indicate
that there are still gaps and improvements to be made. These changes will help the unsuccessful
cases gain more exposure and learn to implement better strategies.
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Brands must be cognizant of not just creating cool gimmicks when starting up a Facebook page.
It must have a social voice that determines what and who the brand represents in terms of
personality, thoughts, actions, words and attitude. It must also have a social purpose, which is the
main idea of the page. The content is the main reflection of this idea and is unique to both the
brand and objective.
A huge gap of difference is found in the social content. There are many varieties of content to
choose from – user generated, useful tools, games, interactive videos, conversation topics,
community projects, tips and advice and promotional offers. A brand needs to be aware of the
types of content that will earn participation from their fans. The Facebook Timeline is an
excellent tool to track which content generates the most interaction. This is because the target
audience determines the identity and they decide what is to be included in messages they
consume. These observations can help brands determine new content feeds that are fun, useful,
rewarding, simple to follow and most importantly, shareable. When people are involved,
Facebook can definitely create a viral impact. Fresh updates are important but not to the point
that it drives fans away. Brands must know when and how content should be posted to avoid
losing their followers. They want to create brand loyalty with a diversified selection. Keeping in
mind that content needs to be two way to work. Many Unsuccessful Cases however, tend to
focus on offline campaigns. This can work if they are linked to the online channels through tools
like QR codes or mobile applications such as ‘Instagram’. If there is difficulty to find the right
contents to post, simple questions is an easy way to generate interaction. As more people
continue to engage, the post will keep floating on top of the stream.
Following the social content is the key differentiator of the brand among others in the same
industry. Consumers are constantly seeking for information online and have virtually unlimited
choices. Therefore, if the brand does not have the right elements in a Facebook page, they will
not stand out from the rest. If that is the case, then people are definitely not going to be attracted
to the page. Facebook is the ultimate amplifier. This means that people will focus a lot on the
things they read. If a product or service is good, it will be amplified until it is perceived
positively better than its competitors. Conversely, if the product or service is bad, the negativity
will be heightened as well.
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Furthermore, each Facebook page is created mainly to build a community for the company,
product or service. This serves as the brand’s main presence on Facebook to connect with
prospects, customers and fans. The successful cases have demonstrated the ability to create a
connection between the fans and the brand itself. By doing this, the fans are living and breathing
the brand – the brand becomes part of their life. A strong community will increase awareness of
the brand through fans and friends of fans, increases brand trust, increases loyalty to the brand
and decreases customer acquisition costs. These factors will contribute toward the company’s
profits (Carter and Levy 2012). How to develop a strong business network around the brand
personality? First is by being a resource to the community; people will rely on the administrators
to answer questions. If they find the help useful, there is a higher chance to gain positive
feedback, which allows the community to continue to grow larger and closer. The next important
thing is to be attentive to all posts, comments and questions. This will definitely allow people to
feel a sense of belonging. A simple comment or message has a high impact and will drive more
traffic to the Facebook page. The unsuccessful cases have shown a lack of interest and
attentiveness to fan posts. A two-way communication platform cannot work if one party decides
to stop responding.
Once the Facebook page has managed to drive traffic to the page, conversion takes place to 1)
turn strangers into consumers or 2) turn strangers into clients or customers. The formula for this
stage is when people consume valuable information; they are no longer strangers to the
information (Kabani 2010). Over time, they will become a brand’s customer or consumer.
However, the focus must be on the right target group. With the right group of people, brands can
then engage and deliver information that is relevant to what users are searching for. This is
where Facebook is effective as it allows people to experience the product or service before they
make their decision.
Improvements and alterations have to be made over a period of time. It requires hard work and
effort to make a Facebook page successful. Every brand needs to keep in mind that once they
have succeeded with their Facebook page, continuous improvements need to be made in order to
deliver the best results for the fans. This includes constant page monitoring, telling the right story
and expose the real benefits and values. A social media platform like Facebook is highly
effective for sharing stories and experiences that will attract new fans onto the page. Ideas that
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can be helpful for future prospects are to publish testimonials from existing groups of customers
and also share case studies that show how solutions are found with the brand. As a result, there
will be conversations generated. Engagement is very powerful on Facebook because every time a
fan likes or comments on a post, Facebook can notify the interaction on the news feeds. When
interaction is consistent, the brand becomes top of mind with prospects, customers and fans.
The next step after having secured existing and new customers is to be flexible to changes and
new trends that will be introduced in the future. Facebook is known to change its layout rather
often – the most recent being the introduction of Timeline. It is important for businesses to
constantly update themselves so as to not appear outdated. Also, businesses should keep a look
out for emerging online trends and changes to consumer behavior. Facebook’s growth is likely to
reach saturation at some point and people may switch to other social media websites. Therefore,
businesses that are able to adapt fast are those that are likely to survive the intense competition
within the online community.
In conclusion, social media marketing, specifically Facebook can be utilized in ways that has
been previously discussed to enhance the company’s brand name and recognition. This means of
communication has a huge impact on society and will be very effective if strategies are
implemented properly. All in all, brands will gain recognition and exposure if Facebook is
utilized in an active fashion. There is also great potential in establishing a brand community that
generates positive interaction and viral responses.
REFERENCES
Carter, B. & Levy, J. (2012). Facebook Marketing: Leveraging Facebook Features for Your
Marketing Campaigns. Indianapolis. Que.
Kabani, S. (2010). The Zen of Social Media Marketing: An Easier Way to Build Credibility,
Generate Buzz, and Increase Revenue. Dallas, TX. Benbella.
Mangold, W.G., & Fauld, D. J. (2009). Social media: The new hybrid element of the
promotion mix. Business Horizon, 52, 357-365.
Masterson, M. & Tribby, M. E. (2009). Changing the Channel: 12 Easy Ways to Make
Millions for Your Business. Hoboken, NJ. John Wiley & Sons.
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McKenzie-Mohr, D. (2011). Fostering Sustainable Behavior: An Introduction to CommunityBased Social Marketing (3rd ed.). Gabriola Island, BC. New Society Publishers.
Parker, C. (2011). 301 Ways to Use Social Media to Boost Your Marketing. New York.
McGraw-Hill.
Parnell, B. (2011). Look Who is Talking … about Your Facebook Page. The Register.
(http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/10/04)
SCB EIC Economic Intelligence Center. (2012). SCB Insight: How should businesses adapt
to the social media era? (http://www.scb.co.th/eic/doc/en/insight on 29 Feb 2012).
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APPENDICES
Appendix 1: Starbucks’ Facebook Page Appearance
Appendix 2: Starbucks Community
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Appendix 3: Starbucks Corporate Social Responsibility Campaigns
Appendix 4: Starbucks Fan Stories
Appendix 5:
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Discounts and Promotions
Appendix 6: Starbucks Discounts and Promotions
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Appendix 7: Starbucks New Store Locations
Appendix 8: Starbucks Contests
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Appendix 9: Marie France Bodyline’s Facebook Page Appearance
Appendix 10: Marie France Bodyline Service Program Introductions
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Appendix 11: Marie France Bodyline Discounts
Appendix 12: Marie France Bodyline Tips and Tricks
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Appendix 13: Marie France Bodyline Sunday Quiz
Appendix 14: Marie France Bodyline Fan Question and Answers
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Appendix15: Baskin Robbins’ Facebook Page Appearance
Appendix 16: Baskin Robbins New Ice Cream Flavors
Appendix 17: Baskin Robbins Promotions
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Appendix 18: Baskin Robbins Offline Promotions at Store Locations
Appendix 19: Baskin Robbins Facebook Contests
Appendix 20: Unisense’s Facebook Page Appearance
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