Big Brands & Facebook:
Demographics, Case Studies & Best Practices
Charlene Li
Vice President & Principal Analyst
Forrester Research
October 8, 2007
Theme
Facebook marketing
requires communicating,
not advertising
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Entire contents © 2007 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Agenda
• What are the demographics of Facebook users?
• What are some best practices for brand marketing
on Facebook?
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Entire contents © 2007 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Facebook’s demographics
• 60 million active users projected by end of 2007
» Currently at 44 million active users
» Half of current users return daily
• Facebook also projects that 75% of worldwide users
will be outside of college
Source: Facebook
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A drill down of Facebook’s US demographics
• 56.3% female
• 58.4% have some college education
• 14% are non-white
• 34% work as professionals, executives, sales,
education, or technical
» 12% are full time students
• 12% have children under 16
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings
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Facebook’s international age distribution
Source: Facebook internal data, September 2007
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Facebook users have “aged” over the past year
Percent of US Facebook users in each age group
August 2006
August 2007
20%
Under 18
21%
35%
18-24
23%
8%
25-34
11%
36%
35+
45%
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings
Note: These number differ significantly from Facebook’s internal data, which has 35+ as 6% of all
users worldwide in September 2007
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Facebook demographics best practices
• Anticipate that the demographics will change rapidly
over the next 12-18 months
• Adjust your marketing plans and plan for flexibility
• Beware of relying on what worked yesterday,
especially with fickle college students and newbie
35+ users
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Entire contents © 2007 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Agenda
• What are the demographics of Facebook users?
• What are some best practices for brand
marketing on Facebook?
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Microsoft handles IAB standard ad sales
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Targeting beyond demos
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Facebook’s News Feed Ads insert targeted
messages
4-26% CTR for
sponsored News
Feed stories
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Facebook Flyers give self-service control
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Entire contents © 2007 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Theme
Facebook marketing
requires communicating,
not advertising
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Entire contents © 2007 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Sponsored Groups
• Group page with customized navigation, look & feel
• Usually includes a significant media buy to drive
traffic to the sponsored group page
» Display ads and flyers
» Newsfeed targeting
• Costs usually in the six figures for a three month
engagement
• Note that any company can set up a group for free
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Jeep treats social networks like another
channel
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Misses a chance to create a unique community
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Victoria’s Secret also looks like an ad…
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But the community is highly engaged
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Crest White Strips case study
Targeted 20
colleges
Offered free
concerts and movie
screenings
Live chat facilitate
interactions
Measured sales
impact at nearby
stores
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Ernst & Young engages in a conversation to
recruit college students
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Sponsored Groups best practices
• Understand how similar groups meet/don’t meet
needs already
• Create a unique experience that
• Enable discussion board, The Wall, photos, etc.
• Read and respond to comments
• Be transparent about your role and perspective
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Why applications on Facebook are different
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Because I know Dave, his review has context
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My colleague Peter Kim shares travel
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Application best practices
• Create useful apps that model what friends do
naturally – share info, experiences, and laughs
• Plan out how to make your app viral
• Get feedback from users once you launch
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Recommendations
• Facebook marketing is about communicating, not
advertising – so act appropriately
• Be a part of the Facebook experience
» More like content than advertising
• Tap into the reasons why friends share
• Listen, learn, and be ready to make mistakes
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Wal-Mart keeps trying – kudos for effort
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Thank you
Charlene Li
+1 650/581-3833
cli@forrester.com
www.forrester.com
blogs.forrester.com/charleneli
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Entire contents © 2007 Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.