William Cruse What You Should Know About Facebook in Only Seven Words

Facebook is a consolidator,
not a differentiator.

WHY DOES THAT MATTER?

Facebook is 700 million people, each trying to be different. Only one potential problem if you're a marketer. The very structure of Facebook is to present them the same. It is that commonality that Facebook does such a brilliant job of presenting. I'm a Facebook fan. It's changing the world. But when should you—or more importantly, should you not—use Facebook as a marketing medium?

Start where you should always start. What's your marketing objective? To show how you're different, better, faster, smarter, more cost efficient? If your primary objective is to differentiate between aspects of your product or service in order to show a competitive advantage, Facebook might not be the place to start.

If it comes down to a choice between Facebook and Google, the distinction is simple: Facebook is recognition, a logo splash. Google is response, a claim for performance.

One more thing you might want to keep in mind: Something in the neighborhood of 200 million of your buddies on Facebook might not even exist. There are studies floating around that suggest as many as 30% are completely bogus identities, which is sure to grow. And once a fake person is born, they never seem to die. Add to that, that upwards of 70% of individuals on Facebook say they lied or blatantly lied about themselves and you need to look long and hard at the demographics. You fibbed when you posted your Facebook page, didn't you? Just a teensy, weensy bit? I sure did. Some. A little. Sort of.

Let me confess, I have several personas on Facebook. Not to deceive. To entice. Are they any different from Mr. Clean or the Jolly Green Giant or the Pillsbury Doughboy or the studly guy who drives a Ferrari, lives in Monaco and is on a first name basis with George Clooney and Paris Hilton and can't wait to be your new best friend forever? Nope. Just trying to grab a few Likes, sell a few books, snag a few links. Not cheating. Not me. No way.

Wanna talk?