Belle: Brands on Facebook - who are we really talking to

The ultimate goal of any communications strategy is to reach the target audience with the right message at the best possible time (Wells,W, Spence-Stone, R., Mariatry S. Burnett, J. 2008). I think this is a great statement to look at when thinking about Facebook as a medium for a company to use for PR as it raises some really interesting questions, some of which have already been discussed, about who companies should be trying to reach, how they should do it (aka. engagement) and the timing at which to do so.

As Nick mentioned in his Brand and Social Media post one of the most interestng things for me about Facebook is how it actually proposes to provide an avenue to reach potential consumers. As I see it the use of Facebook as an avenue to reach your target audience is actually quite questionable as I think its complex social makeup actually make it impossible to really put a value on this or rely on it with any certainty. Yes, arguably if you are able to find one person who likes your product then chances are that someone else in their Facebook community is likely to share a common interest however because Facebook communities are built on an accumulation of real world communities, such as family, friends, workmates, school groups, sporting groups etc, and not just those based on a common interest, I don't actually think it is a particularly reliable way of reaching your target audience. Unlike other social media avenues, such as blogs or other online communities, members of Facebook communities often have no real link beside the person that resides in all of them. It seems like an aweful lot of emphasis to be putting on one person to be a voice for your brand.

Also, the use of Facebook so far still seems to be relatively one sided when it comes to initiating the conversation. It still appears that either you or another member of Facebook (who then tells you) has to go looking for the brand, just as they would a website, in order to get the informations. So then the questions becomes, how do you actually find your target market and initiate a conversation when Facebook only really provides Word Of Mouth as the method to transmit information to other users.

I think Facebook also presents an interesting question when it comes to the timing of the message. As with the problems that agencies face with other mediums for getting their message out Facebook holds an interesting paradox when it comes to timing as, although the technology allows for the message to be sent out almost instantly, it doesnt appear that the messages are being sent out that quickly or acted on with any speed. While some campaigns have had great success with getting the word out on Facebook, such as Mac who created a buzz with their Mac vs PC ads which ended up on a lot of peoples Facebook pages, there is still the delay between when a message is sent out and when it might be acted on. As Gwyneth mentioned in her lecture the implementation of new technologies, such as Foxtel IQ, has meant that there is a time shift in when veiwing occurs and I think that this could also be true for the way that Facebook operates. I dont know how many times I have come and looked at my Facebook after a few days and gone back through peoples pages just to find what has been happening and what I missed. The same could happen for companies if they are sending out messages within a specific timeline. I think this represents a large obstacle for marketers as there is too little known about consumers Facebook usage rates to know whether your message is actually going to be recieved by your target audience. Relying on a message to pop up on their news feed seems inadequate.

So the question is, can you really find your target market on Facebook or are they willing to find you? And as Nick mentioned, is it really benificial for just anyone to be able to find you?

References:
Wells,W, Spence-Stone, R., Mariatry S. Burnett, J. (2008). Advertising: Principles and Practice. Pearson Education Australia, Sydney, pp.304-335Wilcox, D.L and Cameron, G.T (2009). Public Relations Strategies and Tactics, (9th Edition) Chapter 7 ‘Communications” Pearson Education, USA