Online, everybody’s a critic and everybody is right. So whenever anything is not perfect or not “just so” with an online brand, fans are the first to speak out. Facebook Fan-pages are subject to mass critical praise or dismissal, a great deal of which often happens in a matter of moments. One way that marketers and business owners can counteract any “hateration” is by hitting the Facebook page first.
For a Facebook page case in point we direct our attention to this weekend’s batch of “Twilight”-related headlines. When director Bill Condon was announced as the head honcho of “Breaking Dawn,” the final film in the “Twilight” saga, fans were up in arms. After all, this guy directed”Dreamgirls.” What does he know about vampires? Twihards, a group who is notoriously critical and protective, were suspicious and concerned that the director would butcher their beloved characters beyond recognition. Bill hopped into action in a place that would find him immediate results: the “Breaking Dawn” Facebook page. On the page, he assured fans that, yes, he had familiarized himself with all things “Twilight,” and that there would not be any musical numbers in “Breaking Dawn.”
With 7,500+ responses, Bill Condon’s strategy worked. He spoke directly to his audience and created even more buzz for “Breaking Dawn,” a film that hasn’t even started shooting yet. A wise move for sure. Condon’s speaking to the fans themselves is also maintaining the “Twilight” brand, too, something author Stephanie Meyer has done for some time. She built a reputation for being communicative and receptive to readers comments, regardless of how crazy they can seem.
Condon’s and Meyer’s strategy of speaking to fans (aka, the people who buy the books and who will purchase tickets for the movie) is something anybody can do. You don’t have to be a global vampire empire to use Facebook’s simple form of communicating with consumers. Lots of brands big and small use Facebook pages to offer discounts, hold contests, launch new products and, most importantly, to get customer feedback. The best thing about talking to your clients through Facebook, as Bill Condon knows, is that the results are instant.
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