AllTop Viral!

Researchers at MIT wanted to learn how well brands perform marketing on FaceBook and set about coding more than 1000 wall posts from 98 global brands. They have learned 8 ways that brand managers can increase the number of “likes” that a post receives. Here are the first 3. For the other 5, check out the link below:

1. Express yourself through photos
Every picture tells a story. A photo is personal, and it can communicate quickly and easily. It also requires more thought and effort to take and include a photo in addition to text. To MIT’s surprise, what might be considered as blatant product promotion, such as putting up pictures of products from a company’s catalogue, elicited a high number of “likes.”

2. Be topical
Keep up with the times. Messages considered topical are those referring to holidays, festivals, important events, etc. Topical messages may or may not contain a hint of the brand’s products. Even when they allude to the brand’s products, these messages are perceived to be more personable, rather than scripted promotions.

3. Don’t hesitate to be “in your face”
Promote the brand and its products. When consumers visit the brand’s wall, promotional messages are expected. We found that such messages also generate “likes.” Consumers visit the walls of brands they identify with and want to engage with.

The information presented above is part of an article excerpted and adapted from How to Create Brand Engagement on Facebook, by Arvind Malhotra, Claudia Kubowicz Malhotra and Alan See, which appeared in the Winter 2013 issue of MIT Sloan Management Review.

For info on these, and the other 5 points, please see Financial Post.

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Photo credit: WikiCommons