Results from a quick and dirty Facebook poll
A few minutes ago, I completed my Forrester teleconference on Facebook, apparently it was very popular and hand more sign ups than most other topics. During the session we ran a poll to those that were attending (most are web marketers and web strategists). Here are the responses:
1. Do you use Facebook for your personal or professional life?
a. Yes 124/196 ( 63%)
b. No 50/196 ( 26%)
c. Not Sure 3/196 ( 2%)
No Answer 22/196 ( 11%)
2. Does your company use Facebook for Marketing purposes?
a.Yes 45/196 ( 23%)
b.No 103/196 ( 53%)
c.Not Sure 25/196 ( 13%)
No Answer 25/196 ( 13%)
3. Does your business plan on using Faecbook for business in 2008?
a. Yes 68/196 ( 35%)
b. No 27/196 ( 14%)
c. Not Sure 76/196 ( 39%)
No Answer 26/196 ( 13%)
Although a very limited sample, and just of those that are focused in on social networking, It’s interesting to see that a majority of the members on this call were using this tool. Forrester should be using Facebook to reach this audience, such as the Forrester Facebook page that I initially created, that’s now being maintained by Alexis. I’ll be unbiased, you should also take a look at the Gartner page while you’re at it, I was one of the first to become a fan.
During the call there were a lot of questions about widgets, open social, and a few who requested success metrics for some of the campaigns, it felt like a pretty savvy crowd, I’m expecting to receive a few meeting requests from clients to further discuss Facebook and social networks.
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Interesting results….one question about a question..
When people answered question 1 with a yes, does that mean they use Facebook for both purposes?
I notice there is still a limited number of companies using, or going to use, Facebook - I wonder if that’s because they feel it’s not right for them, or because they are unaware of it’s potential, or (God forbid!) existence.
While I’ve been on Facebook for a couple years, it was more to expose myself to the latest way of connecting online. I never expected it to generate awareness or drive business for my company. I got others in my company to create profiles so they could see what it was all about too and so we could all be smarter about the potential of social networking. I was a bit of a skeptic in terms of how it might really help my company.
But, just yesterday my VP of Sales and Marketing was able to make a connection via Facebook that she wasn’t able to make working through the contact’s business site. It’s opened up a conversation and potentially a great opportunity for our company.
Not sure it’s mainstream to use Facebook for B2B businesses yet, but if this one contact pans out it will certainly be a channel we continue to explore.
This may be a bit outlandish, but I don’t exactly get the utility in Forrester or Gartner having a Facebook page. I mean, I realize it shows presence, broadens your message and engages people (to some extent), but aren’t you just repeating information that’s already on your corporate site? Aren’t you doing the same thing on MySpace, LinkedIn, etc, etc.? I don’t exactly get the unique value offered to users, nor have I fully processed what it means for Forrester to have 281 “fans”.
I’d be interested to know data around the conversations and benefit derived from maintaining a Facebook presence. (I realize the benefit is different for different organizations.)
Kevin
You’re right.
Frankly, we’ve not turned on the full power of the pages, we’re not engaging in conversations, not promoting it, and not deploying advertising.
In summary, it’s really a starting point, and I hope to do more with it in the future. Stay tuned.