Last year, Facebook revamped Facebook Pages to look very much like Profiles. The simple reason for this was to allow brands and organizations to make it easier for users to interact with their Page.
But even though a Page looks like a Profile, brands haven’t caught up with the idea that users want to connect with brands on a more personal level too – not unlike how they connect with their friends.
Status update versus stuff update
Marketing folks generally don’t understand how users perceive Facebook status updates. Mostly, they treat that little window on their Page as the place to post “stuff”. The Facebook admins get directives from marketing to post “stuff” based on a predetermined “stuff” schedule.
But you and I don’t just post stuff to our status update. And we certainly don’t follow a schedule!
- We update our friends about personal news
- We share frustrations and victories
- We comment on events that everyone is watching. Like the World Cup.
- We tell jokes and cause trouble
- We play the “let’s see how many people comment on this update” game
- We tag our friends in updates
- We may even tag the occasional Page
- Oh, and we share videos and photos
The status update field is no one’s property
You and I also post updates on each other’s wall. I don’t think of my wall as my “property”, and you don’t think the same of your wall.
You post on my wall and I post on yours. It’s all good, as they say.
Brands generally don’t think of their Page as a space for their fans to call their home.
But their status update window is technically always up for grabs.
