Here are five suggestions for ways to drive traffic back to your brand website without undermining your presence on Facebook.
Take advantage of tabs
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| Honda’s landing page on Facebook |
As you create tabs for your page think about how you can offer users utility on Facebook but without hosting all of your content on your Facebook page especially when the content already exists on your website. Where appropriate include links that drive users back to your site.
Share articles or blog posts
If your company produces content that is hosted on your own website be sure to post it to your wall.
Even if there is a high level of overlap between visitors to your website and your Facebook page don’t assume that people are seeing every new piece of content on your website. Promoting articles and blog posts is an effective strategy because the content will be consumed on your site but can gain additional visibility through sharing commenting and Liking on Facebook.
Use teaser content
When you post an article you provide your fans with a clear picture of the content being shared. The post will contain a headline photo and intro text. But in this case I am suggesting you provide only a teaser to pique the user’s interest. Some might find this a bit sneaky and it’s not something you want to do all the time but it can be an effective way to entice a click.
Target does a good job of this on their page. As you can see in the example below they have posed a question that is likely to generate interest.
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| Target’s Facebook wall |
Run a contest on your brand site
Many companies are using contests to engage their fans on Facebook but don’t forget that contests can also be a great tool to cross over to your brand site. Especially when your contest is more than a simple giveaway you may find it easier to integrate your overall brand identity when the promotion lives outside of the confines of Facebook.
Here is an example from the airline WestJet. They’re strongly promoting the contest on their Facebook page but all of the interaction takes place on a branded site where
where they have full control over the user experience.
Special offers on your website
Whether you are an e-commerce site promoting a sale, a publisher providing access to exclusive content or a small business offering a coupon, you can selectively determine how you present offers on your website and through social channels.
Balance the content that you share on your wall so that it isn’t all about your sales. Include conversational wall posts, photos and polls to keep your audience engaged and keep the page from being simply one big advertisement.
Another option to consider is providing your fans on Facebook with access to offers on your website before promoting to other channels. This will encourage people to stay engaged with your brand on Facebook, but ultimately you are able to drive them back to your site.
Managing multiple consumer touch points can certainly be a daunting task. As long as you have a clear sense of which channels best serve specific objectives, you can derive benefit from Facebook marketing without sacrificing the investment you’ve likely made in your website.