I was recently speaking at the Web Community Forum in Seattle about Facebook Application Success. I did a quick 3 minute video interview with Forrester Analyst Jeremiah Owyang.

You can only talk about a few things on a high level in 3 minutes… so here are some more insights for how brands and applications can attain success & Brand Gravity (a term which I coined) within Facebook (and now Bebo).

11 Ways to Create Brand Gravity in Social Networks:
Key issues for brands engaging in Facebook (and now Bebo) with an application.

1. Go light handed on the branding: A Facebook application can be “sponsored” by a brand and still attain marketing goals. Don’t beat users over the head.

2. Build applications that “Look and Feel” like facebook. Don’t have graphics with colors that overpower or clash with the facebook frame if possible.

3. Don’t use rounded tabs for navigation. 95% of facebook applications use the same style of navigational tabs. Do the same. Users engage with familiarity of design.

4. Plan on A/B split testing & measurement for ongoing tweaks of your application.

5. Change 1 thing at a time for iterations and measurement towards desired metrics.

6. Pay very close attention to any trend or change in behavior; Un-install rate increasing for example.

7. Wording is very critical for influencing behavior. Change and measure.

8. Pay close attention to the marketing flow of how you pull users through your application and force desired behaviors.

9. Consider “levels” or “rewards” as an incentive for participation. This means unlocking specific features of the app when a user takes desired behaviors.

10. Invites are critical. Do it right. Most facebook applications do not do it in the most effective manner.

11. Look at how you can easily expose behaviors through the viral carrier mechanisms available (mini-feed, news-feed, notifications, email, participatory sharing, etc.) without the user not having to think about sharing information.

I am done for now. I have at least 25 more. Execute on these ways to create Brand Gravity in Facebook and you should be kept busy for at least a month. These items all take commitment, execution, time and money.

Cheers!
Rodney Rumford

Technorati Tags: brand gravity, social networks, facebook, Bebo

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