In the Race for Traffic, Facebook Wins

For some time now marketing analysts have waited on the sidelines to see who would win the war between Facebook and Twitter. Both are wildly popular within the youth demographic. Both enable the type of "friending" and "following" that makes PR gurus salivate. Twitter was an early favorite of the general public, allowing its users to keep in touch with friends without having to send long emails or make a phone call. However, Facebook allowed the same instant communication as Twitter with the ability to post pics, blog, and play games. Is it any wonder that Facebook quickly surpassed Twitter as a fan favorite?



Facebook has been an Internet steamroller. Alex traffic rankings show Facebook as the second most popular site in the entire world, and according to statistics seen on news sites like TechNews and Money, Facebook even surpassed Google in traffic during 2010.



For those looking to utilize Facebook and Twitter in their marketing campaigns, it is best to understand the nature and citizenry of both sites. As many businesses have found out the hard way, Facebook does not inspire the same pay-per-click mentality of other websites. Yes, PPCs can and have been used successfully on Facebook, but its users are less likely to use Facebook for purchases. Advertising using these two media sources requires a careful, community-building approach.



Facebook and all these other social networking sights have turned into the race for traffic wins. The secret of Facebook marketing is to apply what Malcolm Gladwell calls 'The Law of the Few'. There are three types of people who have disproportionate impact on others - connectors (know lots of people), mavens (find new information) and salesmen (persuaders). These are the people that you want as fans for your pages and members of your groups. How do you make this happen - by offering something of value to them?



Using Facebook as an advertising tool means using it as it was meant to be used—to build a social network. Sites like Facebook work the best for small businesses like coffeeshops that can post weekly specials, have "regular" customers weigh in on bands or coffees of the day, or nonprofits that can speak in direct communications about social issues.