Why Build a Facebook App?

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By: Matt Clark

As Facebook plans to allow other social networks to license its technology so that applications can run on other sites and Google perfects OpenSocial, brands now have a choice on where they can be targeted. So a question is where do you want to create that brand? When creating an application, managers have to take into consideration the type of network they are working with.

faberNovel Consulting, courtesy of Read/Write Web, shared its presentation on Social network websites best practices from leading services (you can find the entire presentation here). Who and how you want to target an audience will determine what social networking website is best for your needs.

There are almost 11,000 Facebook applications available today. Brands are constantly trying to leverage the interactive nature of Facebook and other social networking sites to build their image. But companies don’t introduce their brand to these platforms as much as allow social networking platforms to create a digital identity for the product.

Marketers are under the impression that they are leveraging social networking sites to gain new consumers and exposure, but the consumers are the ones in control of social networking sites like Facebook. The users have free range to leverage the brand as they see fit.

The more marketers explore Facebook apps, the more they realize that Facebook applications are for word-of-mouth interaction and not a standalone marketing vehicle. What does this mean?

1. Marketers are building a brand around people, not building people around a brand
2. Companies should never create an application without a full marketing plan that shows reason to create that application
3. News feeds on an application encourage the spread of ideas and engagement, but do not spread the brand itself