Keep your expectations realistic – this is what I have learned about Facebook

04 September 2012

The Marketing Week presentation by Dr Karen Nelson-Field reinforced the thinking that you need to know what you CAN get out of Facebook.

The Senior Researcher at the Ehrenberg- Bass Institute for Marketing Science’s presentation “Would the real best practice please stand up. Integrating Facebook into marketing strategy based on tested knowledge.” Had many people nodding as she was speaking – I think that many of these were marketers with high client expectations.

Dr Nelson Field is clearly an expert in Facebook statistics, she certainly knew her stuff.
She has meticulously studied over 200 brands on Facebook and monitored the engagement of fans and friends of fans.

It reinforced to me that the bottom line is, as a business, it is important to keep your expectations realistic. If it is increased sales you are after beware; as new Facebook fans are usually not a new customers and so is not always an indicator of business growth opportunities. That said engaging regularly with your customers/fans is a great thing to do to nurture the relationship but if you are looking for business growth Facebook will really need to be part of a broader marketing strategy.

What really grabbed my interest during the presentation were Dr Nelson-Field’s predictions about future advertising opportunities with Facebook and reaching your target market at the right moment. Here are her predictions:

Real time ads – depending on keywords in your Facebook update the user will have tailored ads appear on their page.

Key word ads – A bit like typing into Google. As you start to type an ad tailored to your keywords will appear.

Cookie enabled web targeting – Ok – so you’re not even on Facebook, but when you next login, Facebook will trawl your computer cookies (tags left by websites you have visited) and will tailor ads on Facebook depending what sites you have accessed. There are-a few privacy issues to overcome here, but no doubt it will likely happen

But at the moment? Facebook is very much the here and now and it’s all about leveraging the technology to suit your business objectives – just be realistic!

What This Looks Like in Practice

For example, when working with Great Southern RV, the focus wasn’t simply creating more ads. The strategy centred on positioning their caravans and motorhomes around a clear lifestyle promise – the freedom to travel and explore Australia on your terms. That clarity shaped campaigns, show promotions and social content that resonated strongly with buyers already dreaming about the road.

With St Patrick’s Technical College, the challenge wasn’t marketing activity – it was perception. By repositioning the brand to highlight the strength of vocational pathways and industry partnerships, the messaging shifted from “alternative education” to a powerful career pathway, changing how the college is seen by parents and students.

And for Succoris Psychology, the work went beyond promotion. It involved clarifying how the brand speaks to both clients and clinicians across multiple clinics, creating a structure that supports long-term growth rather than just short-term marketing activity.

In each case, the goal wasn’t simply “more marketing”. It was better-aligned marketing built on clear strategy.

The Pitstop Approach

At Pitstop Marketing, we believe marketing should be a growth engine for the business, not just a collection of activities.

That’s why we focus first on understanding the commercial goals, the audience and the positioning — and then build marketing that supports those foundations.

If you want your marketing to stop feeling like guesswork, get in touch. We want to work with businesses who want to grow.