4 Things to Expect from Cause Campaigns on Facebook Lesson #2: Experimentation

[box]This post is the second in a series about cause marketing on Facebook, taken from our new whitepaper:  Cause Marketing on Facebook:  Truths, Tips and Trends from Pioneers.  You may download the Executive Summary of this report for free or purchase the report and corresponding November 15^th webinar for $99.  You can read the first post here.[/box] Charles Porch of Facebook’s consumer marketing division says many cause marketers make the mistake of “thinking of Facebook too traditionally.  It’s really critical to experiment to see what works with your constituents.”

Testing New Cause Waters
Experimentation is precisely what Specialized Bicycles did when they tested the waters with their “Likes for Bikes” cause campaign on Facebook, explained Simon Dunne, Specialized’s manager of global advocacy.  After years of giving a little to a lot of different causes, Specialized opted to focus on one basic cause:  getting kids on bikes.   The team knew a comprehensive initiative would take some time to roll out but were eager to present the idea to their existing customers.

A Simple Campaign Delivers Essential Information
“We decided to test the waters by rolling out a Facebook campaign benefitting CYCLE Kids called ‘Likes for Bikes’.  It was a very small campaign on our part but really successful.  For every 1000 fans we received, we donated a bike to CYCLE Kids. Over the six weeks of the campaign, we gained about 10,000, or 30% of our fan base and we gave away 39 bikes.  We used Facebook as a way to softly put out feelers about the new direction we were taking – and who better than our core consumers that interact with us on Facebook?  The comments we received were very positive and affirmed our decision to focus on getting kids on bikes.”

Using Facebook’s Power of Sharing
Since the conclusion of Likes for Bikes, Specialized has rolled out their larger initiative called First Gear, which lives on a separate microsite but emphasizes sharing on Facebook and other social media channels.  The Specialized Facebook page helps drive awareness and traffic to the First Gear site with frequent postings.

After You Experiment, Reflect
The other half of experimentation is reflection and it’s the piece that’s often missing, observes Suzanne Zurn, vice president of digital advocacy with Waggener Edstrom.  “There’s often so much pressure to ensure that a Facebook campaign has a strong start that the thoughtful analysis part often falls off the radar.  Promotion and execution is where the entire budget goes and that’s unfortunate.  As practitioners we need this longitudinal data to be able to better target what’s working and what’s not.”  Creating the space to reflect back upon the lessons learned after a Facebook campaign’s conclusion is as important as kicking it off to a solid start.

How have you used Facebook to experiment?  How might you?  What have you learned?  What could you learn?  Sound off in the comments below.

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