What B2B companies can learn from Facebook landing tabs for feature films

It seems like every movie trailer I see on TV ends with, “find us on Facebook” followed by the movie’s Facebook URL. This makes a lot of sense to me for a few reasons:

• Before the Facebook URL trend started, movie URLs were starting to become really long and unmemorable. We were seeing things like www.thegreatscarymovieof2010boo.com (not a real link)
• Creating hype – fans of the actors, director, genre, etc. can all gather and chat about the movie before it premiers, and then of course discuss the film afterwards.
• Meeting fans where they already are (on Facebook) means more interaction. On a Facebook page, fans can not only chat about the movie, but upload their own pictures or videos, which generally isn’t easily done on a regular website.
• Visitors are interacting and making plans with friends on Facebook. Why not encourage them to make plans to see your movie?

How can movies get fans to “like” their page before the film premier? Adding apps, encouraging fan comments, adding unique content such as video interviews with the stars, and so on are all great options

The films should also make use of Facebook’s ability to create a landing tab.

When sending TV viewers to a Facebook page, the set up of a landing tab with key benefits of “liking” the page can increase conversions and ticket sales (the all important factor).

Here are some current films making great use of their Facebook landing tabs, and Facebook pages in general.

Eat, Pray, Love and Scott Pilgrim have built into ways to purchase movie tickets right into the landing tab. Others have built in games and other fun apps to encourage visitors to interact with movie characters and themes, building an emotional connection that will draw visitors into theaters.

What B2B companies can learn

• Have a Facebook landing tab that shows the visitor immediate value in “liking” your page
  • For movies this is ease of purchasing tickets, reading interviews, watching trailers and video interviews, etc. For you this might be interviews with your CEO, interviews with industry thought-leaders, etc.
• Offer a way to connect with a sales person (for the films this is usually Fandango, for you this will be a live sales person), but also a way to receive information for those not yet ready to go to sales
• Create hype around your solution by allowing others to discuss your offerings on your page. Don’t  delete negative comments, instead  respond to them publicly
• Have your own trailer - maybe it’s a video of your CEO or other spokesperson talking about your company/solution, or maybe it’s a very short video demo of your product. 
• Oh, and please have a friendly URL. You’ll need to get 25 people to “like” your page to create a friendly URL. Ask your current employees and customers to help you get here immediately. 

Remember, the main point of a Facebook page for films is to draw in viewers, not to just get the “like,” and your B2B Facebook page is no different. Getting the “like” is an important micro-conversion, but moving that network over to your Website, to a sales person, or to some other point in your sales funnel is very important.

Have a strategy that leads to conversions, but have a little fun along the way. After all this is your Facebook page not your corporate website. Let your hair down and get social with apps, comments, and fun videos!