Facebook is a different type of channel and therefore requires marketers to create new ideas and strategies to leverage social media to drive discovery, amplification, and purchase of their products. Omaha Steaks recently launched a social retail experience on Facebook for their loyal fans that thinks different.
Check out the Omaha Steaks Facebook Store
Leveraging Facebook Page Real Estate
As we’ve shared before, it’s really important to use the Facebook image opportunities to merchandise products and drive engagement. Omaha Steaks takes advantage of the new visual real estate provided by timeline to merchandise their products and their brand. The timeline has a great product shot, and branded custom application images not only provide points of engagement but add to the aesthetic of the whole page.
It’s Not About Duplicating Your .com
Omaha Steaks recognized that success in social was about creating a custom experience for their fans and not about duplicating their .com.
Here’s what Todd Simon, Senior Vice President and Family Owner of Omaha Steaks said about this,
“I think not having a Facebook store would be kind of like saying we don’t have to have a retail store. … We sort of held back really getting into this until the technology was there that allowed us to develop a shopping experience around the social platform and really create a social experience as opposed to just trying to rubber stamp out what we’d already been doing in other channels.”
Omaha Steaks has been an innovative brand for it’s entire history and has been quick to embrace customer needs, regardless of channel. As they set out to integrate social commerce into their marketing and merchandising strategy they initiated a discovery phase. They looked internally at key customer insights around demographics and popular products, for example. They then went out to their Facebook fans and using polls and wall posts, gathered even deeper insights. This knowledge drove their strategy.
Make the Experience Facebook-Specific
Badging
If a visitor has taken the time to become a fan, giving them a “Steak Lover” badge is like giving them a high-five right back.
Also, it allows for the frictionless sharing that leads to increased brand exposure and new customer acquisition.
Fan Exclusives
Another way to acknowledge the relationship your fans have with you is by offering fan exclusives. For Omaha, they’ve started by focusing on fantastic fan-exclusive pricing (as seen in left screenshot) which, as you can see, not only drives traffic into their store but also engagement. We consistently see that brands that integrate commerce into their social efforts see a significant lift in fan engagement rates.
Omaha has also included a loyalty program where every $10 spent receives one point redeemable for further discounts and other specials. They’re also planning to innovate here by running new product launches, integrating open graph “verbs” and other smart tactics and campaigns, all focused on great experiences and rewarding their most loyal fans.
As a result of their efforts Omaha Steaks has recently received some major press,
