Understand Facebook applications

The biggest challenge for most people, who are considering the use of Facebook applications, is to find the right angle to the concept. This blog post provides a comprehensive insight into the possibilities of Facebook applications and can hopefully serve as an inspiration for businesses who want to exploit the full potential of the world's largest social network.

Who needs a Facebook application?

A Facebook application is technically a program (widget, web service, website), which in some extent has been integrated with the Facebook Platform, which gives you access to millions of user profiles that are linked across all over the world. Technically speaking, a Facebook application provides the same opportunities as a regular website, but conceptually some completely new challenges. The question many people ask is who needs a Facebook application? It is difficult to say something sensible and definitive about this, but overall we believe that if you need a website you would also benefit by a Facebook application. It's simply about finding the right concept.

The concept of the Facebook application depends entirely on the goal and therefore varies among many other things after the sender's interests. We have experience with diverse goals such as marketing, recruiting, branding, knowledge sharing, and user-driven innovation. The only general thing to say about the goal is, that it must play along with the overall online strategy and your business as a whole.

3 tips for the concept development

As leading in the field of Facebook applications we hold valuable special knowledge about how Facebook applications can be optimally included in an online strategy. 

The following basic tips are worth considering: 



• You are probably already present online - what is it you want the users to do? The same conversion issues are ultimately the goal of developing a Facebook application.

• You will generally receive better results via a Facebook application where users have the opportunity to interact and share elements with each other, than you will through other online campaign devices.

• Like online activities in general, completely free attention to a Facebook application is very rare. There shall be allocated marketing budget, where the viral (free) proliferation is a bonus at using Facebook as a platform

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These tips are obviously only a few among many, and are probably some that many people interested in the area already are aware of. If you are not sure of the correct approach right now, but have a feeling that Facebook applications could usefully be part of your online strategy; please contact us for an informal talk. 


Examples of Facebook applications

To your inspiration we’ve briefly described some considerations behind a couple of projects around Facebook applications that we have been involved in.

• The Roskilde Festival
The goal of the Facebook application was to facilitate the needs of festival guests for involvement and interaction with each other in advance of the start of the festival. The case is therefore a good example of how a Facebook application can brand a service and contribute to customer loyalty.

• The Running community 

The Running community, consisting of a Facebook Page and a Facebook application, is Facebook's largest running community with over 150,000 active users. The Running community is thus a good example of how a Facebook application can operate as part of a well-attended community that can be used to engage with an attractive audience.

• Kellogg’s Special K
This Facebook application functions as a community for Swedish women, where they can share their healthy habits and evaluate other people's. The case thereby provides a good example of a how a company can brand its product by acting as the underlying creator of a community devoted to a subject, which matches the product's desired branding.

Also, read our guides on the subject of using the Facebook Pages and banner advertising on Facebook.