I follow a lot of brand updates on Facebook. I “Like” 471 pages to be exact. One of them always finds a way to break through the clutter. 
Bonobos. They’re a growing force in the now massively popular menswear category. They claim to sell exceptionally well fitting mens pants. Thanks to what they’re doing on social lately, I’ve felt compelled to order a pair for myself.
Let’s dig into things a little bit and explore why Bonobos, a Page with only 96,784 Likes, has a higher engagement rate compared to larger brands with many more fans. The metrics speak for themselves.
First things first. It starts with content. More importantly, it starts with telling a story through your content while mixing in other things like Facebook Offers, fan involvement, and weekly live Q&A’s that feature their interns, employees, and style pros.
Content
If you manage a page on Facebook, remember why someone “Liked” you in the first place. We know that people like brands to get exclusive deals and offers. But, when you boil it down to basics, they liked you because they’re passionate about whatever you’re talking about. Don’t forget that. If you like Bonobos, you like style and menswear. So, you want good content around that.
In the photo above, all they shared was a picture of some boots with a punchy comment, and people liked it a lot! It’s about style, plain and simple. In this one, a photo of some crazy pants is shared.
A quick look at their Timeline shows that Bonobos is all about one thing and one thing only: style and substance.
Facebook Offers
In addition to quality content that tells a story, Bonobos gives fans a reason to keep coming back with Facebook exclusive offers and deals.
38% off chinos? I’ll take it.
20% of seersucker for the summer? I’ll take that too, and as a fan I’ll keep coming back to your page for more.
Fan Involvement
This might be my favorite part about what Bonobos is doing. They do a great job at highlighting their community and because they are – other people are getting excited and want to share their experiences too.
A few fans sporting their orange chinos at an OkC Thunder game earlier this month.
An application that utilizes Instagram for fan photo sharing encourages fans to share their own Bonobos experiences.
Company Culture
These guys really show a face to their company. Bonobos hosts weekly live Q&A sessions featuring their employees that give Fans the chance to talk style, new products, or in the case of this post below – fantasy baseball.
Good stuff, right? Take a look at their page, https://www.facebook.com/bonobos, and just observe how diverse the content is. I think that as social media marketers we can take away a few tips summarized below, based on what’s analyzed above.
Questions for page managers to keep in mind
- Have I boiled down my content strategy to focus on the most simple reason why people like my page? You can minimize the call-to-actions and sales copy to focus on on what people love and be more human.
- Is my content telling a story? A brand page should really have a brand of its own!
- Am I getting Fans to return back, and more importantly, encourage purchases or purchase intent through offers, deals, and promotions? Don’t overdo it, because if you bombard Fans with sales and discounts you could risk attracting a huge amount of people who are just in it for a freebie. The key is to focus on building a tight community with quality offers. The numbers will come.
- Am I involving my fans? Try to show how customers use your product in their daily experiences. Focus on visuals.
- Am I showing a real face of my company? We know that it doesn’t hurt to show a little personality in your content, but take it a step further and give Fans an insider view into what goes on at the company. Better yet, give them the opportunity to directly engage with your employees. This isn’t easy, and requires your entire organization to understand and be trained on the value of social.
