Microsites vs Facebook

Hi everyone

It was interesting to read this article recently about how Lynx Twist launched on Lynx’s fanpage and X-Box live, rather than via the regular homepage/microsite approach.

Why? Listen to the Brand Manager, Katie Harrison. “The brand is moving towards creating a more consistent engagement with Lynx consumers in territories where we know they already exist. The brand has no current plans to build additional microsites for forthcoming campaigns”

Interesting, and as Robin Grant re-quotes in the Death of the Microsite “Clients want more of an emphasis on igniting conversation and less on the rich, textured sites that have typically accompanied their campaigns. The goal, as EVB CEO Daniel Stein put it, is to “stop building $1 million microsites that attract [only] 10,000 visitors.”

So what now? What are the benefits of each, and when to use them?

Facebook has some advantages because:

• Fish where the fish are: If your target market is spending large amounts of time on social networks, they are already there. You don’t have to spend huge amounts of money trying to drive them to a new, possibly remote, destination. No FB is an island, as they say.
• Cost & User Effective: Actually a well constructed FB page is not cheap but often less expensive then a media rich microsite, and potentially not as cumbersome in terms of downloads/speeds for the user.
• Full of Cool Stuff: As per this Coke FB site, the key is to make it full of unique content, interesting applications, and reasons for really being a fan. To me this is absolutely crucial, and leads to my next point
• It’s Social: People here are already sharing photos, videos and comments here. So a great FB page gives you the useful/entertainment value to share as a natural part of your FB behavior.

Microsites ain’t dead yet though because…

• Customer Fit: Not every customer segment is a heavy social media user (although it is starting to be popular among most age groups). A good microsite, well promoted, overcomes this problem.
• The Wrong Market: There are markets here in Asia where you can’t even access FB (China) or it’s becoming harder, like Vietnam. For regional campaigns this can be a real issue.
• Often Experience Matters: Sometimes for a major launch of a product or game or interactive experience, you want the rich media and production values a microsite can provide.

Something to think about for your next campaign.

Cheers, Rob