The Delicate Balance of Facebook Shares
Facebook apps are one of the best ways to engage with fans and create a unique experience on Facebook. With an app, you aren't limited to text, photos, and videos that normally show up in a users news feed. Your app can put your fans face into a funny photo. You can puzzle your fans' brains with a quiz. You can even give fans a new world to play in. The only limit is your imagination.
Still, apps get a bad rap because of Facebook's sharing system. Why is that?
One reason is "The Farmville Effect." When Farmville gained mass popularity, the app posted on users' news feeds nearly every time something happened in the game. Gain a level? Famville posted. Buy a cow? Farmville posted again. This created excess noise in the newsfeed that provided little value to Facebook users. While it's fun for users to post achievements once or twice, excessive notifications can overwhelm a user's newsfeed quickly and give the app a bad reputation.
Another reason apps get a bad rap is the permission screen. Most Facebook apps need to ask a user's permission to access their data for login purposes and to post to their wall. Often, the permission screen is not clear for users of what their actually allowing the app to do. For privacy-minded users, this can end their experience with an app immediately.
One thing I've found here at Capstrat is that simpler apps are very appealing. Internet users are familiar with personality and trivia quizzes and many simple apps because they've used them for years. While they may have previously posted them on a blog or sent them through email, the idea is the same. The only thing that has changed is the platform.
Another benefit of simple apps is that users don't need to use them daily. While complex games like Farmville ask a user to come back every day, users are open to using an app once and then not having to return to it. You can also refresh and reuse simple apps with new photos and content to keep users coming back.
It also helps to be clear when the app is posting on a user's wall. Giving people a clear pop up and obvious menus allows users to be in control of what they are sharing and when. We all like to play games, but sometimes we don't want everyone to know we spent the past two weeks building our city in CityVille.
Apps are what makes Facebook such a powerful and addictive platform. Not only can we stay connected with our friends, but developers can user those existing social connections to create limitless new experiences. The trick is find ways to get user's to promote your brand and app without making them feel used.
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