We recently did some research to identify companies with more than 250,000 Facebook fans. The results were interesting. Some brand name companies (or organizations) fell significantly short of our expectations – while others have significantly more than 250,000 fans.
While we know fans will come and go, we thought it would be fun to compile a list of some of the top brand name companies, including some Seattle-based organizations, to create a snapshot of their Facebook fan numbers.
In addition to gathering data on current fan base numbers, we also reached out to a couple of these organizations to learn more about how they grew their Facebook fan bases.
Mariesa Stokes, account executive at Mckee Foods, the parent company for Little Debbie, explains the Little Debbie Facebook page went from 5,414 fans to 269,994 fans between October 3 and 10, 2009. “To drive this growth, the company took an integrated approach to marketing. It worked to drive Little Debbie lovers to the Facebook fan page though national advertising, PR, couponing, social media and consumer giveaways all at the same time – and it was overwhelmingly successful.”
Erica Berkovich, a communications coordinator with the National Hockey League, adds “Within the last six months we grew from zero to more than 260,000 fans after launching our Facebook page in Sept. 2009. To fuel this growth, we cross-promoted our page with all of our NHL Media Platforms, including NHL.com, NHL Radio, NHL Team Websites, NHL mobile as well as other social platforms.” She adds they are now considering what resources can be brought to increase the audience farther and faster.
We at Communiqué PR recently completed a campaign for a company where we helped it grow its Fan base by 219.2 percent in just 14 days.
As you consider the growth and management of your Facebook fan page, we hope you find this information to be helpful. Clearly, there is no silver bullet for growth; but it appears as if the key to success is pursuing an integrated approach and leveraging a variety of mediums to raise awareness of your page.