Week 7 – Blog 1 Is Tide using best Facebook practices?

The third week of October HubSpot posted an article title “The 9 Worst Ways to Use Facebook for Business.” The purpose of this blog is to determine if Tide (www.Tide.com) is breaking any of the please don’t do rules for businesses on Facebook.  Specifically, this posting will look at the following: Don’t allow fans to share content, don’t comment on your fans content, use a profile image that has a poor thumbnail, and don’t share your Facebook page on your website.

Don’t Allow Fans to Share Content:

Tide allows fans to share content and pictures. HubSpot (2010) suggests that businesses allow fans to post content. A business needs to allow fans to share thoughts, videos, and pictures on their Facebook page.

Don’t Comment on Your Fans Content:

Tide does not comment on any of the fans postings. HubSpot (2010) suggests that businesses respond to their fans posts. This can be done by simply clicking on the “Like” button or posting “Thanks for Sharing.” By responding to posts a business encourages fans to post more and says to them (the fans) that the company cares.

Use a Profile Image That has a Poor Thumbnail:

Tide does have an adequate thumbnail picture. The brand recognition is clear and nothing is missing or cut off. HubSpot (2010) suggest that businesses use thumbnails that provide clear brand identification.

Don’t Share Your Facebook Page on Your Website:

Tide does share its Facebook page on the homepage of their website. However, the Facebook icon is located in the lower right hand corner and is not that easy to discover. Hubspot (2010) suggests that all businesses share their Facebook link on their website. It is more likely that if a customer is visiting your site that they will become a fan.

Recommendations:  Tide needs to place its website Facebook icon in a more obvious area on the homepage. Tide should also think about responding to the fans comments posted on its Facebook. It doesn’t need to be a long post just a “Like” or a “Thanks” will do. Overall, the Facebook Page is fairly pleasing and Tide has over 551,923 followers.