A lot of sites use Facebook Connect, but very few use it really well. That’s why I was pretty psyched when I stumbled upon a site from our friends at Fight Club (yes, the movie). They’re preparing to release the classic movie on Blu-Ray and have set up a pretty nifty little site to promote the event. Go check it out over at http://www.welcometofc.com/.
Wowzers! Talk about an unconventional use of Facebook Connect! They took what has become a pretty conventional social tool and used in it a completely original way. For you party poopers who didn’t visit the link and try it out. They had a short video with scenes from Fight Club and a voiceover, which plants your name, Facebook photos, and some of your “likes” into parts of the video. When you first realize what it’s doing, it takes you a second to realize, “Hey, those are my pictures!”
To me, this was just a moment where I sort of sat back and thought. Social media is pretty mainstream at this point and many social tools have become pretty standardized as to how they’re used. Despite all of this, we can’t get too wrapped up in thinking about how these tools have been used. We need to think more about how they could be used. When there’s so much clutter out there, you have to be on the forefront of these new ideas to get noticed, which is how you reserve your spot in your audience’s mind.
So, what I’d recommend is to start out with your goals. What do you want to accomplish in social media. These should obviously drive any and every decision you make. Then, based on these goals determine what tools could be used most effectively to accomplish these. Take a careful look at these tools, consider each of their functions and strengths, how they fit with your product or brand, and brainstorm how you can creatively use them. Sounds so simple, right?
What are some of the coolest uses of typically “normal” social tools? Were they simply novelty or were they actually effective in accomplishing something?
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Great find! This is truly an awesome example of the level of customization that promotions and campaigns can reach when they use Facebook Connect the right way. Plus, it's cool and fun.
It's not often you come across something like this where you actually want to “share with friends” when you're done with it, so props to them for being able to make a lasting impression. Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Jason!
Excellent stuff. Reminds me of the JibJab videos – both create instant talking points. Anything where you can transfer photographic/any other elements onto promotional content like this works very well.
I definitely agree. The photos really create the instances where I was sort of taken aback and couldn't help but to think “wow.” Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment!
I just tried it out & its so cool-nothing like I've seen before and it took me by surprise! It will be interesting to see how other sites/promotions think outside the box and use FB Connect. I think there are some great opportunities to do something unique.
Great post Jackie, and cool find. A lot of times us marketing folk forget about usability and design. Innovation comes from a lot of places, and as social media marketers we need to look for social innovation everywhere– not just in content creation or messaging.
It definitely took me a couple seconds to realize what they were doing when I first watched it. I'm interested to see if anyone else can use it in a similarly awesome way.
It's funny. Thought about Rules of Fight Club in connection to Social Media a few months ago. Turns out those rules translate pretty well (if one allows for some customization, that is). Turned it into a blog post: The Rules of Social Media Fight Club. Available here: http://bit.ly/TdBDn
It's funny. Thought about Rules of Fight Club in connection to Social Media a few months ago. Turns out those rules translate pretty well (if one allows for some customization, that is). Turned it into a blog post: The Rules of Social Media Fight Club. Available here: http://bit.ly/TdBDn
It definitely took me a couple seconds to realize what they were doing when I first watched it. I'm interested to see if anyone else can use it in a similarly awesome way.
It's funny. Thought about Rules of Fight Club in connection to Social Media a few months ago. Turns out those rules translate pretty well (if one allows for some customization, that is). Turned it into a blog post: The Rules of Social Media Fight Club. Available here: http://bit.ly/TdBDn
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