Elana Hanen - Assignment 3

Analysis and Evaluation of BMW Facebook page

I will be evaluating the effectiveness of the official BMW Facebook page in regards to social media marketing. Since 1916, BMW has been considered one of the most desired cars in the automobile industry.  With its signature logo, luxurious interior designs, and that iconic purring German engine, it is no wonder BMW is a booming company.  The popularity of the brand translates to the large following on the official Facebook page, including 14,599,279 likes and 186,949 Facebook users “talking about this.”  BMW does a wonderful job consistently updating the Facebook page with content flow, showcasing vibrant pictures of the products and posting links of videos from the BMW youtube channel.  Nearly everyday a new campaign or event photo is posted on the wall of the official Facebook page.  Moreover, these Facebook posts facilitates user-generated participation as fans of the brand comment on the photos with either adoring words, or by uploading photos of their own BMW cars. 

Due to the fact that these automobiles are very expensive, it is understandable that the official Facebook page does not promise any premiums such as free cars; however, they do give other incentives to loyal BMW followers.  For instance, on October 18^th BMW posted on the official Facebook page “Follow us on www.instagram.com/bmw, share your most special memory and add the hashtags #BMWRepost and #BMWMagazine in the caption to get your best photo printed in the official BMW Magazine.”  This is an effective marketing technique using not only Facebook, but also Instagram to promote the company while having fans participate for possible rewards.  On the other hand, the official BMW Facebook page does not provide a “portal” for customer service engagement with the fan following.  Customers and fans want to feel important to the brand, and the fact that the page fails to promote a dialogue of close company to client interaction is not a very strategic marketing technique on BMW’s behalf.  Overall, the official Facebook page is successful in keeping fans in the loop on all the activities of the company while promoting participation by the users.