BMW: Facebook Fan Page Example in Detail #21

The latest installment in our 26 Facebook Fan Pages in Detail series features the German automobile manufacturing company, BMW. With more than 10 million fans on Facebook, the “Ultimate Driving Machine” is a force to be reckoned with. Strong visual content and the ability to give fans the chance to “interact” with its vehicles on Facebook help the brand maintain a strong social media presence. Let’s take a quick look at how BMW uses Facebook to engage with fans and highlight its products.


BMW Facebook Wall

Thanks to the new Facebook Timeline for brands, Facebook users are greeted with highlighted content as soon as they enter the Facebook page. BMW actively updates their Facebook page by frequently posting news and exclusive content. By continuously updating (sometimes as much as twice a day), the brand consistently provides their fans’ newsfeeds with content.

However, BMW infrequently monitors for spam. The accumulating spam detracts from the voices of actual fans and unfortunately dilutes the brand’s message. Although it’s great BMW does not censor its fans, it’s hard for a Facebook user to pay attention to the brand when their page is clogged with nonsense.

BMW Timeline

BMW has actively embraced the cool new Milestones feature of Timeline. When used properly, Milestones are a great way for brands to construct a personable narrative by providing a detailed history of the company on Facebook. For instance, did you know that Bayerische Motoren Werke AG was originally established as an aircraft engine manufacturer in 1916? Although the brand is now known for its luxury vehicles, BMW actually did not begin producing automobiles until 1929, when the company bought Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach. That’s just a small piece of the detailed history the automaker presents in its Timeline.

Additional Tabs

One distinguished way the brand promotes its vehicles on Facebook is through its tabs. Instead of featuring new contests or sweepstakes, BMW focuses on giving their audience the chance to virtually experience their vehicles without having to step inside of an actual dealership.

Each tab features a different series of cars in the BMW family and allows fans to customize each vehicle to their liking. Afterwards, fans can learn more about the vehicles that they just customized. It’s a great tool for introducing potential buyers to the features of each series and converting fans into buyers. A useful addition to these tabs would be to include a link to find your nearest dealership.

BMW Facebook Content Analysis

Facebook Timeline for brands is very conducive to promoting visual content such as photos and videos. BMW has used this to its advantage with several of the latest updates consisting of new photos. I’m personally a huge fan of Instagram, so I thought it was very cool that BMW is using its account to generate new visual content. I’m excited to see how the brand will use the photo app in the future.

Although BMW has a strong visual presence on Facebook, the brand rarely asks engaging questions or attempts to cultivate on-topic conversations between the brand and its followers. This is unfortunate because BMW is missing out on a great opportunity to strengthen its connection with fans.

Engagement: BMW vs. Mercedes-Benz

Out of the posts I analyzed, Mercedes had the post with the highest engagement rate. However, BMW still has the higher engagement rate overall. Both brands frequently update their individual pages, but each one posts very different content. Although BMW doesn’t do the best job of asking questions and engaging with its audience (as noted above), it does much better than Mercedes, which is more apt to post about recent events and facts about their cars. It is readily apparent that asking questions is more effective at increasing fan engagement.

Overall, BMW does a good job promoting their brand on Facebook. By asking engaging questions, BMW proves that they value their fans’ feedback. The automaker also builds a strong following by releasing exclusive content such as Instagram photos of recently released vehicles. These endeavors prove that sometimes the simplest actions can leave a lasting positive effect. If they more closely monitor their page, remove spam, and engage in conversation with their fans, they’ll be on the road to fostering an even better social following.

What are your thoughts on BMW’s presence on Facebook? Please share in the comments below.



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