Facebook is the most popular social platform for marketers, but over half admit they need to know more about what works.

Confused by Facebook marketing? You’re not alone.

The vast majority (93%) of marketers use Facebook, and over half that number plan to use it even more, but they find it confusing, according to a recent study by Social Media Examiner. 68% of respondents said they want to learn more about Facebook, and almost as many said they’re not sure if what they’re doing on Facebook is effective.

Considering how long Facebook has been around compared to other social media outlets, this may be unexpected. While part of the reason could be that Facebook keeps changing how it treats company pages, another could be that more marketers keep flocking to the platform. 93% of marketers said they use Facebook, making it the leading platform by far (Twitter is second most popular, followed by LinkedIn). When done right, Facebook can increase a brand’s exposure and traffic, as well as developing loyal fans and gaining marketplace intelligence.

Here are some examples of brands who’ve successfully connected with their audiences on Facebook:

Starbucks

Starbucks is among the most popular brand pages on Facebook, with over 35 million likes. At the time of writing, the top post is an artfully arranged photo of a coffee drink together with a recipe for making Caramel Macchiato at home. A bit further down the page is a free offer: “Great espresso comes from great beans and the right grind. If you don’t have an espresso setting on your grinder, stop by and we’ll grind it for you.”.

Lesson: Encourage people to follow your Facebook page by offering something useful in the form of help or advice.

Girls Who Code

Girls Who Code is a non-profit organisation aimed at getting girls interested in coding, with the goal of increasing the number of women in STEM occupations. Their Facebook page is a stream of uplifting stories about progress made by girls and women in the field. These stories are often from third party sites, some of which have nothing to do with the charity. This creates the impression that this is an organisation that shares relevant news, regardless of where it comes from.

Lesson: Post quality news to make people feel like your Facebook page adds something of value.

Dove

Dove has 23 million likes on Facebook, making it another very successful page. Looking at the page, the majority of the content is video, which is one of the most engaging types of Facebook content. One recent video has the tagline: “Watch what happened when four firefighters ditched the uniform and lived life in full colour!”, while another shows a montage of men learning they’re about to become fathers. Both videos as emotional, meaning people who watch them may end up feeling connected to the brand as a result.

Lesson: Video is engaging and captures attention.

Marvel

Marvel has created games for people to play on Facebook, creating additional buzz around the franchise. Last year, Marvel launched Avengers Alliance Tactics on Facebook, where people could play a tactical game in a 3D environment in the spirit of the Avengers film. Launched in June last year, the game was closed in October, timing it to the film instead of letting it fizzle out.

Lesson: Creating communities for superfans strengthens loyalty.

Maybelline

A competition with an attractive prize is a good way to get engagement for a company Facebook page. Often, Facebook competitions are simple, where a user is invited to ‘like’ a post or page to enter. Facebook has rules for how a company can use the site to run competitions though, so check those out first. Maybelline runs frequent contests on its Facebook pages, which are divided up according to country. A few years back Maybelline asked people to posts photos of their lips to enter a competition to become the face of the Superstay 24h lipstick page in Switzerland. 183 people entered in three weeks, and 9000 people voted in the contest – that’s a pretty decent turnout for a contest with a modest prize.

Lesson: People love a freebie, and they’ll go out of their way to get it.