Gamification has been a major tendency in social media for a while now, and Facebook's badge system takes the fun to a new level. If you lot're non familiar with the idea behind gamification, it's the process of adding elements from game playing to other activities.

In social media marketing, game elements increase user engagement and make the user experience more enjoyable.

Like a scouting badge you might get for first assist skills or community service, Facebook'due south badges advantage users for contributing to the online customs in positive ways. The top fan bluecoat is a new feature awarded to business page followers who are active and engaged with the brand'southward posts.

Social media marketers should pay close attention to Facebook badges because they tin add a valuable layer of interactivity with new and returning customers.

What is a top fan on Facebook?

Badges are a Facebook feature that give page followers an extra incentive to like, annotate and share your posts. A height fan is someone who is very agile on your folio. They are the familiar faces who bulldoze conversations, participate in online events and, ultimately, are likely to convert to paying customers.

In one case a Facebook page follower has met the qualifications for becoming a top fan (more on that later) they volition get a notification. The user must choose to display the height fan badge, which will only appear when they post on your folio. Here'due south an overview of the characteristic:

  • Qualified users can toggle their top fan badge on and off from the community tab of your folio.
  • When on, the bluecoat will appear adjacent to the user'due south name when they mention your brand, make comments on your business page and send private messages to your page.
  • A listing of peak fans will appear on the community tab of your page. This list is visible to all visitors.
  • Your page'due south top fans list will update weekly. Top fans who haven't engaged with your page in a while may lose their condition, but they can regain information technology by increasing their activity again.

Why should brand marketers care about Facebook badges?

Gameplay elements like badges increase user date, a valuable metric for digital marketers. Users who appoint with social media content are more likely to recollect brand messaging and convert to a sales lead. According to Salesforce research, 84% of customers today believe that the experience a company provides is simply every bit of import as the products and services information technology offers. Online interactions are a major piece of that experience.

Badges brand social media interactions more than fun.

The top fan badge in particular encourages followers to read your posts, blot the content and contribute to conversations. At that place'due south also the valued commenter badge, which rewards users for leaving comments on posts.

If your business besides manages a Facebook group, there'due south even more badges you lot can take advantage of, including:

  • New member: Recognizes new members and makes them feel welcome.
  • Group anniversary: Acknowledges members who have been in your group for a year or more than.
  • Founding member: Celebrates the users who helped launch your group.
  • Chat starter: Acknowledges users who commencement threads and spark conversations.
  • Greeter: Rewards users who make new members feel welcome.
  • Visual storyteller: Awards members who regularly post videos and images.
  • Link curator: Acknowledges users who share links that get positive engagement.
  • Rise star: Recognizes new members who make a big splash in their commencement month with the group.
  • Conversation booster: Awards users who reply to threads and continue conversations moving.

These badges can increment the sense of customs around your brand and assistance you to maintain interest in your pages and groups. Users who earn the height fan badge can human action as advocates for your brand, spreading your letters organically to other Facebook users.

How to turn top fan badges on or off

Adding the badges feature to your page is simple:

  1. Open up your brand folio.
  2. Select the settings menu.
  3. Select the Facebook Badges option.
  4. Toggle the feature on or off.

How to give and get top fan badges

One time you've turned the characteristic on, there's nothing else you demand to do! Facebook will automatically assign badges to users who qualify for them. While Facebook hasn't revealed exactly how information technology determines who receives badges, we do know that liking, reacting, sharing and commenting are all factors that qualify followers.

How to leverage top fans to amend audience engagement

Although you may non be able to manually give users badges, you tin can encourage your followers to have actions to earn them. The good news is that the steps you accept to proceed your followers engaged will besides encourage them to earn badges.

Keep top fans engaged with incentives

While a badge is a fun incentive on its ain, yous can ramp engagement upwards a bit by offer additional rewards to users who earn the bluecoat each week. You lot might consider adding top fans to a individual group only for brand ambassadors, giving away freebies or offering a chance to contribute ideas for your side by side product.

Create targeted ads for top fans

Facebook ads are a bang-up fashion to maintain awareness of your brand. Top fan targeting is an advanced tactic that can help you proceeds better return on investment for your ad spend. When creating a new advertizing campaign, but make a new custom audition of pinnacle fans. This fashion, you can promote special offers to your top fans without the advertizement being visible to the remainder of your followers.

Retarget summit fans with mid-funnel content

Just equally y'all might create custom ads for your top fans, you might likewise use retargeting tools to engage this audition with high-value content. It's safe to say that your top fans already know a lot well-nigh your brand. Mid-funnel content should offer them a deeper swoop into a specific topic that encourages them to learn more and become a qualified atomic number 82. For instance, y'all might transport this audience an eBook or white paper that delves into a specific challenge they're facing and describes how you can help.

Encourage page followers to become summit fan status

Recall, summit fan statuses reset regularly, so you should encourage your followers to remain active on your page. Use polls, videos, surveys and other high-appointment assets to energize your audience. Gamification elements work very well in a competitive surroundings — only make sure to go on things lighthearted.

Should Facebook acme fans be included in your marketing strategy?

The top fan badge is an excellent manner to keep your audience engaged.

A meridian fan is someone who tin become a brand ambassador and evangelist, increasing the accomplish of your messaging. Nearly 40% of surveyed customers study making a purchase after seeing an influencer use a product or service. Leveraged properly, top fans tin serve every bit a catalyst, helping you to proceeds the trust of new followers apace.

If you lot haven't turned on top fan badges even so, head over to your Facebook page and exercise information technology at present! It only takes a 2d and you tin start seeing results well-nigh immediately. So, y'all tin build ameliorate Facebook ad campaigns that target this valuable audience segment. Social media marketing should exist fun, and gamification elements like badges are a practical and easy way to ramp upwards the excitement.