Cerebra

Facebook continues to change and evolve. In recent months we’ve heard an outcry from Brand Pages regarding the change in Facebook’s algorithm [Edgerank] and how content reaches out to ‘fans’ and people using the platform.

Some changes have escaped the eyes of many people in South Africa but we’re slowly seeing the results. One such change is the release of the ‘Global Brand Page’ in October.

What is the Global Brand Page?

People across the world engage with their favourite brands everyday on Facebook. With Global Pages, brands can now have one main page that serves content specific to where a fan is accessing the page from. For example, I can be a fan of the Global Brand Page of , but since I am from South Africa, and Facebook knows this, I will see a page that is completely customised for me, from the content to the profile image to the cover photo.

Global Brands who managed one single page could geo-target page posts, but the new Global Pages allows for the page to create a localised feel - maximizing the scale of the global page while providing local relevance.

What this also means is that those brands with multiple pages across the world can now form a Global Page strategy and incorporate their country-specific Pages into the mother brand. This can easily be seen with the team and the team.

Type in the original local South African link for each of them and you are sent through to the international page that has been localised with South African content. You can localise cover photos, profile photos, Page apps, milestones, about information and news feed stories while still being part of the brand community.

Key points to note:
- One global brand identity: Fans will see the same Page, regardless of where they are from, but it will be translated [if need be] into their own language. They will see the same fan count as the global page as well as the same ‘People Talking About This’
- One URL: It doesn’t matter if you remember the localised URL or not, you will be directed to the global page. You can then also share one URL across platforms and users will be automatically directed to the best version of the Page for them
- Global Insights: Admins of the main Page will see insights for all global users in one dashboard

What does this mean?
Depending on the global social strategy, what really matters now is that Global Brands can have one page and still provide an important localised experience for their customers.

What this means for South African ‘global’ companies, is that, social media can no longer be equated purely to numbers. The number game no longer matters. Engagement, interaction and community now ranks highest on Facebook. Being able to live off the international brand page means your numbers will always be in the thousands and millions as can be seen with Kit Kat, but engagement is what predominantly now rules. Not only does it affect Edgerank but now more then ever it is the only means to effectively report back on.

Notice the differences of the Kit Kat Pages below from South Africa, Netherlands, UK and USA