The Facebook Marketing Book

Chapter 6. Facebook Application Basics

Several years ago, Facebook released a platform that allowed developers to create applications to leverage the site’s features and the social information of its users. When a user installs or adds your application, the app can display content on his Profile, as well as gain limited access to his information. For marketers, applications present an opportunity to create engaging, branded experiences that are inherently social.

This chapter details what you need to know to brainstorm an idea for a great application, as well as how to plan for its development. To build an application, of course, you’ll need development resources. You could task a programmer at your company, hire one, or learn how to code yourself. Any competent developer can learn to work with the Facebook API, but it is not within the scope of this book to teach you to program.

Figure 6-1. When users install your application, the application asks them for permission to access pieces of their personal information.

Create Inherently Social Applications

“Make it go viral!” You’ve heard the command, but what does it really mean? Confusion about social and viral marketing is frustratingly common. Viral is an outcome; it is the result of the successful release of a contagious campaign. Contagiousness is not something that can be tacked on as an afterthought, but the applications with the ...