Facebook Marketing Lessons from Buffy: The Angel Principle

While it may have run for several good seasons, if there’s one thing Buffy (and Angel) have taught us it’s to tread carefully when it comes to spinoffs. Maybe Angel really did need to find his own place, but the Buffy/Angel spark just doesn’t carry across series. Viewers may have grown to love Angel, but never as much as Buffy. And that’s important to remember when you start thinking about branching off your brand.

One of the biggest questions I get is “how many Pages, Profiles and Groups can I manage?” Well, according to Facebook, as many as you want. But that doesn’t mean you should. Not only are you wasting time and effort, you’re fracturing your brand and dividing your SEO and marketing efforts.

Keep Spinoffs Simple

Think about it. You have different pages in your site, not different websites altogether. Use a tab structure to show different facets of your brand. Occasionally it may make sense to try a secondary page, like Victoria’s Secret and their Pink line, but only with good reason, like very different target audiences and types of content.

Don’t Dilute Your Brand

For most brands, managing multiple Pages or Groups is a waste of time. It’s confusing to fans, who may be unsure of which Page they actually want to “like,” or even which one is real. Concentrate on one effective, all inclusive presence and use Tabs to organize your content. Occasionally, it is worth maintaining two Pages when they serve very different audiences. But mostly you will be fracturing your “likes” and brand equity.