With over 14,500 rabid bowlers currently "liking" their Facebook page,
AMF has embraced the trend of customizing the fan experience at key
integration points-such as the AMF canvas page, which allows users to
enter contests, search bowling locations, and enter bowling scores.
Facebook, once a fringe medium, now receives daily hubbub about its 400 million users and its tightening grip on mainstream culture. RVA's biggest brands are increasingly pushing their Facebook initiatives in new and creative directions that highlight why many feel the platform holds the brass ring. AMF Bowling Centers, Inc., based in River City, is the world's largest owner and operator of bowling centers. Today these fun- loving bowlers can add social media guru to their shiny shelf of bowling trophies.
By moving far beyond the basic Facebook Page, AMF Bowling Centers (www.facebook.com/ AMFBowlingCenters) has tweaked its profile to include a custom landing page, branded contests, and a variety of apps that operate within their page tabs. With over 14,500 rabid bowlers currently "liking" their Facebook page, AMF has embraced the trend of customizing the fan experience at key integration points-such as the AMF canvas page, which allows users to enter contests, search bowling locations, and enter bowling scores.
By using Facebook Markup Language (FBML), brands like AMF Bowling Centers are finding new ways to become more deeply integrated into the Facebook user experience. A recent Golden Ticket contest hosted on the Page asked bowlers to compete to become AMF's biggest fan. The head honchos at AMF then turned control over to the user community to decide the winner by using the custom page to vote for a deserving AMF fan, with the winner receiving a free vacation to any AMF location in the country along with $1,000 in spending money to sweeten the deal.
Snag a Vacation! Similar trends have been spotted in recent months by SnagAJob.com, a hometown hero in RVA that works closely with the Hodges Partnership, a Richmond based public relations firm who is redefining the social web. With over 12,000 Facebook users liking this local brand's page (www.facebook.com/SnagAJob), the SnagAJob team decided to toss their fans a bone with a Summer Break Giveaway. By creating a custom Summer Break tab on its Facebook page users simply entered their name and why they deserved the summer off. In return, the SnagAJob community on Facebook jockeyed for a crack at a pocketful of cash for summer spending.
Tailgating Shenanigans Other local standouts on Facebook, such as Richmond International Raceway and the Flying Squirrels, are opting for energized wall content and integration with other platforms, such as Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr. The Richmond International Raceway page with over 9,300 fans, has quickly become a hot spot for sharing fan photos and trading race banter.
By teaming up with Madison+Main, the good folks at the raceway focus on creating conversation on their wall and soliciting feedback by asking fans engaging questions (such as what is their favorite foods while watching the race, what should be placed on the raceway's iPod summer playlist, and what drivers should be featured on future souvenir items). Most popular on the page is a YouTube series featuring tailgating shenanigans at our local racetrack.
Over at The Diamond, The Flying Squirrels have created a Facebook page for not only the team but also its acrobatic mascot, Nutzy. With over 10,975 liking the team's page, the Squirrels are mixing it up with an outcropping of online baseball fans by asking them to contribute to the social web. On its page in recent weeks the Squirrels have asked Facebook users to upload photos of themselves in Squirrel gear around the country, with the winner's photos blasted on the JumboTron during upcoming games.
"We are constantly learning about the ever-changing world of social media and recognize it to be a useful way of reaching our fans and those who will become our fans," concludes Todd "Parney" Parnell, team's Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.
