When putting together a social media campaign that is hung around Facebook there's no formula as things change at such a pace that what would have worked six months ago probably isn't even possible now.
We've now come to expect entertainment from the brands we follow on Facebook and it has become our playground for launching fun, interactive and, here's the world you were waiting for, engaging ideas.
Users were initially cautious of logging in with Facebook, for certain platforms you now don't have a choice - like Spotify. This new found liberalism with our logins has led to the creation of some brilliant apps that take information from our Facebook profile and make the experience unique to each user. This personalised approach is memorable and, if the idea is strong enough, will also get the person talking about it.
This week Confused.com, the UK's leading insurance comparison site, called House of Horrors. The personalised Facebook app aims to raise awareness about the importance of home insurance. Taking a creepy and disruptive approach the app has been noted by the marketing and tech press as an inventive way to approach, what many consider, the unexciting topic of insurance.
Once plugged into the video app, Facebook users are presented with a video of a burglar breaking into a home which they quickly realise is in fact their house shown through a Google Maps image of their street that is displayed in the clip. This is made possible as users are required to enter their postcode at the beginning.
The video app takes information from users' profiles, such as photos, and places this around the house in which the burglar appears to be, to make them feel as though it is their own. Add some eerie music and the whole experience gets your goosebumps going.
With the average Facebook user liking 80 brands you've got to fight to get their attention when they're online with originality, storytelling and thorough understanding that something useful will see far wider pick up than something promotional. You may long for the days of a quick and dirty wall competition but I promise you the place we are now is better. Size isn't everything, much to the relief of men everywhere, and having users that want to have a chat about your brand are far more useful than those who are there for a free Amazon voucher.
Interactive, conversation starting content is the way forward with Facebook. Gone are the days of static FBML; never will the words static belong in social media marketing. If you're going to create an app make sure it is either useful to the user - like TripIt or provides entertainment like Confused.com's House of Horrors.