PlayStation Has All The Right Moves On Facebook

This post is part of the Killer Facebook Pages Series, which highlights the top brand pages on Facebook and provides tips on how to emulate their successes.

In the world of social media, PlayStation is almost a quaint old-school type of gaming product on par with, say, Candyland or Yahtzee.

On Facebook, more people are likely to enjoy more passive – though equally competitive – games like Farmville or Words With Friends, which bring friends and families together through the social media platform.

But that doesn’t stop Sony’s popular PlayStation from using Facebook to further its brand and go after market share.

‘Resistance’ is futile

The profile banners speak volumes: “Resistance: Burning Skies,” “StarHawk,” “God of War.”

These aren’t your family-friendly brands, and PlayStation isn’t going to tone down its edgy image just because it’s on on a mainstream network Facebook.

The extreme gore in its graphics are a big part of what makes the PlayStation experience so successful, so Sony is smart to play this up online. Over the past few months, the timeline has been loaded with colorful images that reflect the popular aspects of the brand.

PlayStation also uses its Facebook page to roll out sneak-peek trailers of their newest products. These videos are wildly popular among PlayStation loyalists who can’t wait to see what their favorite gaming provider has come up with next.

These content strategists also do a very good job of using Facebook to cross-brand from one product into another. The StarHawk fan doesn’t have to look far before they see a promo for Music Unlimited, a mobile music product from the Sony Entertainment Network.

The ‘like’ that pays you back

While it doesn’t cost anything to like a brand on Facebook, in PlayStation’s case it actually pays to like them.

Periodically, the site offers promotions and Amazon gift cards to its fans, who can win the gift and use it to – you guessed it – buy more PlayStation games.

The use-engagement strategy also includes hosting various meet-up events for PlayStation fans around the world. Fans come, enjoy the games, meet other like-minded gamers and then see themselves in all their online glory within a Facebook photo gallery.

The X-factor

With 23 million likes on Facebook, PlayStation is not gaming around with its social media strategy. It’s the 11th most successful brand on Facebook.

This is big business, and Sony is not the only game in town.

Microsoft’s Xbox has it’s own Facebook presence and an equally engaged legion of fans. However, the Xbox site falls a bit short to PlayStation – boasting only 17.5 million likes, making it the 20th most successful brand on Facebook.

That might seem like “close enough,” but for these staunch competitors it’s a world of difference. Xbox would have to increase its like-total by almost a third in order to catch PlayStation – not an easy task, considering how engaged PlayStation is with its fans on Facebook.

Meanwhile, Ninetendo and Sega are in very distant third and fourth places with fewer than 2 and 1 million likes, respectively – making it a virtual two-horse race.