Brands

Angry Birds Soars to New Heights 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.

Angry Birds, a mobile game that has millions of fans around the globe, is just as popular in the world of social media. On Facebook, it has more than 19 million likes and receives thousands of comments on its postings.

In February, Angry Birds, which already had a fan page, launched its game version on Facebook. By March, it was the 14th largest game on the site.

Make the Game Social

The mobile Angry Birds game has no way to connect with other players. When Rovio, the company that produced the game, brought it over to Facebook, it made sure the game would include a social aspect.

A feature of the Facebook page that attracts users is the “Share & Play,” which “allows [players] to share their highest scores, showing off for all of their friends to see,” according to games.com. After the scores are posted, a user’s friends will be able to play the same level from their Timelines.

Rovio also included another aspect on Facebook that doesn’t appear on the mobile version: Power-ups. These are different effects that, according to the company, will, “ultimately make you more competitive against your friends by making your birds stronger or more accurate or even by shaking the earth itself!”

The game is listed at the top of Angry Birds’ Facebook page, which means there is no installation. It’s easy to find and gives users a social reason to play together on the site.

When Angry Birds came to the social media site, SVP of Game Publishing at Rovio Patri Järvilehto said, “Angry Birds on Facebook will offer a unique experience for our fans, and we’re really excited to finally be on the platform.”

Run Competitions

Angry Birds frequently posts its scores on its Facebook page, challenging users to achieve better numbers. It also runs competitions, which gets fans involved.

On April 12, the page announced the winners of a contest where users were asked to “come up with creative names for Angry Birds space planets.” Accompanying the names of winners were pictures that fans drew and sent in. An Easter Egg hunt was held in early April, and the page often runs photo caption contests.

Social Annex writes, “A good contest is an excellent way to build some hype around your brand, add value to liking your page and reach a larger audience.” Angry Birds has proven to be an expert in fan engagement.

Launch Special Holiday Features

Angry Birds’ Facebook page always posts about holidays, whether it’s featuring a contest, photo, or video. Along with the Easter Egg hunt, fans could send cards to their friends, and download more free levels of the game in Angry Birds Chrome. On Earth Day, it put up an illustration of the birds on a planet with trees.

When the game launched in February, users could acquire free Power-up bundles for joining, as well as send cards to loved ones for Valentine’s Day. Working in calendar events is a smart move, since it’s an easy way to connect with customers on a more personal level. 

Angry Birds’ fans stay loyal to the game on and off Facebook because Rovio keeps delivering. Whether the company is introducing new versions of the game, giving out free power ups, running contests, encouraging friendly competition, or offering holiday goodies, it knows how to please its fans.

It has been popular on Facebook because, as CEO Mikael Hed said, fans of the page can enjoy “completely new aspects to it that just haven’t been experienced on any other platform.”

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