Online Engagement Comes to Facebook with Workface

Companies with Facebook pages have been hit very hard by the social networks recent changes but there's at least one solution which is hoping to help these companies deepen engagement.

Customer-interaction technology vendor Workface has integrated its profile-based customer-engagement platform into the Facebook ecosystem. This is one to watch, fellow Web and social media workers.

"Companies want to be 'liked' on Facebook, but the real issue is how does that develop meaningful relationships with prospects and, more importantly, generate leads," said Lief Larson, president and product strategist at Workface. "Workface's portable Profiles uniquely mobilize field sales and service teams across Facebook to engage at the moment of interest with online prospects, providing an experience that most closely replicates a face-to-face meeting-literally bringing a company's social media presence to life."

Integrated into a company's Facebook page, Workface profiles enable prospects/customers to connect with actual brand representatives (not the often anonymous profiles that brands have so far been forced to use) while remaining within the Facebook platform, creating an engagement opportunity other solutions are unable to match. In addition to this virtual interaction, a Workface integration also enables FB users to share and refer sales and service personnel profiles within their own personal network.

Customers currently using the Workface Facebook application include: Atomic Data Centers, The Foundation, NE Minneapolis Homes, Red Ribbon Realtors, Titan Outlet Store and Travel Leaders of Fargo.

"In Facebook, you can chat with individuals who are your friends, but you can't chat with a company," explained Larson. "With Workface in Facebook, prospects can select an individual from an organization and engage in a conversation without having to make the commitment of 'liking' them. The added bonus is that the prospect can learn about the background and expertise of the company rep they're interfacing with in a way that's much more personal and rewarding than traditional, faceless online chat."