I knew I wasn’t quite done for the night. An email from Tastecard promised a Facebook exclusive, with a Grand Designs promotion only available to Facebook fans. A smart way to get people to subscribe. Unfortunately none of the links in the email (except the tiny FB icon at the bottom) lead to the Facebook page. A slight oversight.

The page itself doesn’t focus on the Grand Designs offer that drove me here. Instead it focuses on signing you up for a free trial of a Tastecard. The promotion is hidden away on a separate OFFERS tab, and can only be accessed by granting the page even more access to your personal data.

You’d have to REALLY like Grand Designs to have come this far from the un-linked email, to then Like the page, click the OFFERS tab, click the Grand Designs link and then grant more access to your data. Too many clicks, guys.

Yes, THAT Nescafé Dolce Gusto - the one who recently made UK TV history by being the first ever paid product placement.

I own one of these machines, and like many I use their loyalty programme. Inside every box of coffee pods is a code to collect points. And points, eventually, add up to buying more coffee or coffee accessories. It’s actually a fairly rewarding scheme if you put in the effort and you love caffeine.

So, as I went to the site to enter my code I spotted the social media icons in the bottom corner, and figured that I should click through for the chance of further engagement, and hopefully more points.

Sadly no such luck, and the lack of a call to action on the website should’ve served as a warning - the page adds little value beyond the main website. There is a Hall of Fame section from Dolce Gusto parties other users have hosted, but little reason to engage with it. In my opinion, the real win for Dolce Gusto would’ve been to integrate their loyalty programme through Facebook, so that every time people interacted and collected points, their friends would hear about Dolce Gusto and all the lovely rewards that come with owning one. Just a thought…

More late night telly driving me to Facebook - luckily this is the 2 (or even 3) screen generation, and I could do so without having to move from the groove in my sofa. Not really a call to action or an invitation, but it’s interesting to see a brand moving towards signing its ads off with a Facebook URL instead of a branded one - accepting the increasingly common point of view that the days of the branded microsite are numbered.

Now. This Facebook journey is rather a long one. In fact, it lasts roughly as long as it takes for a 15 year old boy to have two wanks. As you’ll have come to expect from Lynx, it is laden with innuendo, sexy girls and borderline softcore porn.

I’m invited to play “Lynx Fallen Angel Now” and questioned as to whether Kelly Brook will fall for me. I gladly oblige and start interacting. Video content follows, loosely based around the idea of angels on earth, who are looking to find the perfect mate for their Arch Angel - Kelly. Featuring pictures from your own Facebook friends integrated into the video, the angels discard potential dates and eventually settle on you.

You are then quizzed by the angels, inputting details like your shoe size and where you’d like to meet Kelly on a date - you can choose from a list of generic date places or enter your postcode.

It turns out that you are, in fact, Kelly’s perfect mate and she starts waking up from her slumber with noises bordering on orgasmic. And what’s that in her hand? Why it’s a picture of you! (well, it’s me).

From here on in it gets even saucier, as Kelly has to have a shower. And you have to watch. It’s pretty steamy, in every sense of the word. Once she’s done with that, she’ll ask you what she ought to wear, and then models the skimpy number of your choice, which you can either “accept” or change.

And now she’s ready for your date. And guess what? If you put in your postcode earlier on she’ll actually appear on a Google Streeview image at your postcode! Overall, a great brand experience if you are the target market - a horny teenage boy who doesn’t know any better, and whose mum has installed Net Nanny to keep you off the real porn sites. Pass the tissues.

B&Q’s new advert is pretty long and rather reminiscent of an episode of You’ve Been Framed. It does, however, sign off by telling you “don’t do it yourself” followed by “let’s do it together” with social media icons below their URL. Let’s do it together? I’m in!

I followed this invitation through to the Facebook page and found a nicely laid out welcome page, which unlike a lot of branded pages actually went to the trouble of telling me what I was going to get out of Liking them.

The page lives up to the brand promise nicely and makes you feel at home, with plenty of ways to ask for advice, including links through to their YouTube channel, for video tips on how to do DIY without killing yourself. 

Another email, another brand I must like. This time it’s retailer Tesco.

Nestled at the bottom of a rather long email about Mother’s Day, special offers, recipe ideas and Clubcard deals I found the trusty little Facebook logo and this blog’s name. No benefit. No RTB. No content. Just “find us on Facebook”.

The Facebook landing page is smarter than that, though. Now that I’m here it tells me why I should like it - the promise of being the first to hear about exclusive offers and deals. It even helps me find where the Like button is on the page.

Tesco have also gone to the effort of creating separate Facebook pages for some of the properties that sit under the main Tesco banner - Clothing, Tesco Diets, Tesco Greener Living. It seems a bit much to subscribe to these specific sections, but for people with specific interests they are a useful way to filter out the noise.

The big opportunity that Tesco seem to be missing (and maybe they’re working on it) is to integrate their super-successful e-commerce site into an f-commerce one. The ability to do my grocery shopping, read reviews and comments from other Facebook users, and maybe even add my delivery time slot as an Event on my Facebook calendar, is a fairly attractive idea. It would certainly limit the chances of me dropping out of a deal if I could add it to my basket as soon as I discover it on my Facebook feed.

Another request to join an online community via email. This time at the bottom of an HQhair email, which I honestly only opened to find the unsubscribe link. Many moons ago I ordered a present for my girlfriend from their website, and every since I have received email updates.

Unfortunately, it’s far easier to click “archive” in Gmail than it is to scroll to the bottom, look for a link, click that link and no doubt receive some sort of last chance guilt trip to make me keep receiving them.

However, today as I scrolled to the bottom of this email I spotted the request to “click here to join us on Facebook” and so I did just that.

.

The HQ page seems fairly basic, mostly posting only offers and links to new products. There isn’t much conversation on here. The info tab reveals just a single link asking all customer service enquiries to click it - forgoing the transparency of dealing with customer issues out in the open of social media, and instead squirrelling it away behind the scenes.

I must start unsubscribing from emails that I don’t really want to receive, but it’s just too easy not to bother.

Sadly I don’t have a car, and even if I did I wouldn’t buy a personalised number plate. However, this week I am the social consumer who says yes! That’s how I’ve found myself becoming a fan of Regtransfers.co.uk - the personalised plates company.

I stumbled across their ad as I idly flicked through a copy of the Metro that I found on the train to work, and there it was staring right at me.

They’ve said “follow us” but they’ve also given me a further reason to bother: exclusive celebrity content, including an interview with Boxing legend David Haye - presumably about number plates. Now, if I was a boxing enthusiast in the market for a new number plate, I would be all over this.

As an aside, I love that they have a free iPhone app, which is also available on Android - thus making it simply an app. 

The page itself updates on some of the goings on in the world of personalised plates, such as 108 AL selling for a whopping £33,620.

And of course, Mr. Haye himself telling me about his (and Amir Khan’s) personalised plates. Knockout!

One more before bedtime, as I idly check my Facebook for the last time of the day I spot an ad that invites me to “Watch stunning HD films”. I’m dubious, but intrigued by what on earth a “Bloggie” could be (a bad name for a camera, apparently) and the chance to win £5k further seals the deal. The ad reliably informs me that a couple of my friends happen to like this (amusingly they both work at the agency behind the advert) so I follow suit and Like it too.

Sadly, it seems that I’ve missed my chance to submit a video for now, but if I email them before the 31st (and I have) I will get my chance to be part of the next “Bloggie Film Crew” - fingers crossed they pick me!

A bit of late night shopping for a Mothers’ Day present - a rosebush from M&S - simple and effective. Down at the bottom of the homepage - so as not to distract me too much from shopping - is a section called “Latest news” - and let’s be honest, who doesn’t want to hear the latest news from Marks and Sparks?

Again, no real reason given to bother navigating away from my shopping.

The page itself is nice nice enough, with a giant welcome page to encourage me over the final hurdle and ‘Like’ the page. Unsurprisingly, the M&S site is heavily geared towards women - with a specific tab for “Lingerie Heaven” - and looking at the offers and news stories they’ve posted, I’ll be forever reminded that due to my gender I’m not allowed to enjoy exciting things like “Lingerie Heaven” without feeling ashamed.

If you haven’t heard of Livescribe pens already then you’re missing out. They’re incredible. The pen records not only all your handwritten notes to .pdf format, but also the audio from the room at the time. You can even draw a playable piano in your notebook. 

I’m lucky enough to own one of these remarkable gizmos, and as such was already signed up to the email newsletter. I clicked to open it because it promised £30 - a decent saving on most items. The call to find them on Facebook is small and discreet at the top of the email, asking me to “join the livescribe community” -

again, not telling me why I should bother if I already sign up to their email.

So far, the main source of traffic for me ‘Liking’ brands has been through email newsletters to which I’m already subscribed. I have to say, though, I’m underwhelmed by the incentive to do so. As someone who has already gone a way to liking the brand (in that I like them enough to receive their newsletter) I need a further push to understand why it’s worth having them communicate with me in another channel. 

The page is good and interesting for people who own a Livescribe smart pen, or who are interested in learning more about them. Even better, it houses an f-commerce shop that allows you to buy straight form Facebook, meaning once you’ve caught the bug, you can buy straight away (and worry about buyers’ remorse later).