Wow. Impressive numbers.
In the aftermath of the news last night that US Forces killed Osama Bin Laden, Facebook and Twitter nearly caught on fire. Here’s an article that sums it up:
A Twitter Record That Has Nothing to do with Justin Bieber
I watched in amazement as the Facebook page: Osama being Dead climbed to over 10,000 followers in less than an hour. At the time of this post, roughly 24 hours later, over 31,000 fans have liked the page. A humorous Twitter user created an account GhostOsama and just 93 tweets later, has well over 40,000 followers. The ghost happens to follow just three others. An interesting list in order of follow: Charlie Sheen, Bill Maher and Mike Tyson.
If you had any doubts before how may people are online, how many people are logged in to their favorite social media platform, monitoring news, tweeting, posting and sharing…this article and this news event should provide good proof just how integrated these mediums have become. Even the facts stated in the article amazed me – topping 5100 TPS! I thought the Royal Wedding numbers were impressive! Ha!
Facebook Deals
Today Facebook announced that San Diego was one of just five cities chosen to help launch the new DEALS ON FACEBOOK program.
Facebook says, “A few months ago we launched Check-In Deals, to help you get special offers when you check in at local businesses from your mobile. Today we’re going a step further and testing a new feature to help you find fun experiences to share with your favorite people: Deals on Facebook.
Initially, Deals will be available to people in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, San Diego, and San Francisco and we hope to expand this test to other cities in the future.”
To acces deals, scroll down the left menu bar on your profile page. Clicking “Deals” will show you a page with all that’s on offer, including messages letting you know which friends have liked that deal.
Facebook is counting on the popularity of the LIKE button and word-of-mouth advertising to promote what deals available and for users to see what their friends are liking. I’ve already subscribed because I am interested to see what offers pop up and admire Facebook’s strategy. It’s convenient, too because I don’t have to go to another website like GroupOn or LivingSocial to see what offers are available in my community.
What I don’t like about the deals program on the Facebook platform is that it gives Facebook just that much more information about me. For small businesses hoping to gain better exposure and not go broke on traditional advertising methods, participating in the Facebook Deals should prove a huge advantage.
Have you subscribed yet? Will you use the deals offered or are you leery of FB knowing too much about you? Will you promote your small business through Facebook?
Social Media Report
Some people just don’t get social media. And that’s ok, because the format is constantly evolving and changing and those of us who are enthusiastic participants like to try new ideas and see what sticks. But when you are attempting to make an authoritative report on the effectiveness of social media and purchase power, you probably better have a faint clue how social media works, and perhaps an inkling of how much power the medium has when used effectively.
THE PURCHASE PATH OF ONLINE BUYERS For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals was released today by Forrester Research in cooperation with GSI Commerce. The report comes to the conclusion that “The truth is that social tactics were largely ineffective in driving sales.”
I’m surprised that this report is receiving the attention that it is, given how flawed the reporting methods are. A few missed details with this report.
1. Social Media
The report fails to answer some key questions. Namely: What social media outlets were engaged? What messages were posted? How often were sites updated? Did retailers respond to mentions or did they ignore customer contacts? Did all 15 of the retailers use social media in the same exact manner, or was there a vast difference in tactics?
2. Timing
The report says, “Data was captured from November 12, 2010 to December 20, 2010. Thanksgiving weekend data was captured from 12 a.m. on November 25, 2010, through 11:59 p.m. on November 28, 2010. Cyber Monday data was captured on November 29, 2010. ”
So on November 12th, 18th, December 3rd and 13th for example, what time was the data captured? Was the data not being captured 24/7 between 11/12/2010 and 12/20/2010? What reasoning was behind the choice of that time period (other than measuring effect on holidays sales)? Is this a sufficient time period to determine effectiveness? Were social media updates being posted between working hours only or throughout a 24 hour period? Were messages posted every day?
3. Collection
The report offers measurement as “social media alone” as a touchpoint prior to purchase and focuses on the ineffectiveness of social media. If Forrester actually understood social media, they would understand that a well planned online marketing strategy would never consider social media alone, but a smart combination of online tactics. I don’t think any of us who are in the habit of helping businesses use social media would ever recommend a social media alone strategy, but would certainly insist that a no social media policy would in fact negatively impact sales as well as brand image and customer retention.
Clearly this report raises more questions than it provides answers. And the few findings that are stated are so far off the mark, it’s laughable. In fact, I would call it ineffective in driving social media strategies.
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