The Marketing Companion

facebook reach Is there any greater source of emotional debate and mis-information on the web today than Facebook reach? I recently had a little debate on this subject with a person who wrote a glowing article on the promise of Facebook reach -- despite what appears to be pretty bad news in this corner of the web. I challenged him -- Why write an article that seems to be so counter to the facts? "I'm tired of so much negativity about Facebook," he said. "I wanted spin the facts in a more positive way." With so much at stake and so much mythology out there, it is certainly difficult to know who to believe or what to believe any more .... and we certainly do not need to be "spinning the facts." Part of the reason for so much confusion is that the truth is hard to come by. The real numbers are hidden behind company administrative accounts. There are only a few companies in the world with access to enough of these Facebook pages to make a meaningful statement about the true nature of Facebook reach.

The truth about Facebook reach

One of these rare companies is AgoraPulse, and my friend Emeric Ernoult The company's founder) was kind enough to share his raw data with Tom Webster and I to dissect on our latest episode of The Marketing Companion podcast. We were able to dive into the numbers behind 8,000 Facebook pages over the past 12 months and we found some surprising facts:

  • More than 70 percent of all companies across 104 industry designations had a decline in organic reach of 30 percent or more in the past year. I think it is accurate to say the decline in Facebook reach has been incredibly steep and rapid.
  • While Facebook brand pages reach an average of 6 percent of their fans, there is wide variation by company and industry. The declines ranged as low as 1 percent to as high as 65 percent
  • Only 6 percent of the industry categories have seen Facebook organic reach grow or remain steady in the past 12 months.
  • There is definitely a "hierarchy of conversation" among brands that leads to higher Facebook reach. Certain types of companies are just more conversational, leading to better reach. For example, nearly 550 pages consistently still have organic reach of 40 percent or more. Media companies and sports-related brands top the list.

This last point was especially interesting to Tom and I and one of the things we discussed on the podcast was the concept of using the data as a predictive model -- Could you guide a Facebook strategy based on a number that indicates potential engagement level?  Let's look at some of the numbers: high facebook reach   low facebook reach The decline in organic reach was steeper and more rapid than I expected. No wonder marketing strategies are in turmoil if organic reach has declined 30 percent or more for some companies in such a short period of time: facebook reach 3

What's the recipe for higher organic reach?

AgoraPulse gets to see more Facebook success stories than almost any company out there. So what is the key to success? The company's founder Emeric Ernoult shared these tips: "As with everything in the online world, there's no one-size-fits-all recipe. But to help focus on some success themes, I've hand-picked four Facebook pages that are doing extremely well and enjoying an average post reach above 50 percent of their fan base. Let's learn from them." Animals Australia OK, granted, this non-profit is about protecting animals and people love visuals of animals (and love their pets!). But they don't only post good looking puppies, they also post a lot of very interesting content relating to their cause. You're in the animals business? Facebook will make you happy. The Daily Muse Career advice? Yes, the Muse is a real business with a real business model (selling job postings to employers) but they also have so much content (very helpful and insightful content!) that their fans are engaged way above average. Super Chevy Mag Car lovers love to share their passion. And they usually love to read magazines that focus on that passion. Having a Facebook page for such a magazine cannot be a bad idea. Maxxess Maxxess is a French e-commerce site selling motorbike accessories. There is no doubt that motorbike owners are very passionate about their bike and the biking lifestyle. If you sell stuff to people who have a passion, Facebook is a must.Episode 31 What do these 4 pages have in common:

  • They target an audience with a strong passion
  • They publish very good content (at least, very good for their target audience)
  • They publish very consistently (at least once a day, often more)
  • They get a LOT of shares (thanks to the 3 points above), and shares are what offers the highest level of "viral" visibility for a page's content.

I'm sure you'll agree this is pretty interesting stuff but to get the inside scoop, you'll want to check out our new podcast, which also covers a hilarious new social media app called "Get a Room!" 

Direct download: TMC.31.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 11:27pm BST

time for twitter   Are you using Twitter for your business? Maybe the time for Twitter is now if you consider some of the trends on this popular social media platform:

  • Twitter has momentum. Revenue jumped 124 percent in the latest quarter, and it "beat the Street" estimates for user growth.
  • Twitter shined during the World Cup, owning the online conversation for the planet's biggest sporting event.
  • It appears that Twitter is preparing a "buy now" button.

In our new Marketing Companion podcast, Tom Webster and I dissect the economics of Twitter for business and demonstrate why this might be the best time to integrate Twitter into your marketing plans. Some of the podcast highlights:

  • How Twitter is giving a free advertising bonus most businesses don't know about.
  • How to use Lead Generation Cards as a free business-building tool.
  • Twitter has become the de facto "second screen" for television -- what does this mean to the value of Twitter for business?
  • Although only 16 percent of adult Americans have active accounts, more than three times that number actively see tweets or watch a Twitter stream without logging in -- a "ghost audience" for businesses that does not show up in the numbers.
  • Why analysts should not keep lumping Twitter in with Facebook and LinkedIn
  • Businesses are overlooking powerful free research capabilities -- we provide a real example and look at the three levels of free Twitter search
  • The meaning of Twitter for personal networking

Both Tom and I agree on this one -- this is an excellent time for businesses to look at Twitter as a research, advertising, and networking platform, Ready to check out the podcast?

Resources mentioned in this podcast

The book The Tao of Twitter, Revised and Expanded New Edition: Changing Your Life and Business 140 Characters at a Time Songza, a curated music channel Christel Quek of Twitter Jay Baer's book Youtility: Why Smart Marketing Is about Help Not Hype

Direct download: TMC.30.mp3
Category:Social Media Marketing -- posted at: 8:00pm BST

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