So They Like You on Facebook; Now What?
There was something very comfortable about writing a note to a girl in elementary asking if they liked me, and receiving the response in a similarly non-intimate fashion. In fact, the anxiety that I felt in the fledgling stages of a relationship was typically when I was forced to communicate with that individual in a meaningful manner.
Much to my dismay, receiving the initial confirmation that, “Yes!” they did indeed like me, was the easy part. What followed the confirmation was terrifying for the 10 year old me; I actually had to ask them questions, get to know them, listen intently, understand their wants and needs, all the while giving them my undivided attention.
GASP! Even the hazy memory that I just pulled up from that period of my life is giving me the chills.
The Elementary School Approach to Social Media
Apparently this is a common plague within our society, so it’s no surprise that some of us may become used to the distanced “please confirm that I’m good” tactic and apply it to their marketing dollars. I get the opportunity to be exposed to many companies’ interactions and activity on Facebook, and a common thread is what I will now deem The Elementary School Approach.
The Elementary School Approach revolves around assuming that “Likes” on Facebook mean that your customer base is growing and converting without any meaningful engagement or relationship building. As we discussed earlier in the week on the Intrapromote blog Facebook Ads Vs. Google Adwords – Part Four, the trick is not getting them in the door, the trick lies in what takes place afterwards.
“Likes” Aren’t Customers…Yet
Allow me to draw out the metaphor: Just because I got an enthusiastic “Yes!” back from my elementary school pursuit did not mean that we had a meaningful relationship to build upon. To that end: a “Like” from someone just getting acquainted with your brand doesn’t always equal a happy, paying customer. New customer relationships start with a “Like” and take time (and work) to mature and flourish.
So how do we take that initial attraction to your brand (the “Like”) and turn it into a relationship? Well—let’s refer back to the aforementioned list in this blog post:
“…I actually had to ask them questions, get to know them, listen intently, understand their wants and needs, all the while giving them my undivided attention…”
Ask questions! Get to know and understand your fans! Pay close attention to their responses and other interactions! This is what makes social media marketing tick, the meat and potatoes. For the first time in history you are able to glean all the necessary information from your constituents anytime you want, and deliver exactly what they need directly to their “doorstep”.
Treat your new fans like you would a first date—make them comfortable, ask them about themselves, and at least *act* like you’re giving them your undivided attention. These small steps will go far in the long run to create customers out of fans, and ultimately real brand advocates out of customers.
All things considered, Return On Investment (ROI) implies that you’ve made an investment.
We’d love to talk with you about how we help companies nurture budding relationships and grow them into happy customer families over social networks.
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Google Adwords Vs. Facebook Ads – Part Four
Part Four: What a Click Means for Your Brand
The last installment of this Google Adwords vs Facebook Ads series covered the eloquent moment when your user clicks through on your ad; or how to turn views into conversions on both platforms. This article aims to define what those clicks actually mean in both Google Adwords and Facebook Ads. Is one type of click more valuable than the other?
"I just can't look through another binder of numbers-- show me some Facebook Ads!"
Adwords:
With Adwords the goal is simple, getting the search to perform the desired action: usually either a sign up or a purchase. The main way to differentiate one click from another is by what Adgroup the clicks flows through. In theory at least each Adgroup is setup to attract a specific target. The problem quickly narrows down to trying to define which keywords and ads provide the lowest bounce rate, or the lowest rate at which people leave your site after clicking on your ad.
The key to this is analytics. It is the most accurate, fast, and reliable way to track your progress and make assessments. Google Analytics has some wonderful free tools for this and should be used if you do not have an analytics provider. Without analytics trying to determine success based on Cost Per Click or Click Through Rate alone will not give you your best chance at success.
Facebook Ads:
There are so many ways to interpret clicks within Facebook Advertising scenarios, mostly because the ad’s intention is dynamic enough to be able to be used for any goals that you have laid down for them. The following scenarios represent a good cross-section of how brands typically utilize Facebook Ads:
The Website Conversion
This is the simplest interpretation of a Facebook Ads click, and easily measureable. This particular campaign focuses solely on getting your targeted audience to click through to your website and purchase your product and services.
Although simple, this form of Facebook Advertising is one of the more volatile methods and can create a large budget covering many clicks-to-bounces. Check the bounce rate in Google Analytics for your landing page from this ad on an extremely frequent schedule to stay ahead of the budget for these campaigns.
Speaking of landing pages, just like with Google Adwords, this will be the most efficient way to segment your site traffic and delineate traffic from your ad campaign. URL trackers are well and good, but you want to ensure your users are seeing the exact content that you are advertising to manage the bounce rate.
When determining the overall value of these click-throughs, you have to take the bounce rate into consideration. If your bounce rate is above 25% of all traffic, you’re throwing your money away for a Facebook click.
The Facebook Page “Like”
This form of Facebook Advertising, when you are simply asking users to “Like” your Facebook Page, is complicated when evaluating each click’s worth. Obviously your brand is one that has resonated with the clicking user, but does the relationship end there? Does your Page’s updates stand dormant as an ignored entity within that user’s Facebook stream?
Or does that Fan go on to become not only a purchaser of your product and service, but also advocates for your brand on every negative Facebook Wall Post and conversation? Does that fan encourage their Facebook friends to “Like” your page and buy your product? Do they end up Retweeting your brand on Twitter to 15,000 followers of their own?
These are the inherent truths when attempting to valuate a “Like” on a Facebook Page, and we here at Intrapromote would argue that the responsibility lies within the brand’s activity, atmosphere, and engagement on the Page to take that initial “Like” to a conversion.
The good news is the results are self-evident within Facebook, and everything is tracked from start to finish. Without the extra step for the user (the “Like” is applied automatically without the user ever leaving the page they’re on) the CTR is remarkably higher for these campaigns over other campaigns.
So when we attempt to discern the value of these “Likes” via Facebook Ads, we must take into account our current level of engagement on Facebook. Do a good number of fans regularly contribute to the Facebook page? Does your brand regularly contribute to the Facebook Page? If you engagement percentage remains above 15%, then these Ads will go very far for the price.
The Facebook Promotion
So you’re giving away your gizmo to one lucky Facebook fan, but you want to leverage the giveaway to create more Facebook fans in the meanwhile? Well, Facebook Ads is the best solution for these goals. In this, your clicks can be valuated dollar-to-dollar (metaphorically speaking).
Your goals are concise, and the platform is concise. “Enter to win a foosball table by being the 100,000th “Like” on our Facebook Page!” will garner those clicks and those conversions.
The wrench in the gears here is the follow-up. Many brands will take a look at the data that they collect during a promotion like that and say, “My oh my, look how many folks “Like” us! Good job, marketing team!”. Where the real work should only just be beginning. This is social media marketing 101: what do you do once they’re in the door?
Much like the previously mentioned Facebook Page “Like” campaign, the burden of conversion then falls directly onto the shoulders of the brand. Facebook has filled your coffers with potential consumers, and now you must put them to work engaging and falling in love with your product or service.
The metric to pay attention to here, again, is your engagement percentage. Keep it above 15%, and you will continue to grow your social media channels for conversion.
The Product Release
This is my favorite ad campaign to produce and manage. The amount of marketing data alone that comes from product release ads is astounding. The entire gamut of Facebook Advertising options are open to you for this one, videos, questions, images, “Likes”, giveaways…everything!
If implemented appropriately, this campaign will blow the socks off of any other marketing initiative that is currently being approved by your Senior VP of Marketing. Without gaining the market input from your ads, you are still left with the most valuable metric you possibly can receive for a product launch from Facebook Advertising: impressions.
Every dollar spent within this campaign will be well worth it since you will be enabled to show your product to exactly who needs to see your product, exactly when they need to see it. Absolutely employ the impressions-based pricing model for advertising this one, as that is your ultimate goal, is it not? You will receive more impressions for less money spent when bidding low on impressions, and Facebook won’t decide to turn you off for low click-throughs because they aren’t losing any money there either!
The only caveat I would submit for this is when you are tying in a giveaway promotion or attempting to draw attention to a best-selling product via your new product (bait and switch tactics). You will want to follow the previous suggestions for campaigns in these scenarios to valuate your clicks.
Have you quantified your clicks from Facebook Ads lately? How about your conversions from Google Adwords? Post your findings in the comments below! Our next installment will dig into the logistics of the two platforms when it comes to actual exposure. Stay tuned!
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A Few Good Links: Why Qualitative Link Development Is Worth Your Time
Most people don’t realize that the movie, “A Few Good Men,” is actually an elaborate metaphor for Search Engine Optimization. For instance, if written literally, the now famous court room scene would sound a little different.
SEO Consultant: You want answers?
Webmaster: I think I’m entitled!
SEO Consultant: You want answers!?
Webmaster: I want a lot of links!
SEO Consultant: You can’t handle that many links! The truth is that you can build as many links your as pretty little SPAM bot wants. But your link profile ain’t worth a bucket of sand in the desert if your links aren’t relevant to your site’s content!
Admittedly, that may be a stretch, but I took a couple of literature criticisms classes in college, so you’ll just have to trust my interpretation.
The truth is, link building with a big number in your head from the start is asking for trouble. While link popularity goes a long way in helping sites rank well in search results, that doesn’t mean you can afford to confuse link popularity with link quantity. Paying a company $99 for 2,000 links or spending your own countless hours upon hours getting your link numbers up may in fact get you more links. But that won’t necessarily get you want you really want: traffic, rankings, and conversions.
Few site owners run around bragging about how many links they have when no one’s coming to their site.
Instead of spending all that time quantifying your link profile, a more targeted link building strategy focused on getting links in the right places will build the quality of your link profile while also increasing rankings, traffic, and conversions.
Here’s how.
1. A Few Good Links Go a Long Way
So what is a good link? My co-worker here at Intrapromote, Bobby Pham, has a great blog series that answers this question in detail: “What Makes a Good Link” In short, a well-placed link can give your site algorithmic value. The quantity of links is not the only thing that matters. Link Relevancy, an important variable in search algorithms, determines how relevant the sties in your link profile are to your site’s content. That means if you have a site that sells dog toys, you are liable to get more value if your site has links on other sites relevant to dog toys like sites for pet shelters, pet product e-commerce sites, or blogs from breed enthusiasts to name a few examples.
2. Targeted Backlinks Focus on a Targeted Audience
“These days—our water coolers are increasingly virtual—there are many different ones, and the people who gather around them are self-selected. We are turning from a mass market back to a niche nation, defined now not by our geography but by our interests.” Chris Anderson from his book, The Long Tail.
So who would visit a site about breeding Dalmatians? People who are interested in in Dalmatians. While that answer seems obvious, it marks a change in how businesses can market their site’s content to drive traffic and conversions. A well placed link can also greatly increase traffic since users who might visit a website about Dalmatian breeding may be interested in visiting your website to buy a dog toy. A well-placed link on relevant site exposes your site to users who are deeply invested in the content topics and products that your site offers. That can translate into an increase in traffic and conversions.
3. Building Organic Link Popularity and Relevancy
Having a target audience in mind is only the tip of the iceberg. Interested users participate in niche groups by creating, sharing, and commenting on content in various communication portals like blogs or social networking sites. In that process, interested users are creating a trail of links along the way on pages with relevant content. For example, the Dalmation breeder blogger posts a reaction to an article on your site (you sells dog toys, remember?).
For this purpose, three types of users read the blog post:
User 1: The animal welfare advocate with a blog. User 1 clicks through to the article on your dog toy site, and likes it so much that he also posts a reaction to the article with a link to your site included in the post. Many of his readers, who are interested in animal care, click through to your site generating traffic.
User 2: An avid Facebook user with pets. User 2 clicks through to the article and shares your site’s content with his Facebook friends. Many of these friends own pets since interested individuals coalesce in online communities as Chris Anderson discussed in the above quote. Some of his friends click through to your site and share the article with their friends. Some, who have a blog, post it to their site (building more links and generating more traffic).
User 3: A casual reader/Dalmatian owner. User 3, the casual reader (making up the highest percentage of users), simply visits your site. While no more extra links are created by User 3, a little more traffic will not hurt.
While the above situation is hypothetical, marketing your content on relevant websites puts your links in front of interested users who are more likely to visit your site and share your site with other interested users. This takes time and effort, but building relevant links and generating traffic from niche sites can bolster rankings moreso than methods more focused on your overall link count.
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What Makes a Good Link? Part 4 (PageRank)
In my first three posts of my blog series, I discussed the significance of the relevancy of the link, the age of a domain, and the ability to acquire the link.
Part 4: PageRank
Now it’s time to discuss a Foundational Link Building variable that finds itself in the center of several SEO & link building debates: PageRank (PR).
PageRank as defined by Wikipedia is: “A link analysis algorithm that is used by Google in which a numerical weight (ranging from 0-10) is assigned based on the relative importance of a page.” In other words, PR is a number assigned to a web page (note: “page”, not “site”) based on its relative importance and trust value.
As I mentioned earlier, the necessity of a high PR in acquiring high search rankings has been a constant debate since its inception. I am here to make an attempt to bring closure to this ongoing debate.
PR is old (in terms of Internet age), yet many SEOers still rely on it as a sole metric in link building and research. Doing so will only end in undesirable results. Google’s PR is not updated consistently and thus can display an inaccurate picture of a page’s actual value.
PageRank is calculated based on the linking popularity of the backlinks to a particular page. In other words, it examines the backlinks of “www.xyz.com,” the backlinks of those backlinks, and so forth (link popularity). After evaluating the backlinks within that detail, Google assigns a numerical value called PR. PageRank is excellent for calculating a page’s raw link popularity. However, it doesn’t take into consideration the relevancy of the link, the age of a domain, anchor text used, or if it’s a spam link.
Now that you have a solid comprehension of PR, I’ll show you how to actually apply your newfound knowledge of PageRank during your link building research.
As previously discussed, PR is on a scale of 0-10, or in some cases N/A (Download Google’s Toolbar to display a page’s PR). With the exception of a PR0, any PR is good (PR0 indicates that your page at one point had PR, but has since been demoted to a PR0 – which is not a good thing). Having any PR above 0 indicates that the page has link popularity. And getting a link from that page means you get some of that link popularity too!
Once you get around the PR4 – PR5 range, that page then has the ability to pass strong link value. And if you can somehow manage to get a link from a PR8 page like the homepage of the Economist, you’ll be on the receiving end of some powerful link popularity. So keep that in mind during your link research when you come across a page with PR7 or higher. Make sure to explore all white hat options in getting a link from that page!
Nonetheless, it’s important to remember that the PageRank of a page should not be the only factor to consider when doing link research and SEO. The anchor text, relevancy, age of the domain, popularity, and how well the site is currently ranking are all factors to be considered along with the PR of a page.
In Part 5 of “What Makes a Good Link,” I’ll discuss a factor that is often overlooked during the link research process: traffic value. Until then, keep looking for that relevant, aged, page with a PR4!
What makes a good link? Join @bmpham325 as he discusses #PageRank bit.ly/IPLDev1 #linkbuilding ^MLS
— Intrapromote (@intrapromote) February 3, 2012
Featuring Content: Our Freshest Newsroom Contest Winner
Congrats to @ProcterGamble for winning our Freshest Newsroom Contest! Find out what makes them so “fresh” –> bit.ly/IPFresh ^MLS
— Intrapromote (@intrapromote) January 26, 2012
Congrats P&G! Freshest Newsroom Award Winner!
We’ve been conducting The Freshest Newsroom Contest for a few weeks now, and while there were many fine entries and two top contestants (Best Buy and CDC) we are bestowing the Virtual Blue Ribbon on the P&G Corporate Newsroom.
Dig just below the surface and P&G offers all of the typical news and multimedia archives a journalist would require. It’s this newsroom’s home page and its distinctive Featured Content theme that’s really worth a long look if your company is designing a newsroom.
- P&G gives busy users and journalists a quick take with their P&G Featured Views mini-slider. This preview mode provides short news snippets accompanied by meaningful images. Clicking through on any of these news previews shows the user a short news announcement with accompanying PDFs and resources provided as separate downloads. Printing, sharing and emailing icons are in plain view at the top of each article.
- On either side of the newsroom home page one finds a clean layout. The left navigation is short and self explanatory, and the right hand side of the page offers an uncluttered column containing a search box, list of media contacts, P&G social media links and the latest P&G tweets.
- Beneath the Featured Views section are the P&G Featured News Releases; presented in a similar format to Featured Views. This is a very user-friendly presentation that allows the user to see a variety of news pieces without scrolling. It’s not necessary to click through on most of the releases as they are succinctly summarized in the Featured summary.
- Completing the newsroom page layout is the P&G Featured Video. It is only 1:12 minutes long which is a perfect length to tell a story without losing the audience’s attention.
Congratulations P&G, our first annual Freshest Newsroom Award Winner!
7 Ways To Protect Your Data & Online Reputation
Resolve to protect your Online Reputation in 2012! 7 Ways To Protect Your Data & Online Reputation by Lisa Santora bit.ly/IPORM1
— Intrapromote (@intrapromote) January 12, 2012
Low Tech Lapses Pose Greatest Threat to Data Security
At first glance you might think that technological lapses pose the greatest threat to your data and online reputation. In reality, insider criminal acts and human error are greater dangers. No matter how many technological defenses a company uses, your ultimate security comes down to the awareness, vigilance and common sense exercised by each and every person in an organization.
No one can guarantee that people won’t make mistakes or try to steal or misuse data; that’s impossible. Everyone in the company has equal potential to safeguard and threaten your reputation.
You can mitigate risk by instituting the steps in this checklist into your security routines.
1) Write and enforce a social media policy. Social Media is not going away and a policy for it is an important first step to ensuring that sensitive and potentially damaging information doesn’t reach the wrong hands and damage your company’s reputation.
2) Discuss with employees how they are transporting and accessing company data. Working on the road and working virtually means your company’s data takes many forms and is present on a multitude of devices. Inventory where your company’s data resides and take steps to keep it secure.
3) Don’t rely on email spam filters to weed out all dangerous emails. If it looks suspicious don’t open it and don’t click any links.
4) IT workers are not the only stopgap for security breaches. Every employee is responsible and expected to contribute to the company’s overall data and reputation protection.
5) Twitter, Facebook and forum posts about company issues: Less is more. Keep company inside information off the social networks. That should be obvious. Use internal communication tools like Yammer for private discussions.
6) If you suspect unusual activity that may threaten the company’s reputation, report it immediately. A seemingly small issue can actually be the tip of a much larger security iceberg.
7) If you wonder if you should; don’t. Keep this statement in mind whenever you aren’t sure if you should open an email, click a link, spread the word — caution is better than regret.
It takes only one small misstep for someone to provide access to sensititve data and start a chain reaction that is much harder to clean up than it is to prevent.
Here at Intrapromote we have experience building and protecting online reputations. We encourage you to make a New Year’s Resolution for 2012 to start a program that can make your company look its best when someone searches for you online.
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Our Freshest Newsroom Award contest is rapidly drawing to a close! We’re sending out the call for nominations and the winner gets…A Virtual Fresh Blue Ribbon for most user-friendly and creatively designed online newsroom. Send your nominations to lisa@intrapromote.com by January 19. I have one remaining contestant I will nominate, but your recommendations are welcome. Let’s make this final week of the contest rock and get some more newsrooms into the mix!
