in to What Your Following Wants

What’s in a Number?  Quite a Bit Apparently

Okay guys, can we go ahead and agree that Social Media is good for business?  At least in an empirical data kind of way?    Well, you might be surprised at how many skeptics are left out there.  Everybody knows “that guy” who will never be seen on Facebook and thinks that Twitter should never have been invented in the first place.  The funny thing is, “that guy” all too often happens to be a marketing manager or marketing influencer for their respective company.  For the good of everyone, new and concrete statistics are now available to add to your pro-social media arsenal.  When “that guy” says you are wasting time creating a Facebook Fan Page, you can remind him that 60% of people surveyed were more likely to refer a brand to a friend if they are a fan of that brand.  And for Twitter? Try 80% more likely.  “That guy” might waive this off as crazy talk.  If he does, forward him the rest of this article – We found some pretty compelling arguments and stats that are hard to dismiss.

Social Media Fans Much More Likely to Buy

Recent findings by Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate have given some reassurance to social media marketers looking to substantiate the time and money they put in developing a fandom on Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets.  Take a look at the graph below where US internet users were polled on their Facebook fan habits:

We can see from this graph that Facebook fans are much more likely to not only buy your brand, but to recommend it to their peers.  Most of us could probably have guessed as much – when people are engaged with a product or service through channels such as Facebook and Twitter, brand visibility is heightened and they have a better chance of staying on the customer’s radar.  The trick for brands is to understand why people become fans / followers and then to capitalize on this built-in communication channel by making sure they are telling them what they want to hear. 

Why Your Fans are Fans and Why Your Followers Follow You

So what do your fans want to hear?  Why did they become your fan in the first place?  More data from the study referenced above sheds some light on these questions.  In the graph below, we can see that 61% of “Max Connectors,” or users having 500+ social media connections became fans or followers of a brand to learn about new products, services and features.  This group was also driven to fan or follow a brand to learn more about the company culture, worker’s policies and other corporate information.  For the rest of the users (<500 SM connections), 65% engaged with the brand in order to stay abreast of sales and new deals, while 61% were looking to learn about new products, features and services.  Not to be forgotten, many fans also cited entertainment as a factor in their decision to follow a brand.  Here is the chart:

And what about Twitter?  Do you know why your followers are following you?  If not, you may not be telling them what they want to hear.  The chart below shows strong evidence that supports the notion that many users follow brands on Twitter in order to receive exclusive deals and offers.  Being a customer of the brand and looking for interesting or entertaining content came in neck and neck as the second and third primary reasons users follow a brand on Twitter.

Dig Deeper, But This is a Good Place to Start

Any company with a product or service should keep these easy to remember stats in mind when developing their social media strategy.  While there are countless other ways brands can optimize their social media efforts, the basic concepts laid out above are a great place to start.  Knowing why people follow your brand on social media channels and comprehending what they want to hear is powerful stuff.

Finally!  A Way to Track Your Facebook Fan Page

If only there was a way to track Facebook Fan Pages with Google Analytics…

As Facebook Fan Pages gain momentum as a leading Social Media Marketing outlet, the need to effectively track this medium becomes all the more important.  Up until very recently, the only way to monitor your Fan Page was through the extremely limiting Facebook Insights.  Insights provides page administrators limited data on visitor demographics and fan interaction but is unable to report on visitor statistics, traffic sources, keyword data and some of the other extensive reporting that Google Analytics provides.  Thanks to some crafty out of the box thinking by London based web developers Webdigi, the code has been cracked and now everyone can track their Fan Pages using Google Analytics.  In this post, we will show you how to track your Fan Page with a step-by-step guide, including the necessary links to generate your personal Google Analytics tracking code that will be installed on your page.  We will also introduce you to the Social Media monitoring tool Unilyzer and show you how it can be used in correlation with Google Analytics to extract even more detailed and valuable information from Facebook and other Social Media outlets.  Let’s get started. 

Google Analytics for Facebook Fan Pages + Unilyzer = Tracking Bliss

Once you complete the installation of Google Analytics on your Facebook Fan Page, take your tracking to a new level using the Social Media Monitoring Dashboard from the Unilyzer (www.unilyzer.com).  The Unilyzer is a data-to-dashboard tool that uses Google Analytics to pull data from a wide range of Social Media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube as well as social bookmark sites like Digg, Stumble and Delicious – using this data, the Unilyzer generates a personal dashboard with insightful charts and trending arrows which allows you to adjust your Social Media marketing efforts accordingly.  Before we tackle the process of tracking the Facebook Fan Page on the Unilyzer, let’s take a look at the following step-by-step guide you will need to follow to install Google Analytics on your Fan Page.

Google Analytics Installation Guide for Facebook Fan Pages

Installing Google Analytics on your Facebook Fan Page isn’t all that complicated, but you will want to closely follow the steps provided below as there are a few moving parts.  Luckily, the aforementioned web development company Webdigi (www.webdigi.co.uk/) has written up an extremely comprehensive “how-to” that will facilitate the process.  Let’s take a look at some excerpts from their article below.  If you’ve already installed Analytics to your page, scroll down to the “Unilyzer” section to learn how the Unilyzer, when used in correlation with Google Analytics, allows for an even more extensive tracking experience.

How to setup Google Analytics on your Facebook fan pages

“The workaround we use in our code is to include Google Analytics as an image instead of setting the standard Javascript. This method tracks every visitor to the custom facebook pages on Google Analytics. It required a combination of server side cookie management and an additional <img> tag to the bottom of the facebook fan page. Here are the steps to get Google Analytics working on your facebook fan page.

1) Setup Google Analytics account. If you already have one, create a new website profile. You can name it facebook.com or facebook.com/your_page_name. You will finally get your tracking code which looks like this UA-3123123-2
2) Create your custom img tag for each of your pages you like to track. EG: contact form, services, products etc. You can use our tool to create the Google Analytics link generator for Facebook pages.
3) Add the entire custom image html tag from step 2 to the bottom of each Facebook fan page that you need to track.

That is all there is to it! Google Analytics is not real-time, so you will need to give it some time. Approximately a day before you see the fruits of your “hard” work.”

For advanced users

“Use this method, if you don’t want to use our hosted link redirection as mentioned in the method above. You can download the entire source code which is just about three files to get this setup working on your own server (running PHP4.3 or above). The code is written in PHP and essentially creates the Google image tracking URL with the referrer, page information, ID, etc. The additional advantage of hosting this on your own server and domain is that visits from your website to your facebook fan page gets tracked, etc. You will also be able to customise further if you wish. Please do share any useful updates you apply to the tracking link code.

Facebook – Google Analytics Version 1.1 (Updated 21st Feb, 2010).  For advanced method – Download this code to use on your server.

If you don’t have a Facebook fan page yet, visit our tutorial for code and help on creating customised Facebook fan pages.

PS: We could not find any other source / blog that described how to get Google Analytics on Facebook fan pages! There is support for canvas pages and applications but nothing for Static FBML fan pages. Hope this helps and please leave your comments below.”

UPDATE:
1) A lot of users have asked how to track visits to the wall. Yes, this can be done. Please see the comments by iphp below.
2) Here is a screenshot to a staticFBML where the code should be placed

Source: http://www.webdigi.co.uk/

Google Analytics is now tracking your Facebook Fan Page – Wait, it gets better…

Facebook Fan Pages have really caught on as a great way for individuals and companies to create micro-communities of followers of their brand and/or cause.  Now that you have the capability of installing Google Analytics on your page, take the next step and use a tool that works with Google Analytics to even further enhance your tracking and monitoring efforts.  The Unilyzer (www.unilyzer.com) is just the tool you need if you are looking for even more in-depth reporting on your Fan Page and other Social Media channels.  We will first take a look at what the Unilyzer is and how it works before moving on to a more detailed explanation of how the Dashboard can be customized to report on specific information. 

The Unilyzer – a new comprehensive Social Media Monitoring and Tracking Dashboard 

A bevy of tools for tracking social media have been developed over the past few years, many of them quite effective in what they do.  With that said, they all have their shortcomings – too expensive, lack of reporting breadth, uninspired user interfaces, minimal tracking channel capabilities.  Some tracking tools are great but medium specific, reporting on only one Social Media outlet and requiring the user to manage multiple monitoring tools in order to get a truly clear vision of their Inbound Marketing efforts.  The new Social Media monitoring Dashboard Unilyzer, developed by Eman Bass, provides a great overall package combining a great user interface, numerous customizable data points, user-friendly functionality, and broad reporting on all of the major Social Media channels.  And now that Google Analytics can be easily installed to track Facebook Fan Pages, the Unilyzer is even more attractive as it offers the best combined analytical reporting of Fan Pages the market has to offer.  For more information about the Unilyzer’s tracking and reporting capabilities, visit www.unilyzer.com or click here to watch a short video that describes the Unilyzer’s basic functions.

All in all, the fact that we now have the capability to properly track Facebook Fan Pages is a very good thing and it will give Page administrators a level of insight that Facebook Insight does not.

Track Your Social Media Traffic in Seconds

About the Video: Did You Know 4.0
This is another official update to the original “Shift Happens” video. This completely new Fall 2009 version includes facts and stats focusing on the changing media landscape, including convergence and technology, and was developed in partnership with The Economist. For more information, or to join the conversation, please visit http://mediaconvergence.economist.com and http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com.

Content by XPLANE, The Economist, Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod and Laura Bestler. Music by DoKashiteru, “Home Tonight.” Design and development by XPLANE, http://www.xplane.com. You can follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/xplane

So let me help spread the viral word-of-mouth some more.

Visit the Friends with Benefits website.

Read a sample chapter from the book ‘Chapter 4 – Netiquette: Miss Manners for the Web‘

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One thing that social media sites all have in common is a profile. Many marketers make the mistake of leaving the profiles blank with a dummy placeholder image and a screen name. Your profile is important because it gives you credibility, incoming links, keyword association, and a personality. I recommend spending some time developing a powerful profile that you can reuse over and over on all your accounts.

In the world of social media marketing your profile is your business card. People reading your Twitter stream will click on your avatar to learn more about you. If all they see is the bare minimum filled out, it’s a poor reflection on you.

Key Elements of a Powerful Profile Page:

• A Real Photo

Don’t be afraid to put a face to your profile. This shows that you’re a real person and allows followers and fans to create a relationship with you. I recommend getting a photo taken just for use on the web. The photo should be recognizable in a small format (50 x 50 px) and ideally be from your shoulders up. This photo should be the same on all your profiles, and will help to create a cohesive personal brand. If you are using articles to market, put your photo in the footer with your bio. Avoid using images that don’t have you in them (i.e. company logo, pets, kids, or stock photos). Check out @CragerInc’s profile pic for a great example!

• Strong One Sentence Bio

Online people have very short attention spans. Keep it short and catchy. Don’t use your bio to write your life story or resume. Think of it as your personal tag line. Here are some examples of good mini bios:

• OrangeCast: “Social Media Marketer, speaker, and reputation management expert.”
• Seth Godin: “Seth is a writer, a speaker, and an agent of change.”
• Joel Comm: “New York Times best selling author and social media expert.”

If the profile has an area for a more detailed bio, keep it to one or two paragraphs. The idea is to hit on the big things that make you special, then refer to your website or blog for more detail. Use your top keyword phrase in the bio to help with the association of that term with your name.

• Links

Make sure to include links to your website, blog, and core social media accounts (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube). It’s also a good idea to link to any associations or experts you like. I like to include links to resources and blogs that are in my related field and offer helpful information.

• ­Hobbies or Likes

Not all profiles offer room for this information, but if they do it’s worth filling out a few quirky things.  This is an area to give you dimension and personality. I like to put unexpected things, for example, I mention my love of wiener dogs, bicycles and sewing. Unless it’s your field of expertise, try to avoid religion and politics. You never know who might be turned off by your opinions.

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The majority of people that are recommended through #followfriday are QUALITY people to follow. They either promote Twitter in a very positive light, provide valuable information, or are supportive to their followers and are valued by those who recommend them. You can almost guarantee that spammers or those who add no value to Twitter won’t be recommended unless they recommend themselves!

#followfriday is a great way to give thanks to those you are following for their great tips, support, knowledge and useful tweets that they’ve sent out during the past week and recommend them to other people to follow.

To get involved all you need to do is add the hashtag #followfriday within your tweet and add the person you want to recommend by also adding their @twitterid.

There is also a website called TopFollowFriday which allows you to see the top Follow Friday recommendations. This is a great way to validate and discover quality people to follow on Twitter. It also allows you to see how many people have recommended you on Follow Friday.

Don’t be shy! Start telling your followers who you love to follow and why and get interactive with the growing Twitter community.

Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust

In Trust Agents, Chris Brogan shows you how to tap into the power of social networks to build your brand’s influence, reputation, and, of course, profits. Today’s online influencer’s are web natives who trade in trust, reputation, and relationships, using social media to accrue the influence that builds up or brings down businesses online. The book shows how people use online social tools to build networks of influence and how you can use those networks to positively impact your business. Because trust is key to building online reputations, those who traffic in it are “trust agents,” the key people your business needs on its side.

Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time

In Twitter Power, Joel Comm shows businesses and marketers how to integrate Twitter into their existing marketing strategies to build a loyal following among Twitter members, expand awareness for their product or service, and even handle negative publicity due to angry or disappointed consumers. Twitter Power shows you how to leverage the power of Twitter for instant business benefits: like reaching new markets and increasing sales. You can build a loyal customer following, expand your brand, and generate instant buzz when you integrate Twitter into your existing market strategies. The best businesses of today and tomorrow are using this high-tech, low-cost, and low-hassle technology to gain real advantages over their competitors.

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Rebecca Zappacosta is an Internet Marketing & Web Development Guru based in Dallas, TX. Visit her blog at ‘http://www.unilyzer.com’ for more no-nonsense advice on Social Media and Internet Marketing. You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print, in your ebook or on your web site, free of charge, as long as the author bylines are included.

• Avoid Automation. People instantly unfollow people who write like bots. Demonstrate that you’re human by writing each of your tweets. Don’t publish automatic prescripted tweets, your audience will know.

• Be personal. Personal tweets let people see who you are. If your tweets are just about your niche, then followers may think you’re just a robot. Lesson: Post occasional tweets that aren’t strictly about your niche. Avoid mundane, ‘too much information’, tweets.  No one cares that you’re at Starbucks drinking a latte.

• Be a Wordsmith. To write effective tweets, learn about and use fundamental copywriting techniques. Write tweets so effective that even you would want to click on them.

• Talk to the Gurus. Twitter is great for opening up dialogue with big names in your niche. Ease your way into relationships with them by answering questions they ask in Twitter. In responding to them by tweet, you are helping them gain popularity.

• Two-Way Street. Don’t just send out Tweets, spend time responding to others. So much on Twitter is one-way communication; you begin to wonder if anyone is listening. Take the time to reply to people you’re following. This technique is the best way to build new followers, too.

• Too Much of a Good Thing. Twitter is not the place to publish updates every half hour. Don’t rattle off tweet after tweet. Followers won’t listen if you bombard their wall with all your tweets. Be thoughtful and meaningful with your 140 characters and use them wisely. I recommend a max of 5 tweets per day.

• Appreciate Twitter Culture. Follow Friday is an example of how to use Twitter quirks to strengthen your relationship with your followers. Follow Friday is when members recommend other Twitterers to follow. Try recommending four or five people who you feel others will get value from following. Participating in Follow Friday is a great way to fit into the Twitter community.

• Share Your Tweets. Tell everyone that they can follow you on Twitter.  Add a link to your account on your blog or website. Include your Twitter URL in the signature of your emails and blog posts. I would even add it to your business card!

• Write a blog post with the rule of three. The post contains an introduction paragraph, three supporting examples or arguments, and a conclusion.

• Turn the blog post into tweets. Take your main point from the introduction paragraph and post it as a question to your twitter followers. Then take the first sentence of each of your supporting examples or arguments and drip tweet them throughout the day. Make sure to link to your original blog post in all your tweets.
• Turn your blog post in to wall posts. The conclusion of your blog post summarizes the overall point you’re making. Take this nugget of an idea and find a related video, resource, or book on the topic. Post the video or resource on your Facebook wall along with a link to your original blog post.
• Turn your blog post into a video or podcast. Take the blog post introduction and personalize with your own voice and style. Take the three supporting arguments and find an expert in the opposing or supporting side and interview them. With a podcast format you can call them and record their voice. With video you can be like a journalist and interview a local expert in the topic. Suggest several resources for the audience to get more information and wrap up with your final conclusion. Don’t forget to plug your website and encourage folks to subscribe to your channel.

• Digg and Ping your blog & videos. After you post to your blog and video site of choice, make sure to recommend yourself on the social bookmarking sites. This introduces your content to folks and generates incoming links. If you’re using a tool like WordPress to write your blogsite make sure you have it set to auto-ping blog indexing sites like Feed Burnner and Technorati.

As you can see, one blog post can be easily repurposed into four different social media channels. This not only saves you time, but keeps your message consistent. If one blog post can generate four different pieces of content you can exponentially increase the reach of your online marketing.

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