The MoPR Blog

The race for the most fans between Lady Gaga and President Obama was a hot topic earlier this summer, as they ended June neck and neck with more than 9 million fans each. Lady Gaga has since surpassed Obama, with more than 16.5 million fans to her credit (Barack weighing in at 12.8 million).

The race for fans is not limited to celebrities and politicians however; from the corner bakery to Walmart, companies are capitalizing on the power Facebook as well. With more than 500 million active users it is a community that cannot be ignored. But, you already know that, so I won’t bore you with how to create a page or the basic importance of having a presence and growing your brand on Facebook.

That said, have you checked to see how many fans your company or product has on Facebook? Fans are those members of the Facebook community that have either sought out your page and pressed the “become a fan” button or have seen their friends become fans and have done so as well. Fans are consumers, prospective customers, friends of your customers, or people who just like what you have to offer – so much so that they are willing to tell their social network that they are a fan of yours.

What is really interesting is to ask yourself how much is a “Facebook fan” worth to your brand? A report released in June of this year by Syncapse has an answer to that very question.

“The average fan value is $136.38, but it can swing to $270.77 in the best case or go down to $0 in the worst. This is due to the fact that no two fans are alike.”*

While their sample size of only a few thousand might not paint an accurate enough portrait of the 500 million users of Facebook to be able to nail down a dollar figure to communicate worth, I think the Syncapse report highlights some key points that are often overlooked.

One, no two fans are the same; some provide more value than others.

Some fans are more active than others, and are therefore more valuable. The most “valuable” fans are usually the ones that have a more frequent interaction with the company and brand outside of Facebook, who are very loyal, referring often. Do you fan a page only to never give it a second thought? Are there pages you more actively participate on?

It’s a good exercise to think about the pages you like the most and consider what it is about them that is so engaging and keeps you coming back. Once you have identified those features that are most attractive to you, you can begin to brainstorm on how these features can be leveraged by your brand to make your page just as appealing and engaging. There is no shame in taking a good idea (gleaned from another brand’s page) and making it work for your brand.

Not only is it good practice to attract and network to gain more fans but it is important to engage the fans you already have and get them interested in interacting with your page and brand on a regular basis.

Part of a successful marketing and public relations campaign includes paying special attention to the social media conversations taking place with your customers and fans. By strategically planning Facebook wall comments around product launches, events, addressing any positive or negative buzz regarding your product or engaging your fans and asking questions you can gain more insight into what drives people to or from your product. You are starting and joining two-way discussions.

It’s more than just posting, it is connecting brands to their customers, prospective customers, and internal audiences (like employees and investors), creating active relationships and engaging customers in conversation .

Two, Facebook fans are more likely to give recommendations than non-fans, and these recommendations influence product sales.

“On average, Facebook fans were 41% more likely to recommend a product then their non-fan counterparts.”*

This word of mouth communication is important and the Facebook network is a simple way to fan the flame, so to speak, around these word of mouth referrals.

Three, fans report spending more than non-fans.

According to Syncapse’s study, fans reported spending, on average, $71.84 per year more than their non-fan counterparts on the 20 brands observed.

This is just further proof that the relationship you have with your fans is key to maintain as they are directly influencing others on your behalf. Rather than taking an impassive approach to Facebook management, it is of extreme importance to actively begin and participate in the discussions customers are interested in, paying considerable attention to what your fans and others are saying and the tone used.

Your own excitement can help grow your fan base. You show excitement about your brand, which translates to your fans becoming more excited, which their friends will see and want to get in on it too. This growing fan base will recommend to others and so forth and what you will see is increasing brand loyalty which can drive an increase in sales.

“On average, Facebook fans are 28% more likely to continue using a brand than are non-fan consumers.”

With minimal effort and cost-per-person you can easily harness the power of Facebook to your company’s advantage. So get out there and build up your fan base… there are friends to be made!

Look for part two on this topic: The Nitty Gritty of that Facebook Analytics Page.

*Source: Syncapse’s report on THE VALUE OF A FACEBOOK FAN: AN EMPIRICAL REVIEW

A recent study ranked the “Digital IQ” of all 100 U.S. Senators based on their presence on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter and the results may surprise you.

The study scores each Senator‘s online competence including his or her presence on websites, social media following and sentiment, digital marketing aptitude and search engine optimization skills. The IQ is measured by the presence on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, rating senators according to their number of followers, number of “likes,” velocity of Tweets or number of uploads.

The result? Based on this scoring system, GOP Senators have taken the lead on social media, leaving their Democrat counterparts in the dust. Though Senators up for re-election typically (and understandably) lead on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, it’s the Republicans who scored on average 5.5 points higher and have proven their social media savvy. IQ’s range from John McCain (R-AZ) who leads with the highest at 156, down to Thad Cochran (R-MI), who’s score of 52 places him last.

For example, according to the study, Sharron Angle, the Republican candidate in Nevada challenging incumbent Harry Reid, has 18,035 more Facebook followers (for a total of 29,322) and 46,515 more YouTube channel views (for a total of 196,576).

Senators scoring the highest were more aggressive users on their social network accounts- twittering more updates, uploading more YouTube videos, and actively commenting and updating their Facebook accounts and fan pages. Senators that received lower scores were noted as being sporadic social networkers- infrequently updating their accounts and pushing a lot of news at once, then going silent for a long period of time.

This social media IQ analysis relates directly to how successful PR campaigns incorporate social networking. Here at Mobility PR, we emphasize the importance of a consistent social network presence, which includes frequent attention to outlets like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and others. If you’re going to use social networks, make them WORK. Updating your followers with relevant information habitually and building a strong online presence are paramount to social networking success.

And when it comes down to the debate between what political party has better social media savvy, Dean Guthrie explains that it isn’t about that anymore.

“This study underscores the reality that social media is not a toy, and that digital literacy and agility are powerful tools in today’s business and political arenas,” said Dean Guthrie. “It appears that U.S. senators are making their comprehension of the social media realm a priority and are using it as a way to engage prospective voters and mobilize grassroots efforts.”

Translation: social media isn’t just for frivolity. Both Democrats and Republicans are proving the importance (and reach) of social media.

Want to know how you can improve your social media skills? Check out these sites that map out useful tools and tips for ramping up your Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube accounts:

• The Top Ten Twitter SEO Tips:
  http://mashable.com/2009/06/25/twitter-seo-tips/
• The Twitter Survival Guide:
  http://multisocialmedia.com/?page_id=48
• 5 Tips for Optimizing Your Brand’s Facebook Presence:
  http://mashable.com/2009/04/01/optimize-facebook-page/
• Ten Tips on Creating a Business YouTube Channel:
  http://www.bnet.com/blog/sterling-performance/ten-tips-on-creating-a-business-youtube-channel/6126
• 7 Ways to Get More Out of LinkedIn:
  http://mashable.com/2009/11/09/linkedin-tips/

Text messaging hazardous to your health? It could be if you are texting and not paying attention. According to a report from Fox News, people walking while texting are ramming into walls and doorways, falling down stairs and bumping into lampposts, parked cars and garbage cans. Read the whole piece here.

Women get their game on. New research from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) reveals that forty percent of gamers are women. Additional findings in the ESA’s annual survey of consumer demographics and usage behaviors indicate that the average age of game players has risen to… 35! This research, says the ESA, shatters the stereotypical image of gaming having, say, a sole audience of slacker male teens.

Other findings of interest:

• Sixty-five percent of American households play computer and video games;
• Thirty-eight percent of American homes have a video game console;
• The average game player is 35 years old;
• One out of four gamers are over age 50;
• Women age 18 or older represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (33 percent) than boys age 17 or younger (18 percent); and,
• Forty-one percent of Americans expect to purchase one or more games this year

Generation Why. A great piece appeared in last week’s edition of Seattle Post-Intelligencer that offered tips on how to communicate with co-workers, across the enterprise and generations. From the article:

In general, boomers (1946-64) still prefer the phones they grew up with, Gen X (1965-82) is big into e-mail, while the youngest members of today’s work force, the “net generation” or the Millennials (1982-now), strongly prefer real-time communication technologies such as IMing and texting.

Interesting. Here at MoPR HQ, we sit mere feet across from each other and do we talk to each other? Yes, of course we do. But, we IM up a storm too. It just seems….easier. On the other hand, if we really want to get in touch with a reporter or writer, we usually pick up the phone to call them. It all depends on the scenario.

Frankly, we think email could be completely extinct in the coming years – many of the generation of youngsters coming up in the ranks will demand Facebook-like apps to communicate with each other and their co-workers. What do you think?

Former Googlers launch their own search site. Called Cuil [Cuil is the Gaelic word for both knowledge and hazel and rhymes with "cool"] the new site generated a ton of buzz, but has gotten tepid responses from the media and users who have actually tried it. We tried it out and were a bit perplexed on the results, but can see the site gaining users. We did like the rollover definitions and imagery that accompanied each search. Our only question… When’s the mobile version?