SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT FIRM SYNCAPSE SAYS BRANDS' SOCIAL EFFORTS ON FACEBOOK SUCKS, BRAND ENGAGEMENT DOWN 22%

Syncapse, a global social media management agency,  recently conducted an indepth study of the 300 top brand pages on Facebook, and their findings were very clear -- If marketers don't get better at social, they will fail to capture the value of social media marketing.  

Here's what Syncapse's review discovered.

• Brand engagement on the Facebook is down 22% -  Syncapse reviewed engagement data for 300 of the top brands on Facebook over a one-year period starting in July 2010.   The review showed a clear decline in average engagement.  The culprit:  Brands have been offering their fans bad content, coupons, polls, contests, and boring filler, resulting in a few positive short term results, but hurting brand engagement over the long term.  A few brands increased engagement:  Deutsch, Renault, Hermes, Lowe's, and Chanel. These brands didn't have the most fans, but were very successful keeping their fan base engaged.

• Local pages drive 36% better results. Global results are built one region at a time - The review shows that bigger is not always better and, regional programs perform significantly better then global ones.  Studies show that relevant local content has always performed better than global.  There were several reasons for this:  1) The perceived complexities managing social globally,  2) The desire to maintain brand consistency, 3) Marketing programs have gone global while neglecting local audiences.  However, the data shows that local Facebook pages perform 36% better than global ones.  Success is driven by: 1) Local level organizational empowerment, 2) Relevant local content, 3) Local media support and 4) Communication in a more local tone geared towards the local market.
• Communicate to your fans six to seven times a week at relevant times - Don't be distant or annoying.  Less talk is better.  As the chart below shows, too much talks results in a steep decline in engagement.  Speak to your fans 6-to-7 times per week.  Ensure the content is relevant.  If you have nothing interesting to say, don't say anything.
• Understanding the value of a Facebook fan is straightforward. Stop trying to overcomplicate this - The value of Facebook fans is simply the value of an audience to a company. This includes the amount of money fans spend, their propensity to recommend, and the reach, frequency, and impact of their social influence.  Value of fans should be measured and presented simplistically.  This means an emphasis on results that go beyond vague terms like "sentiment".   Treat your fans value as if it though it produced revenue. Track your progress and understand how the value and the perception of your brand is shifting.

So what does a global marketer need to do to increase social engagement?

• Build a scalable social marketing enterprise - This is a business exercise, not a marketing one. The key here is understanding your organization's objectives, processes and structure and then empowering the right people with the right objectives, resources, responsibilities and metrics.
• Manage your social media processes in-house  - Outsourcing your brand "voice" is not a viable long-term option.  Stop pretending you don't have the budget for headcount -- you likely spend millions on media. You can spare some to maintain relationships with your best and most influential customers.
• Make sure your social media agency develops original creative content - Engaging videos, flash experiences work best. Stop being so tactical, and quit treating Facebook like a promotional wastebasket.
• Know and understand your measurement metrics - Build a dashboard of KPI's you care about. Assign goals and track your progress against industry benchmarks.       

COMMENTARY:   Syncapse's findings do not surprise me.  Facebook wall posts are basically worthless.  Just too much noise. Brands are not human beings.  Fans don't really connect or engage on a human level with a brand.  Brands need a human face or spokesperson to represent their brands. That's why William Shatner (Priceline.com), Dana White (UFC), Flo (Progressive Insurance) and Steve Jobs (Apple) are so successful, not only on TV, but on social networks like Facebook and Twitter.   

Courtesy of an article dated August 18, 2011 appearing on Ad Age Digital

 

 

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