2012 Social Media Stats
With the year almost half over, here are some recent interesting stats for many the top social media properties.
- Over 845 million active users (Facebook)
- #2 trafficked website in the world behind Google (Alexa)
- 57% log in daily (Facebook)
- 2.7 billion likes and comments/day (Facebook)
- Approx. 26% of referral traffic (Shareaholic)
- 500 million registered users, approx. 200 million active (mediabistro)
- 36% tweet at least 1x/day (mediabistro)
- 175 million tweets/day (mediabistro)
- 8th most trafficked website (Alexa)
- Approx. 3.6% of referral traffic (Shareaholic)
YouTube
- 800 million users/mo (YouTube)
- 60 hours of video uploaded every minute (YouTube)
- 4 billion videos viewed/day (YouTube)
- 500 years of YouTube video are watched every day on Facebook, and over 700 YouTube videos are shared on Twitter each minute (YouTube)
- #3 most trafficked site (Alexa)
- Approx. 1.05% of referral traffic (Shareaholic)
- 150 million professionals (LinkedIn)
- 74% of LinkedIn users have a college degree or better, with 26% having a graduate degree (LinkedIn)
- 2 million+ companies have company pages (LinkedIn)
- 1 million+ Groups (LinkedIn)
- 12th most trafficked site (Alexa)
- Approx .2% of referral traffic (Shareaholic)
WordPress
- 48% of the top 100 blogs run on WordPress (Technorati)
- 16% of all websites run on WordPress, estimated 20-25% of new websites built on WordPress (WordPress)
- 70 million WordPress blogs worldwide (WordPress)
- 18.7 million unique users (comScore)
- Retaining and engaging users 2-3 times as efficiently as Twitter was at a similar time in history (RJMetrics)
- 98 min average/mo on site (comScore)
- 97% female (AppData)
- Top areas of the country for Pinterest users: East South Central (Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee) and West North Central (Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota)
- Approx. 3.6% of referral traffic (Shareaholic)
- 39th most trafficked site (Alexa)
- 100 million active users (Google)
- Ave. 6 minutes on site
- 71% are male
- Approx. .22% of referral traffic (Shareaholic)
- 30 million+ registered app users (Instagram)
- 1 billion+ photos uploaded (Instagram)
- 5 million+ photos uploaded/day (Instagram)
Tumblr
- 1.8 million users (Tumblr)
- Hosts 50 million blogs (Tumblr)
- 160 min ave. on site/mo, second to Facebook (Tumblr)
- Skews heavily 12-24 (Tumblr)
I’m excited by Pinterest opportunities. Were you surprised by any of the numbers above? Let me know in the comments below.
How To Do A Facebook Ad Buy
In my last blog post I shared 10 Ways To Increase Your Facebook Likes. The final suggestion was to do a Facebook ad buy. In this post I will share how to do a basic Facebook ad buy.
First, some things to know:
Creating a Facebook Page is free, but running an ad campaign requires a budget. Grow your Page as much as possible for free first, then consider doing an ad buy to increase your Likes more.
Facebook ad buy costs are going up. Just like Google paid search costs started very low and increased as advertisers jumped on board, Facebook ad buy costs are also increasing. 2010 cost per clicks were about double 2009 cost per clicks. That said, Facebook ad buys can still be very effective and costs are likely lower now than they will be a year from now.
Let’s get started..
1. Go to the Facebook page you want to promote, then click on “Promote with an Ad”
2. Now you are able to “Design Your Ad”
a. Select Destination. You can select an External URL (a website) or a Facebook Page or Event. My instructions are for ads promoting a Facebook page.
b. Select Type of ad. Sponsored Stories are new. There are three options, click to see what each looks like. Facebook Ads are the standard ad. I will share how to create a Facebook Ad.
c. Select Destination tab. You can drive people to your Wall, Welcome tab, or other tabs on your Facebook page. If you have a Welcome tab I recommend sending people there. A well designed Welcome tab can double your conversion to Like. If not, the Wall is generally where you want to send people.
d. Choose a Title. If you are linking to an external website, you can create a title, otherwise, the Facebook page name is the default title.
e. Create your Body copy. I generally recommend copy that clearly explains what type of content a person will find on a Page and a clear call to Like the page.
f. Upload Image. Choose a relevant and appealing image.
You will see a preview of the ad.
3. Next, choose your Targeting
a. Select Location. The default is United States. You can also target by State, City, or Country.
b. Select Demographics. Select the age you wish to target, as well as Sex.
c. Choose Interests. Here you can select interests, like golfing, etc. as well as competitive or similar Facebook pages. Type selections into the box, and you will see Estimated Reach on the right hand side.
d. Select Connections on Facebook. I usually recommend targeting “Only people who are not fans of xx”. And larger Pages can target “friends of fans of xx”.
e. Select Advanced Demographics, if applicable.
f. Select Education & Work. This is where you can target by Education and Workplaces.
4. Lastly, enter Campaigns, Pricing, and Scheduling information.
a. Create a Campaign Name. To do this, click on “Create a new campaign”.
b. Enter the Budget. If you want to enter the entire campaign budget select “Lifetime budget”. Facebook will deliver your budget evenly over the life of the campaign. If you have a very limited budget, you can start small. $50 will get you a nice little test. If the budget allows, increase for a longer campaign and better initial learning.
c. Select Campaign Schedule
Now your first ad is created and you can click “Place Order”. You will be dropped at your campaign page. You can run the campaign with just one ad, but it is recommended to create multiple ads, as Facebook optimizes by ad performance. To create more ads, go to your first ad and click on “Create a Similar Ad”. In order to test the ads, change only one variable in each ad. For example, change the copy and keep the image and target the same, etc. Make sure to name each ad clearly so you can easily differentiate.
Once Facebook approves your ads, your campaign will go live. Good luck! Once live, monitor the campaign and stop it if your cost per Like is unacceptable. And, once you have these new Likes on your Page, make sure to give them valuable content so they stay, and work to convert them to achieve your business goals.
Feel free to ask me any questions!
10 Ways To Increase Your Facebook Likes
If you have a Facebook page for your business and want to increase Likes, here are some suggestions. Some are very basic (but work) and others will take a little more effort. Here goes..
1. Send an email to your friends and family asking them to Like your Facebook page. Maybe they are not your target, but they will get your Likes up to make your page look more legitimate and may be more likely to comment/Like which is helpful to get interaction going on the page, and helps for newsfeed optimization.
2. Send an email to your email list (current clients, partners.. anyone that you think might benefit from your Facebook page). Again, let them know your page exists. Email really is the best way to increase your numbers quickly.
3. Add your Facebook icon/url everywhere. Add icons to your website and blog, add an icon or url to your business cards and email signature, add a link from your LinkedIn profile, add an icon/link to any presentations you do and printed collateral, and put up signage if you have a physical presence.
4. Add a Facebook Like box to your blog. This way people can see others that have Liked your page (including their friends if any have Liked your page) and Like the Facebook page without leaving the blog.
5. Cross promote your Facebook page on your other social media properties. Periodically simply mention your Facebook page on your personal Facebook page, LinkedIn, or Twitter. Or if there is anything exciting happening on your Facebook page, mention that.
6. Take advantage of any opportunities to share your Facebook page. Some Facebook pages periodically let others share their Facebook page on their wall for their audience to see. Facebook guru, Mari Smith, does this periodically. She has 44k Likes so a huge potential audience. The WIC Facebook page also does this periodically, so be on the lookout for this opportunity. Some LinkedIn groups also post Discussions allowing members to share their Facebook pages. And periodically email lists ask members to share. Look for these opportunities.
7. Link to other Facebook pages in your posts. To do this, first Like the other page, then link to the page in your post by typing @ and then the page name. Your post will show up on the other page’s wall and the page owner or others may notice the post and visit your page.
8. Host a Q&A on your Facebook wall. Get an expert to answer questions on a relevant topic. If the expert has a large social media following, many may come to the event and Like your page.
9. Promote your page at live events. Beyond mentioning your page you can get more creative. Let people know they can like your page from their phone by texting the name of the page (for example, womeninconsulting) to FBOOK. Or, if you have a computer, ask them to Like the page on the spot in exchange for something (entering a contest, free product, etc.)
10. Do a Facebook ad buy. If you have a marketing budget, consider a Facebook ad buy. Cost are going up, but advertising may still make sense (and if you want to advertise at some point you may want to do it now, while costs are still reasonable).
Do you have any other suggestions?
*This post was originally published to the Women In Consulting blog
5 Great Summer Facebook Campaigns
Summer is here and the big brands are running fun seasonal Facebook campaigns. Here are several of my favorite current Facebook campaigns, contests, and sweepstakes.
Just in time for Father’s Day.. tell eBay what makes your Dad a Superdad and be entered to win a home entertainment package or gift card.
Why I like: It’s timely and fun for Father’s Day
Enter to win the Grand Prize – round trip tickets to NJ, two tickets to the show, and a meet and greet. Or, be entered to win tickets to a local concert.
Why I like: Who wouldn’t like to win a VIP trip to see Rihanna in concert.
3) Ford Explorer “Go Do Adventure”
Tell Ford the Go Do Adventure that you and your family or friends would like to take in an Explorer for a week in the US and if selected Ford will foot the bill and make it happen.
Why I like: With Summer here, and a tough economy, a week vacation on Ford is appealing.
4) Campaign to save 1 million gallons of water by asking guys to make a pledge to stop shaving for as long as they can.
Why I like: You have to stop and look at this clever and fun campaign. Plus it has a World Environment Day tie-in.
5) Corona Light “Beach Getaway”
Rescue the Corona Beach Bottle from the sand castle to win a trip to Mexico.
Why I like: Another fun vacation giveaway, with an entry twist.
Are there any current Facebook campaigns you like? Share them here.
19 Twitter Tips From Top WIC Twitter Users
If you are a Twitter user or want to get started, here are 19 great tips. The tips are from many of Women in Consulting’s top Twitter users – some are social media experts, and some use Twitter for their business.
Read on… and let me know if you like these tips or have a tip to share in the comments section at the end of the article.
1. Jen Benz – http://twitter.com/jenbenz
Share ideas and resources freely, show your personality and be clear about your point of view.
2. Jen Berkley – http://twitter.com/jenberkley
I use TweetDeck to help me better manage the flow of information. It’s helpful to set up columns for various topics that I’m monitoring which allows me to keep up-to-date on topics and trends in my field.
3. Susan Bernstein – http://twitter.com/WorkFromWithin
Use Twitter for strategic networking by using the Search feature. Type in key words (example: “executive development”). Scan the interesting tweets and find the people behind them. Add interesting people to your targeted lists (like my http://twitter.com/#!/list/WorkFromWithin/working-well list). Scan the posts in that list daily. You’ll notice patterns in who tweets helpful or intriguing tweets. Over time, send a direct message (“DM”) to those people. Ask to talk to them by phone and nurture new professional friendships.
4. Pam Fox Rolllin – http://twitter.com/PamFR
You can create up to 20 Twitter lists, which can be public or private. For example, I created a list of WIC members on Twitter: http://twitter.com/PamFR/womeninconsulting-sfbay Lists contribute to your branding (people can easily see what I care about from my lists), help others find you and your favorite associates, and are gold for making the most of time on Twitter (for example, I have a private list of clients who are on Twitter, so I can easily check their tweets).
5. Nancy Friedman - http://twitter.com/Fritinancy
Be a beat reporter for your followers. I’m a former journalist, so when I heard this piece of advice it immediately clicked. But we’re all beat reporters—your beat is simply what you know best. My own beat is brand names, so you’ll see me tweeting about business and product names, weird names, and verbal branding in general. But I also mix it up. A related bit of advice: Don’t be boring!
6. Karen Goldfarb – http://twitter.com/kareng7
Use a combination of automating the process via tools such as Tweet Spinner and old fashioned hands-on management in order to grow your base. Tweet Spinner will let you follow and find Twitter users by keywords, as well as mimicking the Twitter followers of users who are similar to you. I also highly recommend you still take an active role in reviewing who the tool chooses for you to follow and manually customizing the list. Last but not least, once you’re following those folks, engage with them like a real person. Automation is all well and good but it, like Twitter, is just a means to an end, the end being to grow your network of real contacts who are interested in what you say and do and, heck, may want to hire you.
7. Kathryn Gorges – http://twitter.com/kagorges
One of the best ways to get unexpected visibility for your blog is to set up hashtags when you use Twitterfeed to automatically tweet your blog entries. Your hashtags give people a way to find you when they search in Twitter for topics they’re interested in. Make sure you choose ones that correspond to all your blog posts because they’ll be attached to every tweet from your blog!
8. Avery Horzewski – http://twitter.com/averyh
Use TweetDeck or similar tool to manage your tweets. TweetDeck is easy—no real learning curve, and it’s robust. Schedule Tweets or post immediately. Auto-shorten URLs. Track numerous lists. Use groups to categorize the people you follow. And manage multiple accounts, to name a few. I monitor and manage my own account, WIC’s, and several clients all from within TweetDeck. And it’s accessible from my notebook, iPad, and Droid. TweetDeck is a must.
9. Rachel Melia – http://twitter.com/rachelmelia
Tweet during conferences for additional insight and to build your followers and lists. I like tweeting behind the scenes at conferences (in-person or online) to see what others are saying about the content. And, other attendees will follow you, possibly re-tweet your tweets, and add you to conference or industry related lists.
10. Lucie Newcomb – http://twitter.com/NewCommGlobal
Leverage the potential of a RT. Instead of saying, “thanks for the RT” (even worse as a DM), use it as a springboard for dialogue and appreciation. I usually find one of the RTer’s tweets and lead with RThx (RT + Thx = RThx) to show my appreciation and demonstrate some attention to them and their tweets.
11. Adrian Ott – http://twitter.com/ExponentialEdge
I limit twitter to no more than 15 minutes a day. I use Rescuetime to track how many minutes are spent and it sends a warning if I have exceeded my time limit.
12. Linda Popky – http://twitter.com/popky
Share content that is high value and relevant. This can include observations on current events or your market or industry, as well as re-tweeting (RT) great things you’ve seen others say. Use Twitter to follow people who say interesting things so that you can find good material to pass on. But mix it up: Tweets should be a mix of your observations, others’ thoughts, and useful links with a bit of tasteful and *well thought-out* humor thrown in on occasion.
13. Sherry Prescott – http://twitter.com/MarketThis
I’m starting a new Twitter mini-campaign “90-Days of Marketing Intelligence” around the launch of my book to e-book format. To drive awareness and create momentum, I am leveraging my existing book content! I try to take a bite-size chunk of content from my book and talk about it daily on my blog. Then, as a follow-up, I try to post to Twitter on a daily basis leading back to my blog on my website so people can read about my tip from the book. In addition to this mini-campaign effort, I try to follow at least 10-20 new people weekly and I also try to post articles and interesting news trends that I think my followers would want to read about.
14. Karmen Reed – http://twitter.com/kickofftopic
Create a free Twitterfeed account where you can setup any RSS feed to be tweeted automatically from your Twitter account. You can customize each RSS feed with a specific post prefix or suffix, set keyword filters, set your update frequency and more. I use this to auto-tweet all WIC blog posts and some of my favorite social media blogs.
15. Jan Richards – http://twitter.com/MrsRoadshow
Contribute. Provide resources and ideas that you think others will find useful. Retweet (“RT”) generously.
16. Carla Schlemminger - http://twitter.com/@Socialbrite, http://twitter.com/carlainsf
1. Every employee is now in customer service. Empower them through training on best practices & tools. 2. Aim to address someone’s question about what product to use, etc, by first being helpful <as opposed to pushing your product out of the gate>. 3. Address issues that come in through Twitter initially on that platform, then quickly move to a more private space. 4. Define customer’s influence more broadly than a large number of followers. 5. Measure efforts against business goals.
17. Tracy Sestili – http://twitter.com/tracysestili
Get more fans by establishing thought leadership and showing you are an expert in your area of expertise by posting a daily tip. Be sure to use a hashtag such as #SMTIP (social media tip) or something that is relevant at the end of your tweet. If your daily tip is on your website and you are promoting via a blog post, be sure to not only use the hashtag but use a url shortener so that you can track clicks.
18. Sandi Smith – http://twitter.com/brainhappy
To get the highest match on following prospects in your ideal-client category, find people on Twitter who are serving your ideal client and follow their followers.
19. Melissa Stacey - http://twitter.com/melissastacey
Don’t allow Twitter to be a “time sucker” – Set a time limit to post updates, read your twitter feed and connect with others. Using a timer is a great way to track your time so you don’t go over your limit.
Do you like these tips? If you have a tip of your own, share it here!
*This article was originally posted to the Women In Consulting blog.
5 Favorite Facebook Welcome Tabs
Anyone who has read my blog or spent much time talking with me about Facebook knows I am a big fan of Facebook Welcome tabs. Welcome tabs are a great way to give new visitors to your Facebook page a feel for what types of content they can expect on your page as well as a clear call to action to Like the page. I tend to like Welcome tabs that are clear, concise, and have a strong call to action. Five of my favorites are profiled below.
But first, for those that like stats, here are some numbers that support having a Welcome tab … Research from BrandGlue found that fans converted to Like a Facebook page at a rate of 47% with Welcome tab versus a conversion rate of 23% without a Welcome tab. I don’t think all brands can expect these results, but I would expect some lift, and think Welcome tabs are a good best practice.
So, here are some of my favorites..
1) Kampgrounds of America (KOA) – This is probably my favorite all time welcome tab. It’s cute, to the point, has a clear call to action, and matches the branding of the website.
2) Udi’s Gluten Free Foods – This one is welcoming, informative, and has a clear call to action.
3) St. Supery Vineyards and Winery – Beautiful image evoking peacefulness of Napa Valley and clear call to action.
4) Mint.com – Clear reasons to join the page as well as an extra incentive to click Like.
5) Sprouts Farmers Market – Explanation of what a person will find on the page, request to interact, and fun way of pointing to Like box.
As I mentioned, I tend to like simple graphic Welcome tabs and think these are often the best way to achieve the objective of an increased conversion to Like. There are lots of other things that can be done on a Welcome tab – fan-only content, contests, email opt-ins, videos, and more. I highlight some examples of Welcome tabs in this post, and will highlight more in upcoming posts.
Do you have any favorite Facebook Welcome tabs?
Top Social Media Tools For Consultants
There are so many social media tools available it can be overwhelming to choose which to use and how to allocate your time.
Here are my thoughts on which tools are the best choices.
The big four are Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and blogs.
Facebook is by far the largest with over 600 million users worldwide, and 51% of the US population using the site each day (Edison/Arbitron). LinkedIn and Twitter are much smaller, used by 9% and 8% of the US population, respectively (Ediston/Arbitron), but are highly relevant for business professionals.
Given its massive reach, Facebook is a great place to be, but not appropriate for everyone. For example, if your business model is to sell to many, Facebook might be appropriate, and if your model is to service only a few clients, then maintaining a Facebook page is most likely not worthwhile. Facebook is a great tool for maintaining and strengthening relationships, staying top of mind, increasing thought leadership, and ultimately selling a product or service (but this shouldn’t be your primary goal).
While LinkedIn isn’t as huge as Facebook, it’s a must do for most consultants. Many check LinkedIn profiles after meeting a person for the first time, and those hiring often check a person’s profile in the hiring process. So it’s important to have a robust profile with a good number of connections, complete information, and recommendations. Other ways to showcase your thought leadership and expertise are to link your blog and Twitter feed, as well as SlideShare account. Beyond having a LinkedIn profile, consultants can gain information and network on Groups, and highlight expertise by providing Answers. And of course there are many job opportunities on LinkedIn.
Twitter is similar in size to LinkedIn, and while not appropriate for everyone, can be highly useful to many. A recent Jay Baer article quoted Morgan Stewart of Trendline Interactive saying “Comparing Facebook and Twitter is like comparing shopping malls and fashion shows. Malls, like Facebook, have mass appeal and are an expression of larger culture. In contrast, while only a small subset of the population actually attend fashion shows, the interactions that happen there influence the larger culture. Twitter is where online influencers congregate and share new ideas, and that alone is significant.” I thought that was a great analogy. Influencers are on Twitter and are fairly accessible. This makes Twitter a great place to be if you want to get your message out to a broader audience. And, if you are in marketing or PR you should probably be on Twitter to show that you understand the marketing medium.
Blogs are also a great tool for consultants. Blog articles can be syndicated to Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, and showcase expertise and build thought leadership. People like to share valuable content, so creating quality articles will get your message to a larger audience. Lastly, it is totally appropriate to showcase your products and services on your blog or drive people to your site for that information, hopefully closing a sale.
What social media tools do you think are the most valuable for consultants?
*This article was originally posted on the Women In Consulting blog
Blogging Q&A With Ann Evanston
Recently Women In Consulting hosted Ann Evanston of Warrior-Preneur for a live Q&A on WIC’s Facebook wall. As WIC’s Online Marketing Director, I oversaw the event. Leilani Madrazo Yau, WIC’s Facebook Coordinator, did an amazing job planning and running the event.
Here are the questions and answers from the live Q&A. I have consolidated some answers a bit so they read better as an article (vs. many short comments on the Facebook wall). To see the entire Facebook Q&A go to the WIC Facebook page and look for the event that took place on March 17th from 10-11am.
Q: I own a travel and e-commerce website. On my blog I post about everything from our broken education system to “do kids need recess and exercise?” I also blog about travel - travel tips, my favorite places, etc. Is this OK or will people who visit my blog be unsure about what I actually “DO”? Is there some point in the future where my blog posts should only be about what I do or should I continue blogging about things I am passionate about?
A: Honestly it isn’t what you write about that’s the problem on your blog, it’s all the clutter that detracts from what you do. Write about what you are passionate about, but clean up the clutter and make it EASY for people to see your portals.
Q: If one knows nothing about SEO, how can they make sure they have keywords in their blogs to help them with page ranking?
A: Make this your best friend: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal First make a list of words you THINK are key – then look them up and see. Use keywords in titles, categories and anchor text on every post.
Q: Mine is not a question, but a blogging concern. My concern is with having enough content to post a lot because I know you’re supposed to post a lot to get up there in the rankings. And also, where do I get content that fits my niche?
A: I find when I really work with clients they have TONS to write about. So a few things to think about: Post 3 times a week until viral, then less because blogging comments keep you in search engine rankings. Consider the length of your posts, most are TOO long, aim for 250-400 words. Better to do more posts on the same subject matter than one long post to keep them coming back. Your blog should also be about more than what you do – it should also be about who you are.
Q: I am in the process of converting my personal blog to a .com site. My business blog has the .wordpress.com tail on it. I can’t change that to a .com site unless I rename it which then kind of messes with branding. Do you see it as a problem in the future to have the business blog as a WordPress site?
A: If you go buy your URL hosting takes care of naming it, so why not buy the URL for what comes before the WordPress? I only recommend WordPress blogs to my business clients – it’s the best. I 100% own warrior-preneur and it’s all on WordPress.
Q: Is there a best day of week/time of day to post new blog articles?
A: Tues-Weds-Thurs, and the SAME time of DAY, EVERYDAY, every TIME you post. It doesn’t matter the time of day, morning is relevant in a global economy, just consistency on when you post – readers come to expect it. As an fyi, Wednesday afternoon is the busiest on Facebook, Tuesday morning on Twitter.
Q: Is there a “perfect blog” that we can go look at to get an idea of what ours should look like for optimization?
A: No, no such thing really. It is best to know your brand and your target market and design for them. A 20 year old student is attracted to different things than a 45 year old mother of two small children.
Q: Whom do you recommend for hosting a blog?
A: Host monster. I have been using them for a year. It is reliable, has great customer service and affordable.
Q: What is the best way to attract people to reading my blog?
A: Things that impact readers on your blog: 1 – you moderate, 2 – no call to action. You should allow comments to post without moderation. Also I find that engaging in the blogging community is the FASTEST way to get readers and a consistent following of fans.
Q: What are the advantages of doing video blogging? Do you have any “best practices”?
A: Video allows you to “double dip” into the LARGEST website – YouTube – another social media site. Same rules apply – keep videos short (2-3 minutes) and packed full of great information. I had a client that did one that was 4 minutes long. We surveyed it and found most people did not finish it because they thought it was too long. Let’s face it – the social space is about great information in “sound bites”.
Q: Everyone I know who is an expert on building your own website says to buy the domain name from GoDaddy and then “marry it” to your hosting account. But host monster hosting comes with a free domain – should I still buy it from GoDaddy, and what are the advantages?
A: Well they are going to go buy it for you basically, which means they own the URL. I tell all my clients to buy and OWN their URLs. Don’t let anyone else own them. So buy from Go Daddy, then route to blog or website.
Q: Do you recommend creating some sort of content/editorial calendar for your blog?
A: I do! HUGE time saver actually, and it helps you prep your mind about “what” to write about. Mine is done for the year!
Q: What’s a good bounce rate? And what should you do if you have a high bounce rate?
A: This is a REALLY complicated issue. But typically a high bounce rate means what you have set up for SEO which leads to clicks, is not what those people are looking for, so they leave immediately. But many other factors can play a part, design, flash, clutter, etc…
If you have other blogging suggestions, feel free to share!
*This article was originally posted on the Women In Consulting blog and has been modified to run here.
How To Measure Your Social Media Efforts
You have likely dipped your feet in the social media waters. And maybe you have been at it for a while and are experiencing some success. The next step is to implement ongoing reporting. After all, what gets measured gets improved upon.
In this post I am going to focus on no-cost and low-cost reporting solutions that make sense for consultants and small businesses.
The first step is to decide what to measure. Here are some important metrics:
- Audience size – Facebook Likes, Twitter Followers, LinkedIn group Members, blog subscribers etc. This allows you to see the rate at which your properties grow organically and the rate at which they grow with various efforts.
- Interaction – Facebook Likes (Likes of articles), Comments and wall posts, Twitter Retweets and @Mentions, LinkedIn Likes and Comments, blog comments etc. This allows you to see how interaction is affected by the different types of content you post.
- Your activity – Facebook posts, Tweets, LinkedIn Discussions, blog articles, etc. This allows you to correlate your level of activity with growth and interaction.
- Clicks – Use a free url shortener like bit.ly to track clicks from articles, blog posts, events, etc. that you post to social media properties. The number of clicks gives you an indication of the types of content that is appealing to your audience as well as number of people you are driving to registration forms, website content, email opt-ins, etc.
- Actions – You can track various actions like registrations, e-mail opt-ins, and revenue by using a pull-down menu in your form, or setting up tracking urls for each property. Use Google Analytics to track how many people come to your site from your social media properties.
- Unique visitors, visits, and page views – Track these metrics on your blog using Google Analytics.
The second step is to develop a template. Here is a sample template:
If you are a consultant and this looks like more than you want to do, then scale it down to the most important metrics of growth, interaction, and actions. If you have more resources to devote to measurement, you can dive deeper into other metrics available on Facebook Insights and Google Analytics. And, if you have a small budget and want to cut back on the manual labor you can use tools like Hootesuite’s Pro version that is only $6/mo and provides stats like link click-throughs, as well as integrates with Facebook Insights and Google Analytics.
The last step is to decide how often to measure. In my ad agency days, we pulled client reporting weekly. For consultants and most small businesses, I think monthly (or even less if time is an issue) is just fine.
Now you are ready to measure and improve upon your social media efforts.
If you have other metrics you measure or helpful social media measurement tools please share as a comment!
