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What Do Facebook Likes Have to Do with TV Ratings?

2013-04-24T19:00:38Z

Watching TV today has become a multiscreen experience; people watching a show in real-time are simultaneously scrolling through apps like Twitter or Facebook on their mobile devices. Brands are constantly trying to increase their social media presence and interact with their followers, TV shows included. If you are a brand that still doesn’t believe social media has an influence on your business, listen up.

Just because someone “Likes” a show on social media, does that mean they are actually watching it? The Internet (and as such, social media networks) and television have been seen somewhat as enemies because of how easy it is for users to access everything TV offers and more with the click of a mouse. What TV offers, the Internet can provide, but on-demand, from multiple resources and with more features. However, a recent study takes a different spin on the relationship between the Internet and television – a complementary one.

CitizenNet, a predictive desktop marketing tool, recently conducted a survey that found a 3-percent increase in Likes on a show’s Facebook page usually translates to a 1-percent growth in viewership --- aka, Facebook activity leads to increased TV ratings.

The study took in account metrics such as click-through rate, people talking about this and other figures to come up with a value for predicted viewership and compared it with how many people actually watched the show. The study focused on two metrics for predicted viewership: total number of people who liked the show’s page (awareness) and the average click-through rate of a page’s content (intent). Comparing Likes and click-through rates with Nielsen ratings found that Facebook activity does a have a correlation with viewership.

CitizenNet emphasizes that it’s not just about getting the most Likes; pages have to produce content that will encourage people to engage and interact. TV shows have adopted this idea of social TV to incorporate social media with television. Some ways different shows have taken advantage of social media include:

Featuring a “Fan of the week”

Live-tweeting

It's @sarahsimmusic vs. @duncankamakana performing @ladyantebellum's "Wanted You More" up next for #TeamAdam
— The Voice (@NBCTheVoice) April 24, 2013

As much of hard ass Juliette is, I hafta say she IS trying to do the right thing. It's easy to become people's puppets in this biz!
— hayden panettiere (@haydenpanettier) March 28, 2013

Bringing an in-depth, interactive feel beyond the TV screen by actually creating websites used in the TV show. Example A: tedmosbyisajerk.com (See: How I Met Your Mother)

Offering promotions related to the show.

So, let’s bring it back to the original question, “What do Facebook Likes have to do with TV ratings?” First, as CitizenNet helped us find out, they can help increase them. Second, as modern day shows such as Glee, New Girl, The Voice, How I Met Your Mother, Nashville and Girls show us, utilizing social media as a platform to complement the TV show not only helps increase viewership but also makes it a more engaging and fun experience.

Facebook Users Can Now Reply Directly to Comments

2013-03-25T20:48:33Z

When it comes to commenting and holding conversations in comment sections on Facebook, users can reply to comments as they happen or tag a person in them to ensure people know who and what they’re replying to. Today, the social network introduced a new feature to comments – users now have the ability to reply directly to comments and start conversation threads on pages (not profiles).

“You and your readers will have the ability to reply directly to comments left on your Page content and start conversation threads, which will make it easier for you to interact directly with individual readers and keep relevant conversations connected,” said Vadim Lavrusik, journalism program manager, Facebook, in a blog post. “Also, the most active and engaging conversations among your readers will be surfaced at the top of your posts ensuring that people who visit your Page will see the best conversations.

The feature is available right now for Pages only, and Facebook will bring it to all pages with more than 10,000 followers by July 10, 2013. Users will be able to opt into the Replies through the Page admin panel and on the flip side, can turn off the option the same way. Pages are generally instigating discussion-style comments, so it makes sense the roll-out is starting here.

Pages can use the feature for sourcing questions, having conversations or opening up Q&A sessions. Conversation threads are re-ordered by relevance, including positive feedback based on the total number of Likes and Replies, connections to participants in a thread and negative feedback such as spam reports.

Facebook is a Habit - 5 Ways to Cut Down Your Usage

2013-03-14T21:35:39Z

hab·it, noun: an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary

Over the past few weeks I’ve caught myself finishing a task and automatically redirecting to Facebook. A few seconds after looking at my news feed, I realize I didn’t come here for a specific purpose and I really don’t even have much to catch up on, but I still visit the site regularly. Sitting at a computer and writing for the Web all day, it’s now second nature for me to click in and out of Facebook throughout a typical work day.

It’s not unusual to see college students deactivate Facebook around finals or midterms because the social network is a huge distraction and time-suck. Some people just deactivate to get back the “personal” part of their lives. There have been plenty of studies that dig deeper into whether this habit, the one that’s preventing us from studying for tests, completing tasks or creating personal connections in real life, becomes a legitimate addiction.

I would not consider myself addicted to Facebook. I’ve never felt the need to deactivate my account to get some part of my life back, I rarely use it on the weekends and I don’t feel withdrawal if I’m ever not on the site. It’s just simply a habit for me, Monday through Friday.

The importance of social media to businesses is constantly talked about, and for employees like myself, who deal with Web content, marketing, SEO and brand awareness, it’s kind of impossible to not visit social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook throughout the work week. Statistics prove bloggers are more active on Facebook and Twitter, especially because these social networks have become a primary form of communication.

Kicking the Habit

There are a lot of articles and tips out there with advice on how to break the Facebook addiction. For me, here are five ways I started to cut down on Facebook time.

1. Remove it from your bookmarks.

It’s become a systematic routine for me to automatically click on my Facebook bookmark when opening a new tab or window in my browser. It’s not like you’re ever going to forget what Facebook’s URL is. Removing it just takes away the immediate outlet for access to the social network.

2. Turn off chat.

It’s hard to stay off Facebook if friends are constantly chatting with you. Don’t sign off mid-conversation, because a) that’s rude and b) it will just make you come back to check on it. If you use Facebook for chat

3. Create a reward system.

If you’re finding yourself constantly checking in to Facebook, wean yourself off it with a productive reward-based to-do list. Give yourself X amount of tasks, and tell yourself you can check Facebook after you complete those tasks. This is probably for people that are more on the addicted side of Facebook, but it can only help you be more productive.

4. Shrink your friends list.

Disclaimer: I have a really big problem with this. I find it difficult to unfriend people. However, after a solid conversation with some coworkers, we’ve come to the conclusion that unfriending some Facebook friends cuts down on the people in your network, and therefore the number of posts you are trying to keep up with. Also, think about the people’s profiles you find yourself on consistently. Is it your close friends who you see multiple times a week? Maybe sometimes, but probably not. Facebook stalking has become a common term today because it’s so accurate; users are turning to Facebook to observe the lives of acquaintances, friends of friends and crushes, which they may not have known about if it weren’t for Facebook. If you’re like me and just can’t bring yourself to push that button, at least unsubscribe from them so you’re not constantly distracted in your news feed.

5. Delete the app

The times you will use the Facebook app are when you are most likely surrounded by people: with your friends, on public transportation, waiting on someone to meet up with or even walking. In all of these situations, try taking it back to the pre-smartphone days and interact with people, enjoy the scenery around you and avoid walking into another person or a pole. There are many other apps that could also contribute to the head-down walk and human avoidance, but Facebook is a start, especially if you’re trying to kick your habit of visiting the site as often.

Think you’re not addicted to Facebook? Take this quiz to find out!

UPenn Admissions Officer Fired for Making Fun of Applicant Essays on Facebook

2013-03-01T17:34:46Z

As someone who has listened to “Watch what you put on Facebook” lectures since the social network was introduced to us in high school, it’s about time the tables have finally turned.

Nadirah Farah Foley, a former admissions officer for the University of Pennsylvania, lost her job after sharing excerpts from applicants’ essays on her personal Facebook page. Not only was she sharing these essays, she was mocking them. The posts were made available through a collection of Facebook screenshots sent anonymously to Dean of Admissions Eric Furda and The Daily Pennsylvanian.

In the Facebook posts, Foley revealed intimate details about several applicants. One student wrote about his fear of going to the bathroom outdoors, which she sarcastically described as “another gem.” Foley also commented, "[S]top the madness" in response to one essay in which an applicant claimed to have a connection with Penn because he was circumcised there. The post attracted 19 Likes and more than a dozen comments at the time of the screenshot.

Many of these posts were also shared anonymously on College Confidential, an online forum about the college admission process that is popular among high school students. Foley also linked to a Tumblr site called “Admissions Problems,” which is a site designed in a similar fashion of popular blog What Should We Call Me as an outlet for daily admissions encounters and complaints.

Getting fired because you publicly made fun of applicants’ essays....#admissionsproblems

We get it, sometimes you just need to vent. If it has to be through social media, that’s fine. But as Linda Sharps from The Stir puts it, “There's a pretty big difference between posting something vague like ‘Having a rough day -- can't wait for happy hour!’ and posting an actual student essay in order to ridicule the topic.”

As of now, Penn’s admissions officers do not have specific guidelines on how or if they can use social media. The university is currently reviewing policy changes that cover the privacy of applicant data and essay information. Colin Gruenwald, the director of college admissions programs for Kaplan’s test preparation division, said the lack of formal guidelines is the current norm among institutions. Kaplan’s surveys of admissions offices show only 15 percent of institutions have mandated social media rules for admissions officers. Contradictory to what many teachers, parents, advisors and employers have warned today’s future college students, among those that have implemented rules, more than two-thirds enforce an outright ban on using social media networks to gather information on applicants.

Facebook has been around for almost nine years now. Social media is the norm today, and the rules of these networks go back to the golden rule, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all.” Hey, you could lose your job.

How to Land the Ultimate Sports Social Media Job

2013-02-14T21:26:26Z

XFINITY is looking to fill its social media spot for XFINITY Sports, so it’s appropriately turning to social media to recruit and invite candidates to apply.

The “Ultimate Sports Social Media Job” is offering one person the chance to become the new voice of @XFINITYSports, where they will post updates to more than 14,000 followers, attend major sporting events with behind-the-scenes access and interview athletic personalities for one year.

Interested? You have until Feb. 18 to apply, submitting a video of your sports knowledge and social media skills. After that, there will be wild card contest submissions posted online for voting from March 4-11, and from March 22-24 ten semifinalists will be flown to Philadelphia for performance evaluations at Xfinity Live!, a dining and entertainment district located in the Wells Fargo Complex. Five finalists will be on-site for baseball’s opening weekend April 5-7, where they will get the chance to show off their social media skills by participating in a series of challenges, and the winner will be announced mid-April.

Austin Schindel was the previous winner and has been living and breathing the sports world for the past year. Best moments – attending and covering UFC 148 Silva vs. Sonnen II and the MLB All-Star game.

Since social media has become a lot more mainstream in the past few years, new ways to use these networks are popping up almost every day. We’ve seen social media contests for product giveaways, vacation opportunities and cash prizes, but is utilizing social media as an interactive outlet for job applications the future of employment? Only time will tell!

To apply for this position, visit XFINITY’s Facebook page and click on the “Dream Job” tab on the top. Good luck!

Facebook Graph Search - First Impressions

2013-01-25T22:37:07Z

Thursday morning I was pleasantly surprised when I logged onto Facebook and was greeted with this message:

In case you have no idea what this is regarding, Facebook unveiled this feature, Graph Search, last week. Graph Search is a search engine built into the social network that allows you to search for information about your friends or public information Facebook users share. For example, you can search, “My friends who like football and HBO,” and the search results will be displayed. From the get-go, this feature has seemed like a beneficial tool for brands and marketers.

I’ve played around with it a little bit and have really enjoyed some of the features, like being able to look through a plethora of photos of a specific group of my friends and seeing photos that I’ve liked. So basically, I like it because of the opportunity to travel down memory lane. I have a feeling I’ll only really like this feature of Facebook when I need information right away – like when I’m stranded in a city and need to find out if any of my Facebook friends live there or if I’m looking for a place to eat in an unfamiliar area.

The key to Graph Search, I think, is users are going to have to start sharing a lot more information than they do for this to be really effective, which is where Graph Search turns sketchy. People already feel relatively uneasy about Facebook’s privacy settings, and now users can search for a lot more specific information about them. Graph Search only brings up what people choose to share. While this data was always available, it wasn’t always this easy to find. This is actually a blessing – now is the perfect opportunity to go through and filter what you do and do not want to share with the world of Facebook.

I do like the idea of a more personalized search engine. Differences between this search engine and Google are the lack of immediate call-to-action items. For example, if I search “Sports Authority” on Google, I’m immediately shown an address, a phone number and a map. Facebook’s results are more geared toward liking the corporate page, which, even if I click on it, doesn’t bring me the immediate, local information I may have been looking for.

Graph Search ultimately doesn't take away from the Facebook experience -- it only adds a little convenience for when you're searching for information. It has a lot of potential and I’m looking forward to seeing how companies utilize it to increase their brand awareness!

Broken City Knows Its Social Media

2013-01-10T19:00:29Z

Here is a trailer for the upcoming movie, “Broken City” starring Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe and Catherine Zeta-Jones that I’ve seen on TV a lot in the past few weeks. Notice anything?

Reviews to promote movies were once reserved for notable publications, but this entire trailer is built on Twitter and viewers’ reviews. It’s a creative spin on promoting the movie through what “real” people are saying and encouraging the movie’s audience to give feedback on social media. The end of the trailer, the build up to the title of the movie, shows #BROKENCITY and a URL for Facebook.com/BrokenCityMovie.

This movie is just another example of how social media is becoming more prominent in our everyday lives and how it is a very effective marketing tool. Events, movies, products and companies are legitimized with taking advantage of the vast amounts of social media opportunities. The YouTube page for Broken City is completely decked out with a customized username, custom background and a playlist of ten videos, including interviews with Mark Wahlberg, the official trailer and other commercial spots for the film, and links to the film’s official website, Facebook page and Twitter page.

Yo Quiero Taco Bell....On My Speedo

2013-01-07T22:12:37Z

Interacting with customers on social media is a win-win situation. In addition to satisfying the customers' needs and giving them some bragging rights for earning a company’s recognition, the company itself also earns credit. People like companies that like their customers. When you respond, retweet, comment or like anything involving your customers, you are positioning yourself to succeed with consumers.

If a customer wants an answer to a question by tweeting at a company, it’s not unreasonable for them to expect a response. If they are having trouble finding a link on a company’s website, it shouldn’t be a problem for them to get in the contact with the company to find it. Even if they want a customized bathing suit, it’s not the most unrealistic request.

A high school swimmer, Ryan Klarner, recently posted on Taco Bell’s Facebook page asking for a Speedo that read, “Think Outside The Buns.” Taco Bell not only responded to the post, but sent him the branded swimwear.

Image via All Facebook

It is actions like this that separates a company from competitors. The company’s current slogan, “Live Mas,” (previously “Think Outside the Bun” and “Yo Quiero Taco Bell”) was launched in February as a more “lifestyle-targeted” slogan. Klarner’s claim to fame as an accredited high school swimmer certainly seems to fit that genre.

Taco Bell has been recognized before as one of the wittiest brands on social media. Go to its Twitter profile – the company is constantly retweeting and responding to other Twitter users. It responds to its followers on Twitter or anyone tweeting about tacos, tweets along with trending topics and even references pop culture. In teasing its next big launch, the Cool Rang Doritos Locos Taco, Taco Bell’s Facebook and Twitter pages both included a photo of a bag of Cool Range Doritos alongside a taco with the caption, “Anything could happen in 2013.”

Image via Twitter

The fast food chain also used social media platforms to push advertising for new appetizer items, including Facebook ads, promoted tweets, BuzzFeed, Pandora, Machinima, Waze, YouTube, Yelp and PayPal.

Other reasons for Taco Bell’s reign as one of the top brands embracing social media are its understanding of the power of visuals, picking up on popular social media trends, lack of fear to be funny, touching all of the bases (social media platforms), integration of different types of media, addressing of industry issues and its boldness. It has set the bar high for other companies looking to engage their consumers and create a genuine online, social media presence. I’m excited to see what the brand will bring in 2013!

Year in Review -- 2012 on Social Media

2012-12-27T17:06:29Z

As we inch closer to the New Year, social networks are rounding up 2012 with the top highlights, trends and events of the past 12 months. Most of these reports came out before the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT shooting and Christmas -- two 2012 events that dominated social media and I think belong on all of these lists.

By now, we’ve gathered that if something big is going on, you can always count on Facebook to find out a) what is happening and b) what all of your friends think about it. As a population, it’s just what we do – share.

With Facebook’s 2012 year in review, users can revisit the 20 biggest moments on their Facebook Timeline including life events, highlighted posts and popular stories. Here are some of the top trends on Facebook this year by categories.

2012 was the year of memes.

TBH (to be honest)
YOLO (you only live once)
KONY
One-word comment
Gangnam Style
Cinnamon challenge
Cray
SMH (shaking my head)
Big Bird
Linsanity

Events

U.S. Presidential Election
Superbowl XLVI
Death of Whitney Houston
Superstorm Sandy
London 2012 Olympics
Death of Trayvon Martin
Facebook IPO
Aurora shootings
Death of Dick Clark
Obama’s endorsement of gay marriage.

Television

Duck Dynasty
Honey Boo Boo
Big Bang Theory
Game of Thrones
Downtown Abbey
Breaking Amish
Ink Master
Long Island Medium
Wife Swap
Two Broke Girls

Top 2012 Google searches included Whitney Houston, Gangnam Style and Hurricane Sandy. Image searches were for One Direction, Selena Gomez and iPhone 5, athlete searches were for Jeremy Lin, Michael Phelps and Peyton Manning, events were for Hurricane Sandy, Kate Middleton Pictures Released and Olympics 2012 and top feature film searches were for The Hunger Games, Skyfall and Prometheus.

Twitter has quickly become a blend between being a real-time news source, an instant source of memes and a personal diary for users’ opinions on everything happening in the world. Included in the year wrap-up includes Golden Tweets, Pulse of the planet, Only on Twitter, Trends, New Voices and Your year on Twitter. Partnering with Vizify, a personal website that provides interactive infographics powered by your data, your year on Twitter includes a golden tweet from 2012, a golden follower, key words I tweeted and how many responses, and how many tweets since January 2012. Users have the option to share the golden tweets and most talked-about topics, as well as issue a “Thank you” to your golden follower.

The top tweet of 2012 is by Barack Obama after the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election, which he tweeted, “Four more years,” accompanied by a photo of the first couple hugging. Other golden tweets included tweets by Justin Bieber, TJ Lang, Team GB and actor Kouichi Yamadera.

When it comes to taking a look at past events, there’s no better medium than the social media photo sharing site that gives us a visually appealing look at these events. From Lo-Fi and X-Pro II to Amaro and Nashville, if there’s a photo, there’s a filter for it. Instagram helps judge what were considered some of the biggest events based on how many users tag a photo with a hashtag or location.

Besides the top events Instagram listed, users can also browse more photos of events from around the world in 2012 by browsing blog posts with the “Current Events” tag.

Each year brings more infamous statuses, tweets, photos and searches. However, 2012 wouldn’t be complete without sharing videos. YouTube’s 2012 rewind featured the most popular clips, including Call Me Maybe covers, Gangnam Style and Flex Baumgartner’s supersonic freefall. In 2012, users watched four billion hours of video a month.

“Millions of creators are using YouTube channels to experiment with innovative forms of entertainment, explore their passions and interests, and take creativity and pop culture to new levels. 2012’s top trending videos showcase this creative ingenuity in ways we'd never before thought possible,” said YouTube in a blog post.

Here's an infographic of the 2012 in a summary. (Click for larger image)

That wraps up some of the 2012 reviews for the major social media sites used by billions of users around the world. Stay tuned for what 2013 has to bring and what we will do to document it! Happy New Year.

Sephora: 'Digital is in Our DNA'

2012-11-20T15:31:14Z

The month of November is like the preseason to holiday shopping. Companies are prepping for the first game of the season, Black Friday. Sephora has embraced social media this holiday with Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook campaigns to pump customers up for this shopping season.

Pinterest: Users can create their ultimate holiday beauty wishlist and enter to win a Sephora by OPI GelShine At-Home Gel Colour System. Follow Sephora at pinterest.com/sephora and pin any product from www.sephora.com with #SephoraSweeps in the description of the pin. Then just go to sweeps.pinfluencer.com/SephoraWish and enter your Pinterest username and e-mail for a chance to win. Users can enter daily from Nov. 12 to Dec. 21.

The company also partnered with Dobango for the Eye Heart Sephora contest. From Nov. 14 – 22, Dobango and Sephora will be giving out $20 Sephora gift cards daily and on Nov. 23 (Black Friday), they will give out the grand prize of more than $500 worth of eye makeup from Sephora. How do you win? All you need to do is use their site to upload up to three images of your favorite ways to do your eye makeup, then get friends to vote for entries by “liking” your entries on Pinterest. There are still four days left, so you can still enter to win either the daily gift cards or the grand prize!

Twitter: Sephora’s 12 Days of Wishful Tweeting sweepstakes allows users to tweet @Sephora any product from Sephora.com under $100 and include #SephoraWish for a chance to win your wish, plus one gift to a friend. These 12 days to tweet are Dec. 3 -14.

Facebook: Sephora Framework App on Sephora’s Facebook page allows user to take photos and create beautiful profile pictures and timeline cover images using Sephora’s selection of holiday and beauty-themed templates like eye line borders, fun nail polish and jewel-inspired finishes. Once the “Sephorized-cover story” is completed, users receive a special code for a deluxe sample of your choice to use on Sephora.com. The catch: The Facebook offer is available with a purchase of $25 or more.

In addition, users who like Sephora on Facebook will know what deals the store will have before Black Friday before others, who have to wait until the day of. The company is showing that being a Facebook fan is valuable, and it also creates buzz for customers to start talking about their Black Friday strategy.

Inside Social Commerce recently sat down with Bridget Dolan, vice president of interactive media at Sephora, about Sephora’s faith in social media, howi t gets virtual users to buy real products and why its social media efforts have paid off.

ISC: Sephora has been around for nearly a half century and does about a billion in sales annually. How do you get an already-established company to embrace social media?

Dolan: “It’s a little easier for us because Sephora’s only been in the U.S. for 14 years, so we launched a website 13 years ago around the same time we were launching physical stores. They are of equal importance, with the website as a digital billboard for our Sephora stores. Digital is in our DNA.

We have 325 stores in the U.S., but digital stores are one of our biggest focuses. We are committed to seeing how customers interact with each other, just as they would in a physical store.

In terms of focus, we see social media as the new way to market to our clients, to see emerging trends and to determine what works and what hits. Our clients have always found interesting ways to communicate to us, whether it is through reviews, BeautyTalk or Facebook. When we see new folks posting pictures on Instagram or pinning on Pinterest, we realize that they are using new, innovative ways to express themselves.”

Just like Laura Olin, who managed social media for the Obama election campaign, the key to successfully taking advantage of social media is to adapt to the different platforms. Dolan said Instagram is how it engages people, while Google+ is more about the growth of followers. “For each venue, we look at the mindset the client is in when they come to the platform,” she explained.