With the global emergence and rapid uptake of social media platforms like Facebook, marketers worldwide have been in a frantic rush to cash in and capitalise on the immense opportunities that lie within this space.
But how do you measure the success of Facebook campaigns?
Many marketing professionals are basing the success or failure of their Facebook campaigns, strategies and solutions on how many “likes” their Facebook page receives. The common belief and approach is that the more “likes” a page receives, the more users newsfeeds the businesses posts are going to be seen on.
While this is true, does a ‘like’ constitute successful engagement for a brand? For example, users need to like the page in order win one-off competitions, but also to comment – regardless of whether that comment is positive or negative. Users may also “unlike” a page after the duration of the competition or after they have made their comment on the page. Some users might tire of push marketing updates regularly featuring in the feed and will “unlike” the page.
The lesson here is to always consider what happens after the “like”? A business that has received 10,000 likes on their Facebook page in response to a promotion, but fails to support that initial awareness and acquisition activity with engaging, timely, and relevant content, has missed the opportunity to achieve true ROI.
Public relations specialists are increasingly being called upon to create, and propagate, content calendars to ensure that the Facebook page continues to appeal to and engage audiences.
Facebook campaigns that are clearly engineered to merely drive the number of likes, tell the online community that the brand fails to grasp the fundamental rules of social media engagement. To create loyal fans and brand ambassadors, brands must go ‘beyond the “like”’, by continuing to engage audiences through the proliferation of relevant and timely content.
