Word of Mouth Marketing Through Social Media
Over the summer, Facebook released new analytics tools for Facebook pages that greatly expanded upon Facebook’s already mostly extensive analytics tools. What it did was provide administrators of pages with more detailed breakdowns on the sharing, liking and commenting that users did on particular posts, and it allowed admins to gain a better understanding of what users were liking and sharing, and what wasn’t necessarily working.
But probably most importantly, it introduced something called “People Talking About This”, which ultimately determines how many people are engaging with and sharing particular posts. Basically, it gauges the word of mouth capability of individual messages Further, those analytics measure the viral nature of specific posts and give administrators a better sense of not only how many people directly interacted with those posts, but also the potential impact and reach of those posts as it pertains to those users’ friends.
In essence, what these new tools allow Facebook marketers and fan page administrators to do is to quantify the impact and success of individual campaigns and promotions through Facebook more accurately. Ultimately, though, there lies the question of how, exactly, these changes will impact the future of marketing for businesses through social media.
Businesses Will Focus More On Creating Shareable, Memorable Content
For one, these new changes will most likely result in a slight, but noticeable shift in the way in which Facebook pages are run and the content in which they share on those pages. With easy, quantifiable access to the viral nature of content that is posted on pages, brands and businesses can now see just how shareable their individual posts are. With that information in mind, they will then be able to more accurately determine and tailor their own efforts in such a way so as to ensure maximum virility.
And although creating viral, shareable content has always been the goal in social media, Facebook’s new analytic tools only further highlights the importance of such. Instead of simply broadcasting, smart businesses will now place a heavier emphasis on creating content that doesn’t only speak to their direct fans, but also the friends of those fans, and the friends of those friends, maximizing the viral potential of that content.
Businesses Will Try To Find Inventive Ways to Create Viral Content
Creating viral content is, for the most part, luck, but also ingenuity. A YouTube video, or picture, or comment on a relevant event are all ways in which businesses seek to create content that their users comment on and share.
Fortunately though, creating content that is viral isn’t necessarily expensive, it just might require some trial and error. With Facebook’s improved analytics, businesses can judge the effectiveness of their content on an individual basis, fine-tuning copy or links or photos in order to truly create exceptional viral content.
What that means is that now, with that information in hand, businesses will now try to find more inventive and affordable means in which to create more viral content. With the ability to fine tune content on a day-to-day basis, businesses can more effectively judge what works on an individual level without having to entirely rethink their social media strategy.
Truly, information is power. With these new tools, marketers and businesses now have more access to probably the most important aspect of Facebook: The viral capability and effectiveness of content.
And while these changes most likely won’t revolutionize how businesses conduct their own social media strategies, it will certainly cause them to rethink some of them in order to appeal to as wide of an audience as possible. Why is that important? Because people trust the word of mouth of their friends much more than they trust any business.