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Viewpoint: Facebook – Billions Served

by RandallCraig on October 4, 2012

Filed in: Blog, Communication, Make It Happen Tipsheet, Social Media, Viewpoint

Tagged as: Facebook, McDonalds, Measurement

Facebook just announced that it now has one billion users – an astounding number. On the other hand, you (or your organization) may have but 1000 or 10,000 – hardly a dent, and at best, a rounding error.

Whether your number is on the lower side or hovering at a billion, this singular measure of “success” is of little value, and at best misleading. Here are two reasons why.

How many of those users are actually active? How often does each person actually sign in, let alone “engage”? Facebook uses statistics called Monthly Active Users and Daily Active Users: but what does “Active” really mean? “Activity level” is a useful statistic only if it is defined, and transparent.
What are those who do log in actually doing? They are posting the inane details of their lives, reading the inane details of others’ lives, and playing games like Farmville and Mafia Wars. So-called “F-Commerce” has turned out to be a dud – no one seems to be setting up stores and when they do, no one is buying. Engagement level by activity is a far better statistic. Sales and profitability are also not bad numbers to track.

McDonald’s also once celebrated Billions Served. Eventually they also figured out that people cared more about taste, healthfulness, clean restaurants, and speed. They also determined that an emotional brand connection was more powerful than just numbers.

The most important statistic is whether the effort being spent is driving the results your organization requires.

If your goal is greater awareness, then track the increase in number of likes, shares and friends.
If your goal is increased number of leads, then track newsletter sign-ups and white paper downloads.
If your goal is increased sales, then yes, track sales, and do it by source.

Is a billion users a significant milestone? Absolutely. Does it matter? Not in the least.

The week’s action plan: What numbers do you track in social media? More importantly, what numbers do you track in your business? This week, ask if they make sense; if they don’t, then choose measures that do.

Note: The Make It Happen Tipsheet is also available by email. Go to www.RandallCraig.com to register.

Randall Craig

@RandallCraig (follow me)
www.RandallCraig.com
www.ptadvisors.com
www.ProfessionallySpeakingTV.com

Can you ever have too many friends? (yes)

by Randall on March 29, 2012

Filed in: Blog, Career Planning, Make It Happen Tipsheet, Networking, Social Media

Tagged as: Connections, Facebook, LinkedIn, Policy

Do you play the milestone game with your Social Media accounts?

When you first sign up, you aim for ten connections. Then 50, 100, 250, and finally the coveted 500 – you’ve arrived. And then you aim for 1000. How many is too many?

As I look at my own LinkedIn and Facebook accounts, it struck me that most people give precious little thought to how, or why, they say yes when asked to connect. Yet this is one of the most important things to do if you are truly hoping to use Social Media productively. Consider these guidelines:

1) Set a policy: For each Social Network, choose an appropriate-for-that-network connection policy – one that ties directly back to your goals for using (or not using) it. For me, I accept friend requests on Facebook from everyone who asks. On LinkedIn, however, I only accept connection requests from two groups: those who I have a real-world relationship with, and those who are members of the same professional associations. Other people may set different connection policies: people they met once, people at their workplace, school, etc.

One approach that is not recommended is the so-called “LION” (Linked In Open Networker) approach; these people seek to be connected to everyone, whether there is a relationship or not. While acceptable for recruiters who use their connection lists to connect to job candidates, others who use this strategy often use their vast connection lists to send spam status messages.

2) Communicate politely: It is flattering – and a credit to you – when someone asks to be your connection. But if you don’t want to add them, reply to them with thanks, then suggest an alternate way of connecting with you: perhaps in person or over the phone first, or perhaps via Twitter.

3) Cleanse your connections: Spend time going through all of your connections, and prune those who don’t measure up to your current policy standards. Unlike when you make a connection, disconnects are not broadcast throughout the LinkedIn (or Facebook) systems.

This week’s action item: It is easier to measure network strength through numbers, but the value of your network is best measured through the quality of your relationships. Setting a policy, communicating it, and cleansing your connections won’t help you reach your next quantity milestone, but will increase your network quality. This week, if you don’t have a Social Media connection policy, set one – even if you may need to change it later.

Bonus insight: The act of thinking through your policy will help you clarify how to better use your Social Media time.

PS: For the record, I have 997 LinkedIn connections… and 210 invitations from others I am ignoring. Yes, I probably have too many “friends”.

Seven Social Media Job Search Steps

by Randall March 8, 2012

Even from the most committed employees, one question comes up over and over again: how to use Social Media to find your next job. It might be couched in different language (How do I develop professional profile/How do I take advantage of Social tools for support, etc), but the question remains. How can you use [...]

Three lessons from the Facebook prospectus

by RandallCraig February 23, 2012

If you’re reading this, the chances that you are on Facebook are relatively high. And sadly, the chances that you personally will duplicate Mark Zuckerberg’s business success are relatively low. Very few of us will take our companies public, let along profit so handsomely during our careers. What we can do, however, is learn from [...]

Access Assumptions

by Randall January 17, 2012

One Billion. You may think I’m referring to the number of Facebook and LinkedIn users, but I’m not. I’m referring to the approximate population of India. While on a trip there, I decided to take pictures of local businesses, then compare the “real” with their Social Media presence. Sadly, I was unable to find more [...]

Innovation and the Facebook Generation

by RandallCraig June 14, 2011

There is nothing as humorous – or sad – as outdated laws. Every jurisdiction has them: No cow or sheep grazing in public gardens All businesses must provide rails to tie up horses No walking backward while eating chestnuts Unfortunately, many organizations face a similar problem: rules and regulations that have far outlived their useful [...]

Viewpoint: Will Facebook Take Over the World?

by RandallCraig March 16, 2011

You may not know it, but the game playing, ad-serving, stalker-friendly site called Facebook is poised to bust out of it’s walled garden and move into the “real world” in a very big way. And when it does, it will have profound implications for government, other businesses, and each of us as individuals. Unless you [...]

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by RandallCraig December 28, 2010

With so many Social Media sites out there, where should you spend your time? In the “olden days” of just a few short years ago, it was fairly simple: For business, spend time on LinkedIn. For personal, use Facebook (or in the “real” olden days, use MySpace). If you have videos, then go to YouTube. [...]

Personal Blog Branding

by RandallCraig October 6, 2010

“You only have one chance to make a good first impression.” This is the siren song of personal branding, and is what causes millions of people to think carefully about what they wear each day. Too bad though, that in today’s too-fast social media world, the first impression does not come from your clothing, but [...]

Too Many Friends?

by RandallCraig October 28, 2009

Can you ever have too many friends? In real life, the answer is no, but when we’re talking about social media, the answer is definitively yes. If you have been collecting so-called friends, contacts, connections, and followers online, then you probably notice that some are more valuable than others. Others have very little value at [...]

Social Media Sinkholes

by RandallCraig October 13, 2009

There are over 300 web sites that have a Social Media angle to them. Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter might be the most familiar, but you may also spend time on FlickR, eBay, Plaxo, Orkut, and others. In fact, you may be spending so much time on these “Networks”, that you have little time for anything [...]

September Social Media Tune-up

by RandallCraig August 25, 2009

Your car needs a tune-up every once in a while. As individuals, we go to the doctor or dentist on a regular schedule. But how often do we do a social media tune-up? Rarely if ever. We sign up to a number of sites (LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Plaxo, and maybe others), use them freely, and [...]

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