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Are fans and followers really worthless numbers?
By Justin Goldsborough | September 17th, 2009
If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a thousand times — (paraphrasing, of course) “When it comes to social media measurement, the number of fans or followers a brand has won’t tell us anything.”
I’ve thought about this philosophy a lot, so much in fact that I’ve become slightly OCD about it. It’s hard not to when the majority of the PR thought leaders I respect have at one time or another made a statement similar to the one above and followed it with contempt for agencies or “so-called” social media experts who only focus on these numbers.
If there was a way to un-fan fans and un-follow followers, I’d have done it by now. But they won’t go away and clients keep asking about them, so I’ve kept thinking about just what, if anything, these numbers actually tell us. And here’s what I’ve come up with:
I want to revise the statement, “The number of fans or followers a brand has won’t tell us anything.” Well, really, I just want to change one word — “The number of fans or followers a brand has won’t tell us everything.”
Fans and followers do tell us some things. They provide us an “at least” number of people that have visibility to the messages a brand shares via its Facebook and Twitter presences and the number of people who might share that message. In other words, Gatorade currently has 326,543 fans and 2,314 followers. That’s “at least” 328,857 (326,543 + 2,314) people who have visibility to a conversation on Gatorade’s wall or Twitter feed and who could share that conversation with their friends, followers, colleagues or anybody else.
Why is that 328,857 number important? Because we know a few things:
- We know if Gatorade really needed to get a message out, say about a crisis, that message is likely to have a greater reach and be shared by more people if the company has 326,000 fans as opposed to 32,600. It’s purely a numbers issue.
- We know people trust people and consumers more than they trust organizations. As Gatorade gains more fans, it gains more chances that a story about the company (e.g. helping a customer with as service issue on Facebook) will be told by the fans as opposed to the organization. And that’s a reputation win for the brand considering the source. How do you think Gatorade and other companies gain the majority of their fans and followers? Via WOM endorsement, of course.
- We know that brand fans are an audience that serves as advocates for our clients and we want them have stories to tell. And while we can’t guarantee that all fans or followers of an organization are actual brand fans, I think we’re safe guessing that the fans and followers of a company would be a good place to start when looking to engage fans of that brand.
- We know the majority of people who participate in online social networks and take the step to fan or follow brands — not the first steps a person usually takes when dipping their toes in the social media waters — are more likely to engage with a company or tell a story online than those who aren’t as active in the online space.
- Finally, we also know about perception. And I can tell you — based on recent conversations with clients, peers, colleagues, tweeps, fans — the perception is that the more fans and followers a brand has, the more successful that brand is with social media. And the more successful a brand is with social media, the more progressive that company is. And the more progressive a company is the more successful it often seems. Is that perception wrong? Well, I’d lean toward calling it incomplete.
If fans and followers are the only measures of success you’re tracking, then I agree that doesn’t tell us much. And that’s where I fall in line with the gripe against some agencies that base the entire social media strategy they’re selling on those numbers. The most significant thing about fans and followers is the audience they create for a brand to engage with. That’s where the real strategy comes in.
Think about it this way. When you go to a networking event, you may not know much about the organization or the people when you get there. Over time, you may get to know the organization and the people in it better. You’ll probably form opinions about the group and share stories about your experiences. But for any of that to happen, you had to show up at that first meeting.
Successful PR is still about building relationships — always has been. When a person fans or follows your brand, that’s just a relationship starter. They decided to come to that networking event. Or since users can fan or follow with the click of the mouse, you could argue they’re making much less of a commitment. But even if it took five seconds, the person still made a conscious effort to engage. Where the relationship goes from there is largely up to you.
I was lucky enough to see Brian Solis speak in Kansas City tonight and he offered a lot of great food for thought and insight into “the conversation” and “influence” that I’m still thinking about and continue pondering for a while, I’m sure. But one thing Brian said tonight came to mind as I sat down to finish this post — (I paraphrase again) “If we’re not in the conversation, it’s easy to fall off the radar screen, disappear.”
To me, when you look at a brand’s fans or followers, you can get a rough idea of how many “radar screens” that company is on. And you’ve got to be on some radar screens to keep from disappearing. But you can’t tell a whole lot more than that without digging much deeper.
Fans and followers are a starting point. They tell you something. But the companies and agencies that run into problems are the ones who don’t keep going. There’s a lot more to a conversation than the introduction.
What are some of the companies you know that have a lot of fans and followers? Did those numbers change your perception of the brand? How did you hear about those companies? Do those brands do a lot to engage their fans and followers?
September 18th, 2009 at 6:43 am
I couldn’t agree more, Justin. I’m baffled by anyone who really says or believes that these numbers are worthless. You can’t engage people if you don’t grow your fan base / follower base / friends base / subscriber base etc 1st.
My favorite laughable finding is when I find a brand or agency tweeting to literally 0 followers. (This has happened at least twice). Now that’s worthless.
September 18th, 2009 at 7:00 am
Exactly. It’s the same reason we work with companies to build relationships with consumers before a crisis happens. What good does it do you to share information, tell a story or apologize if no one is there to hear you?
Plus, perception cannot be underrated. We as PR folks and social media addicts understand that fans and followers are just a first step or one piece of the puzzle. But is that how most people think? Or could fans and followers numbers be what gets people in the door and gives us the chance to network, engage?
September 18th, 2009 at 7:29 am
Great post, Justin. A lot of food for thought here. I have been thinking about this question, too because yes, numbers do tell use something, but are they the whole truth? Not quite - but what else can we see and measure that will tell us the WHOLE truth?
I’d love to see more of your thoughts on measurement. It’s always a gray area for me to explain - and even understand.
Thanks, Justin! Keep up the great work!
September 18th, 2009 at 10:49 am
For our Twitter strategy, we’re focusing less on the number of followers (although we are tracking it) and focusing more on the click throughs any Tweet we put up generates. Whether it’s to our site or another site, every tweet has a bit.ly link that we can track (I don’t change links on RTs, just on our unique tweets). We’re using Sept. as kind of a test to see what messages receive the most clicks and what type of information are people looking for.
September 18th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Agree wholeheartedly. Although I’m an old fogey who believes social media is essentially a new form of stuff we’ve done all along. For instance, the number of names on your mailing list don’t tell you anything, either (other than how big a check to cut for postage), but you kinda need it if your compelling direct mail piece with award-winning creative is going to be worth the paper it’s printed on. The numbers of people to whom you mail it don’t tell you whether it motivated anyone to action or went straight to the recycling bin. Whatever the delivery mechanism, one-way or dialog, successful communication requires something useful to say and people to share it with, the numbers of whom offer one measurement data point.
September 19th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Hi, Linda. Thanks for the perspective. Really got me thinking, so sorry for the long response :).
I agree that good PR — building relationships, telling your brand’s story — hasn’t changed much. The technology we use to do it and some customers’ expectations are what’s different.
A fan/follower list and a mailing list both provide a company a group of people with which to engage. They become even more similar if the mailing list required people to opt in.
The biggest difference, and where social media stands out in my opinion, is the ability to continuously engage over time and significantly influence a customers’ perception of your brand.
If a company reaches out to several people via a mailing list, once the direct mail piece has been sent, the ball is in the customer’s court to make the next move. On Facebook and Twitter (or via any two-way platform) a brand has a chance to continuously engage, become more a part of consumers’ lives and show reliability. And reliability leads to trust, which leads to affinity for the brand and a story to share. That story is significant since research shows people trust customers and employees of a brand more than advertisements, executives or media.
That said, it still comes back to audiences, right? There are audiences that expect almost 24/7 access to the brands they choose and there are audiences who still rely on and respond to one-way communication. Most brands have audiences that fall into both of these categories and therefore need to engage their customers via both methods.
Not really that different from any other type of relationship building — one of the keys to success if figuring out the best way to communicate with the person/people you’re talking to.
September 21st, 2009 at 10:15 am
I do love this thinking. A brand needs many followers/friends in order to make an impact through its engagement strategy. Getting 5 people excited about your product/service generally going to pay the bills.
And in terms of your last point about perception, we are finding that there is a tipping point on the number of fans/followers AND participation when those numbers begin to reach critical mass.
No one wants to eat in an empty restaurant.
Thanks!
Carin