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May 7, 2012
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Predicting The Next Social Media Trend Using Social Media Analytics

 

Track Social’s Social Media Zone is a portal for assessing the activity of all Social Media Brands on the major platforms – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

We looked at the leaders in Audience Growth Rate in order to predict what might be the next big thing in Social. Some of the growth leaders you’ve probably heard about in the news, others maybe not.

Social growth measures how many new connections a brand is making across the already well-established social media platforms.

In other words, how well are these new social utilities leveraging their visibility on more established social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter in order to spread their name, generate buzz and sign-up new members?

Track Social’s Social Media Zone shows the Social Brand Map, which plots how social media sites are performing on, well, social media. The color of the balls represents how quickly it is growing – with red and orange indicating hot and fast growth. This means the hottest social sites are establishing new connections with online users faster than the rest of the pack. Only 5 social media sites out of our list of 147 can claim rights to a sizzling hot ball – here’s the top 5 in social growth rate:

1. Instagram: Humans. Love. Photos.

We love taking them. Looking at them. Sharing them. And of course, digitally tweaking them so we appear to be much better photographers than we actually are.

At least that was the great insight of Instagram founders who are now a cool billion dollars richer thanks to Facebook’s recent acquisition of the uber-popular photo sharing app now downloaded by over 50 million mobile users.

So now that Instagram has officially joined with the Zuckerburg and company, how is it using Facebook to engage with fans and recruit new users?

Instagram posts on Facebook are mainly re-posts from its official Instagram blog, which offers creative thematic challenges for the community, inviting users to submit their instagram-ed photos related to specific themes.

One regular challenge, the Weekend Hashtag Project, recently invited submissions for vacant places and empty chairs. These posts highlight the usefulness and uniqueness of Instagram’s app – no wonder Instagram is on track to hitting 100 million users.

On Twitter, Instagram has managed to rack up over 3 million followers. This is largely due to Instagram’s auto-follow policy. If you use Twitter to distribute an Instagram photo, you’re essentially agreeing to “follow” Instagram. And while that might make it easier to get people signed up, keeping that audience requires facilitating engagement through fun, regular challenges the Weekend Hashtag Project.

Instagram owes a lot to Twitter for popularizing both the format and language of a “sharing community”: “Feeds” and “Followers” are common to both and this overlap helps account for the large number of users who routinely use Twitter to distribute the photos they take with Instagram – a partnership we expect will continue to grow – unless Facebook decides otherwise.

[And just for good measure, the immanently shareable Pets of Instagram.]

2. MyYearbook: Engineering Serendipity

A recent marketing piece from one of MyYearbook’s co-founders helps define this new kind of social network as an alternative to traditional online dating sites. What makes them stand out from all the other dating sites? MyYearbook stands behind the idea that people prefer to start out as friends before jumping into a romantic relationship. According to the company, MyYearbook has signed up over 33 million members since 2005 – meaning over 33 million people are also on board with this idea.

The rise of social networks and the ubiquity of mobile devices have given way to a new crop of mobile social networks – the Meeting Networks – which threatens to eat the dating industry’s $4 billion lunch by making them a subset of a larger “meet new people” space.

Notice whose lunch they are not out to eat: Facebook’s. In fact, MyYearbook offers a “one click” registration if you sign in through your Facebook account, a clear indication they’re staking out a different kind of social media territory.

Call them Meeting Networks, call them Social Discovery Sites, MyYearbook attempts to connect people through playing online games, sharing videos, and giving virtual gifts (via an online currency called “Lunch Money” – we’re not making that up).  It’s a space intended to facilitate new connections that might ultimately lead, according to satisfied customer “Mike, 33” to finding your “soulmate.” Mazel tov, Mike.

3. Pinterest: Come ye pinners.

Our number 3 seemed to have blown up overnight, so it’s no surprise that their significant audience growth has also given them office growth.

Technically, Pinterest is not just a photo-sharing site. It invites users (called pinners) to create boards where they can “pin” anything of interest they find on the web. If you’ve been living in a dark hole or haven’t noticed yet, there has been a storm of “Pin It” share button that has hit so many sites – making it easy for internet browsers to quickly pin away.

Pinners compile collections on an infinite number of topics: wedding planning, say, or recipes. Or physics. It’s an organizer’s dream. If your users are mining the internet for cool stuff, some of those “pins” might just stir some buzz. A Dirty Dancing Page, for example, received over 13,000 LIKES on Facebook. As we stated earlier with Instgram, humans love photos.

4. Bebo: Didn’t AOL pay $850 million for this?

Sure did. After buying Bebo for $850 million in 2008, AOL unloaded the networking site in 2010 for $10 million. Bebo may have originally been conceived as an alterative and rival to Facbook but those ambitions (delusions?) seem to have been left behind. These days, Bebo is trying to occupy the same space as MyYearbook – with a dedicated dating site attached and you guessed it – its own gaming outlet. It looks like users are looking for a space where they can combine the perks of both Facebook and MyYearbook – which steers them toward our number 4 – Bebo.

5. Scoop.it: Make your own magazine

Scoop.it is an online content curation platform allowing users to create their own blog-like spaces that allows you to pull content from all over the web and re-publish it into attractive templates. Effectively, you become the editor of your own online magazine.  It’s part of the mash-up movement the web has sparked, repurposing, remixing and re- contextualizing content into something new.

Scoop.it is promising because of the nature of their service. Just like Pinterest, Scoop.it offers users an easy way to collect and curate the things they discover online. Spotlighting some user-generated gems might be a great way to attract Facebook Fans and Twitter Followers, as well as showcasing the value of the app itself.

Rounding out our top 10 social media sites and apps with the highest growth rates are:

6. reddit
7. Buffer
8. Bit.ly
9. Draugiem.lv
10. Hacker News

Follow the stats, trends, news and updates for the entire Social Media universe at Track Social’s Social Media Zone. What shows up on today’s Leaderboard, might just be tomorrow’s most ubiquitous platform.

 **This article was based on the Leaderboard as of Monday, May 7, 2012. Actual Leaderboard changes on an ongoing basis.

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Category: Case Studies, Social Audience | Tags: , , , , ,
April 16, 2012
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The Rise of Instagram in Social Marketing: Tapping Into Consumer Creativity

In just the past few weeks, there has been an explosion of brands jumping on the Instagram bandwagon. Track Social has been following brands’ use of Instagram on Facebook through it’s searchable database of active Facebook apps and we have seen a continuous stream of new Instagram initiatives.

Among the list of brands that have already incorporated Instagram into their Facebook pages, a select few deserve praise for tapping into consumer creativity. What we’ve found will come as no surprise to anyone who’s ever stumbled on, say the ePrize photo stream: no one cares about your Instagram photo feed.

In many cases, brands that have set-up dedicated Instagram Facebook apps are simply providing a slideshow of blandly captioned (and totally underwhelming) photos that – despite their sepia filters – utterly fail to get anyone’s attention or generate one iota of actual online engagement.

This all seems to stem from a compete misunderstanding of what Instagram is FOR.

For millions of app users, the pleasure of Instagram is the way it makes us feel like artists. The way it allows us to instantly transform the things we encounter in our daily comings-and-goings into bits of ephemera. The way Instagram’s filters – which may soon enough become passé – allow us to inject a little soft-focus mystery into our humdrum routines. The way, with the touch of a button, we can recontextualize, and thus re-enchant, the world, capturing it in a way that encases our point of view in a seemingly timeless package. Instant nostalgia.

Which is to say, we don’t want to look at your boring PR photos slapped with sepia. We want to make our own.

Through Track Social’s News Feed, we were able to pin down just when and which brands have created Facebook apps for Instagram, and even better, which are running campaigns to not only promote their brand, but also encourage fans to be proactive.  Here are just two examples of innovative Instagram-ing already underway. Each offers a glimpse at how brands can harness this increasingly useful way to entice user interaction.

SEE U @ SAKS

Saks Fifth Avenue is inviting shoppers to come into their stores armed with smart phones and find one item they can’t live without, photograph it with Instagram, tell everyone what makes it so special and why they want it, and by including hashtag #SeeUAtSaks, they could win $1,000. Why is this absolutely brilliant? Let us count the ways:

1)    Social campaigns don’t always have the advantage of directly driving in-store traffic, but this one encourages both online and offline engagement by getting users through the door.

2)    Every single Instagram-ed image is an instant advertisement for the product being photographed and for Saks. Not to mention, by having users describe why they want the item, consumers are essentially writing their own sales copy.

3)    All these pictures and captions get posted by users on their Twitter feed for all their friends and followers to see. For $1,000, Saks gets direct access to the friend networks of its most critical target audience. That’s a picture worth more than a thousand bucks.


WHOLE FOODS EARTH MONTH PHOTO CONTEST

We’ll let Whole Foods explain:

“Each week during Earth Month we’ll select a new theme that captures one reason why it’s more critical than ever that we take special care of this world in which we are lucky enough to live. To enter, simply take a photo that fits the weekly theme with the Instagram App and upload it with the #WFMEarth hashtag. We’ll randomly select one weekly winner to receive a $100 Whole Foods Market gift card.”

Whole Foods gets it: they understand their consumers are savvy and creative – and more importantly, that they’re eager to demonstrate just how creative and savvy they are.

So Whole Foods becomes the facilitator of creativity – much like the app itself – providing the occasion and opportunity to show off, get recognition and maybe even collect a reward.


This week’s theme for those who want to show their skills: “From two feet to two wheels to shared rides, grab a pic of the host of ways to move yourself while preserving Mother Earth. ”It won’t be long before smart brands figure out that photo-sharing is a hugely powerful way to not only engage consumers, but also have consumers help market their brands. Who knows, this might just be the summer of Instagram.

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Category: Facebook, Social Buzz |
March 12, 2012
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The Top 10 Beers on Facebook ~ A Virtual Pub Crawl for St. Patricks Day

(Warning: this article may give you a buzz and should be read responsibly.)

Yes, it’s true, St. Patrick’s Day honors a fourth-century priest who may very well have saved Western Civilization. But let’s be honest, these days it’s really about the green beer.

So with March 17th just around the corner, we’re embarking on a virtual pub-crawl to sample how the world’s top beer brands are performing on social media. And for those who like their online engagement best served cold and frosty, you can play along at home: just crack open your #FavoriteBeer and take a healthy swig every time you see the word “Facebook.” Guaranteed to be the most enjoyable reading you do all day.

#10 – Blue Moon: 143,600+ Facebook Fans
This popular Belgian White from Colorado has a distinct citrus taste (courtesy of Curaccao orange peel) and a distinct branded image (courtesy of its watercolor-inspired advertising.) Appealing to a more sophisticated set, Blue Moon invites Facebook Fans to turn their Facebook Photos into “Blue Moon Art”. Similar to other photo-enhancing programs, Blue Moon’s “Photo Crafter” app gives photos the watercolor treatment. It’s either that – or the “beer goggles effect.” Hard to tell.

#9 – Foster’s: 279,000+ Facebook Fans
Foster’s is celebrating “the Art of Chilling,” inviting Facebook Fans to send their friends a “Chill Head” – a Wall-Post icon representing one of 17 different ways to chill. (Only the Australians could possibly classify so many ways to relax.) There’s Chillhead Boombox, Chillhead Surfer, and Chillhead Burp to name a few. Match them to your friends’ personalities and Foster’s posts them to their Facebook Walls. We looked, but Chillhead Drunk-dial wasn’t one of the choices.

#8 – Stella Artois: 502,000+ Facebook Fans
For a tutorial in cultivating pretension, drop by the Stella Artois Facebook page. You’ll (maybe) be invited to (maybe) join their exclusive online La Societe club. (Maybe). It’s “invitation only” after all. Which means upon entering your email address you get this: “Thanks, we’ve added you to our waiting list.” To get the full charming effect, be sure to read that with a French accent.

#7 – Guinness: 504,000+ Facebook Fans
Of all beer brands on our list, Guinness has the most authentic claim to cashing in on St. Patrick’s Day. So much so, in fact, that it’s flooding its wall with anything and everything St. Patrick’s Day-related. From helping Facebook Fans map out their St. Patrick’s Day route with the Pub Finder app, to fun facts, and even asking fans to partake in helping set the World Record for the Biggest St. Patrick’s Day Party. Over 52,000 Guinness partygoers have already committed to being part of this epic party – and helping consume over 13 million pints of Guinness on March 17th doesn’t sound like it’s too hard to do.

#6 – Corona: 1 million+ Facebook Fans
Corona’s got a new Facebook app called “Beach Break” which is supposed to engage users in online challenges allowing you to earn points which can then be redeemed for Corona bric-a-brac. (Who hasn’t ALWAYS wanted that Corona retractable pen?) Here’s the thing: you better be sober when trying to figure “Beach Break” out because this is the most complicated Facebook app we’ve ever seen – and trust us, we’ve seen them all. Who knew kicking back a cold one on the sand required a degree in programming?

#5 – Coors Light: 1.3 million+ Facebook Fans
For beer drinkers who love to drink but hate the taste of beer – there’s always Coors Light. Unfortunately, just like the taste of their product, the Coors Light Facebook presence lacks some serious flavor. The “Fan Photo of the Week” post is about as original as it gets around here. But hey, 1.2 million Fans are apparently cool with that.

#4 – Budweiser: 1.7 million+ Facebook Fans
Budweiser’s “Birthday Buds” app wants to help you throw your friend his 22nd birthday party. This clever new app searches through your friends list for people who are about to turn twenty-two, then invites you to select the one you want to throw a shindig for. Budweiser then sends that friend a post on their Facebook Wall giving them the chance to claim a $25 prepaid Budweiser card. To which we say: PREPAID BUDWEISER CARDS?! Why have these been kept from us?

#3 – Bud Light: 2.5 million+ Facebook Fans
Bud Light’s Facebook is sports promo central! Like Basketball? Perfect – enter to win a March Madness sweepstakes. Football? No problem – win a trip to the NFL draft. UFC? You got it – enter monthly for a chance to fly to Vegas to see a fight. But don’t assume this crowd is only about counting down to game time. Just click over to the “Bud Light Recipes” tab. That’s right. Bud Light Recipes. Where you’ll find a how-to for Gilled Mah-Mahi Tacos. Don’t forget the “three sprigs of baby arugula.”

#2 – Skol: 3.5 million+ Facebook Fans
Skol might just be the biggest beer you’ve never heard of. But if you’d like to learn all about them from, say, their founding in 1964, just check out their Facebook page. Skol is the first one of our top global brands that’s already embraced the new Facebook Timeline – a feature that will be forced on all brands coming March 30. (And, no, you’re not already drunk. That timeline? Yep, it’s in Portuguese. Skol is Brazil’s biggest beer.)

#1 – Heineken: 6 million+ Facebook Fans
There’s a reason why this family-owned Dutch brewery is far and away the dominant beer brand on Facebook – and it’s only partly about the beer. Decades of savvy marketing have built Heineken into a global behemoth – which is why, of the many enjoyable apps on display at Heineken’s Facebook page, there’s a very simple one that speaks to their truly international scope. “The Sunrise” is an inspired, elegant little app that invites users all over the world to tweet a picture of the sunrise from their corner of the globe. Complete with an interactive map with clickable tags submitted from users across the continents, it encourages users to “celebrate with the world.”

Which is exactly what we’ll be doing this Saturday as we raise a glass to St. Patrick, to Social Media – and, of course, to beer! If you played along to this article, you should’ve taken 31 swigs for every time “Facebook” showed up – wait make that 32 for that last “Facebook.” Now 33.

For more on the performance of beer brands in social media, check out the Beer Zone on Track Social.

When sharing and Retweeting this article, please be sure to include what your #FavoriteBeer is! 

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Category: Case Studies, Facebook, Social Audience |
February 21, 2012
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Facebook is for Brands, Twitter is for News, LinkedIn is for High-Tech

Track Social used its proprietary Social Brand Leaderboards to look at the leading brands by audience on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. The results were expected, yet surprising.

Facebook is for Brands

  1.       Facebook
  2.       YouTube
  3.       Disney
  4.       Coca-Cola
  5.       MTV
  6.       Starbucks
  7.       Red Bull
  8.       Oreo
  9.       Converse
  10.     Skittles

At First Glance: Facebook is used to promote consumer brands that have broad, emotional appeal.

*All Leaderboards in this article are ranked according to the total aggregate audience size of the company on each social media platform (note: it is possible for an individual company to have multiple social media accounts on a given platform). Also note that Track Social does not track individuals or celebrities – it is the premier source of Social Media Analytics for businesses.

When Facebook began allowing companies to set up their own profiles, the real boon for brands was the ability to occupy the same online space as consumers’ friends and acquaintances. After all, online space very quickly translated to occupying the same mental space. Consumers could think of their interaction with brands in the same way they thought of their interaction with people: they could have conversations, share content, and exchange information. They could have a relationship with their Fans.

It’s no wonder, then, that younger-skewing consumer brands consistently dominate Track Social’s Top 10 for Facebook audience numbers. Brands like Coca-Cola, Disney and MTV are best able to exploit Facebook’s inherent value proposition and connect to consumers one-on-one through entertaining posts, special content, and exclusive deals.

Twitter is for News

  1.       Twitter
  2.       CNN
  3.       YouTube
  4.       The New York Times
  5.       Google
  6.       BBC
  7.       Apple
  8.       Disney
  9.       NBA
  10.     People Magazine

At First Glance: Whether it’s breaking news, sports news, or celebrity ‘news’, Twitter is for news.

Twitter’s infamous 140 character limit doesn’t suit everyone. But it does work for pithy headlines, instant updates and late-breaking announcements. That’s why news organizations consistently dominate Track Social’s Twitter Top 10. Thinking of Twitter as a highly time-sensitive linking service for information and buzz generation will help organizations determine how to approach their Twitter strategies. Without regularly churning out useful new content or posting timely, exclusive deals, Twitter accounts will have little to offer consumers.

LinkedIn is for High-Tech

  1.       IBM
  2.       Hewlett-Packard
  3.       Microsoft
  4.       Accenture
  5.       Google
  6.       Deloitte
  7.       Apple
  8.       Oracle
  9.       General Electric
  10.     Dell

At First Glance: High-tech corporations dominate LinkedIn’s top ten.

LinkedIn’s special place in the social media pantheon has always been professional networking. Additionally it has been a central source of truth for corporate information, and many companies are encouraging their employees to connect their profiles to the company profile in order to bolster their presence. It is not surprising then that large corporations would dominate the LinkedIn leaderboards. What is surprising is how many high-tech companies are in the top ten – in fact it is dominated by them.

Does this mean if you’re not a tech company on LinkedIn or you’re not a news outlet on Twitter or a mega-brand on Facebook that these outlets are wastes of time? Of course not. But it does give an overriding indication of how these different platforms are being used. They are distinct ways to reach out to specific market segments – and knowing the strengths and limitations of each platform will better help any organization determine where to put their energy and resources to maximize their social media success.

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Category: Facebook, Social Audience, Social Media Platforms, Twitter | Tags: , , , , ,
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