Facebook study surprise: less links and more Sunday please
Social Media for Business: What content works?
The new study of vi knallgrau, daughter of Virtual Identity AG, and the program "Journalism and Public Relations (PR)" FH JOANNEUM in Graz examines one of the most important questions about social media for business: What content works?
The study specifically addresses the Facebook appearances of 100 companies from the German-speaking B2C sector. 50 Consumer Brands and 50 Retail Brands will be scrutinized over a four-week period, evaluating 2.324 Facebook postings overall.
In addition to formal and content-related criteria, the study also draws a comparison between the consumer and retail brands. The results confirm already well-known empirical values, but also bring some surprises to light: short texts with pictures show a very high virality, while the popular use of videos and links has a significantly negative effect. Frequently used endings such as "And what do you think?" As well as nonsensical requests can also be dispensed with confidently, because they lead according to the study only to less than 10 percent higher viral factor.
The right timing makes the difference
High potential, on the other hand, is in the correct timing: the day of the week with the highest virality value is Sunday, but only 5 percent of the posts examined are published on that day of the week. Companies still rarely use this potential. Another amazing finding: Pages that only post about every third day or less often achieve the highest success rate. So here is less: less is more. Not surprisingly, the virality factor is twice as high in consumer brands than in retail brands, even though the latter are more likely to post. In addition, retail brands use photo galleries too seldom, but links and promotions too often. The assumption here is that users are less likely to disseminate promotional content from retail brands.
Conclusion: more variety in the topics and less focus on your own agenda
The overall picture shows that the requirements have grown due to user needs. Today, companies are dealing with target groups that have a very specific need for information and should therefore focus less on their own agenda. Social media such as Facebook live from dialogue with the user and offer many ways to improve it on an ongoing basis.
"For most B2C companies, social media channels have long been an integral part of communication," explains Dieter Rappold, managing director of vi knallgrau. "But the study results have sometimes even surprised us and we were able to derive accordingly many recommendations for action. We want to provide companies with help and guidance to drive the necessary dialogue process on Facebook. "
About vi bright gray
vi bright gray 2003 has already specialized in those applications and paradigms that are today summarized under the terms Web 2.0 and Social Media. Through projects such as the blog host twoday.net and as a participant in international conferences, vi bright gray is an integral part of the Web 2.0 ecosystem of the D / A / CH region. Since October 2009, Virtual Identity AG has a majority stake in vi knallgrau GmbH. The Vienna-based company employs around 50 employees and among its customers include Allianz, Generali, Henkel Lifetimes, HVB, Nestlé Dolce Gusto, Opel, Puntigamer, Siemens, Thalia, voestalpine AG. www.kranngrau.at
About Virtual Identity
Virtual Identity connects brands and companies with the connected society. The 1995 based agency develops web-based solutions for brand management, corporate communications and marketing communications. Virtual Identity employs approximately 150 employees in Freiburg, Munich, Berlin and Vienna. Customers include: Allianz, Haufe Mediengruppe, Infineon, MAN, Opel, Roche, Siemens, Sto. www.virtual-identity.com
For more information, please visit
www.kranngrau.at/facebookcontentstudie - free download of the entire study
Source: Vienna [vi bright gray]
