If you regularly read this blog you will know that I always place a strong emphasis on ‘engagement’.
If you increase engagement you WILL increase value. Whenever I need to increase social engagement for one of my clients I use two tools: knowledge and science.
People are often surprised when they realise how strongly I advocate using the latest technologies. I’m frequently asked ‘do social media and science really mix?’
My answer is always a very confident, ‘YES’!
If you use the right tools in the right way, science has a crucial role to play in maximising engagement.
How Can Science Get Personal?
In the past, most attempts to use science in the social sphere were nothing more than the application of ‘old marketing’ using a new platform. Companies would use apps and software to ‘push’ their products or services to as many people as possible. It was ‘outbound marketing’ using an ‘inbound’ platform.
It didn’t work!
In order for science to facilitate engagement in the social sphere it needs to be able to prioritise content and react to user behaviour in ‘real time’. Six months ago I thought it would at least be a couple of years before this type of technology was available. It seems I was wrong.
Algorithm Based Engagement
Businesses have been experimenting with optimising, timing and scheduling social interactions for years. I’m sure you’ve all read advice like ‘the best time to tweet is 3pm’ or ‘it’s best to blog in the morning’. In reality, these generalisations are almost certain to mislead. Your community is unique and how they will react to your content has no precedent.
Until now we’ve had no real option. We either followed these generalised snippets of advice or left it to chance. Luckily, things are changing.
The most recent generation of social applications are revolutionising the way companies approach social syndication. By combining ridiculously complex algorithms and simple, easy to use dashboards, these applications practically GUARANTEE engagement.
The tools I’ve been looking at recently are completely content led. They allow you to determine the relevance of a Tweet or Facebook post by assigning it focus keywords. Using these keywords, these apps are then able to algorithmically optimise when your Tweet or Facebook post is published. Using historical data, audience mapping and complex data from Google’s own algorithm, these apps will ensure that each of your posts go out at exactly the right time for maximum engagement, audience growth and conversions.
Put very simply; these tools target and maximise attention.
Can you see the potential?
The social web has made ‘real time’ analytics and optimisation a top priority for all online businesses. This demand is reflected in Google’s recent roll-out of real time results in their Analytics dashboard. The businesses that are getting the most value from the social web are those who have the resources and foresight to fully embrace ‘real time’ interaction. These tools give ALL businesses the opportunity to mathematically maximise the value they receive from the social web. I suggest you make the most of them.
If you’d like to know more about the tools I recommend or would like more information about what they are capable of, please get in touch.