Dealing with the “Unfriend”, “Unfollow” & “Unlike” Factor

Wangari Kamande, January 31 2012

Wangari Kamande is Research Analyst at Social Media Group.

Lately, I have read status updates or heard friends say to me “I am going to ‘unfriend’ all these Facebook friends that I don’t really know or care about” or “I am tired of reading status updates that have no meaning or value for me.” This one was on one of my good friend’s status updates on Friday “…just spent the last 30 minutes “unfriend-ing” people from my Facebook & will continue doing so this weekend…I was getting tired of all the stupid status updates…The line had to be drawn somewhere .” This sentiment also holds true with “un-liking” brands.

According to a recent study by NM Incite, the top reason cited for friend-ing someone on Facebook is not surprising – it’s knowing them in real life (82%). The same applies for brands – people “like” Facebook pages of brands they are aware of. On the other hand, offensive comments are the main reason for unfriend-ing (55%). According to the study, here are a few things you might be doing that will leave you wondering if the apocalypse happened and captured all your social media connections: updating too often, updating less frequently, lack of originality, too many salesy posts, irrelevant, posting repetitive and boring content, just to name a few.

The study further indicates that men are more likely to use social media for careers/networking and dating while women use social media as a creative outlet, to get coupons/ promos or to give positive feedback.

So, this begs the question, how do we manage the number of social media ‘break ups’? I use the word “manage” because, truth be told, not all people will stick with you – in fact, an interesting statistic I recall hearing on TV went something like “25% of the people you meet won´t like you and never will; 25% won´t like you, but could be persuaded to; 25% will like you, but could be persuaded not to; and 25% will like you and stand by you no matter what.” With that in mind, how can we create a positively magnetic relationship and level of engagement with the people we value in social channels?

Whether this is for your personal brand, a.k.a. “YOU”, or a company brand, the following thoughts run true and are useful in getting you plugged in with those in your sphere of interest.

1. Who is your social audience?

While your entire target audience might not be actively engaged in social media, identify what your sub-targets and potentials are and determine their demographics, the social media channels they use and their interests. This can be achieved through a combination of some secondary research and if you want to really get to the core of your audience’s interests in social, performing a conversation scan using social media listening tools will provide you with a good picture of what is going on within your sphere of interest. Well-armed with the “who” you are looking to connect with, you can move on to the next step.

2. What is your brand’s intended social experience?

Determine the purpose that each social media channel will serve in reaching your audience. Along with that comes the underlying values of the brand, your brand’s voice—remember, social media is for sharing and engaging with others. Determine if your brand will be funny, serious or provocative. Overall, the motivations behind your social presence will be evident soon enough. If they serve the interest of your audience you will have a loyal following.

3. Win with your execution

Now that you have your audience and your social experience down pat, the content needs to captivate and match your audience needs. There are many articles that have been written on creating effective content, including on this blog. Do your research and package your brand with interesting content that will set up your social community for success.  A conversation calendar that is reviewed through the lens of the two steps above will help you get organized and ensure that you’re consistent and focused in your communication.

Keep in mind the best listeners make the best conversationalists. If you are looking to create and maintain a growing, fresh community in social media, you need to establish a listening framework to monitor your audience  and hopefully draw insights that would feed back into your social media strategy execution.

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Tim Tebow: Man or Meteor?

Patrick.Gladney, January 14 2012

For diehard NFL fans, football is like religion. On any given Sunday, fans congregate in hopes that they’ll witness the next Immaculate Reception, Music City Miracle or Hail Mary that will take their team to the promised land.

One of the big stories this year as been the ascendence of Tim Tebow, devout Christian, and now the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos. Tebow, a two time Heisman Trophy winner for the University of Florida, has been riding the pine for his first two years in the NFL, achieving more fame and notoriety for his off-field interests pertaining to the pro-life movement.

But this year, with his team off to a dismal 1-4 start, Tebow got his opportunity to shine. He replaced first string QB Kyle Orton during a game versus the San Diego Chargers (go Bolts!) and almost led his team to a dramatic come from behind victory, foreshadowing a string of remarkable comebacks that ultimately helped his team win the AFC west and a ticket to the post season. And in last week’s wildcard game, Tebow’s magic continued with an 80 yard passing play in overtime to wipe-out the heavily favored Pittsburgh Steelers.

Thus, the Tebow phenomenon was born, in real life, and online. Every Sunday as the Broncos entered the fourth quarter, online battle-tweets shouting “Teeeeeeeebbbbboooooooowwwwwwwww” dominated the internet. Social Media Group’s analysis (as featured yesterday in the National Post) of online mentions of Tebow versus some of the most famous people in North America shows that Tebow dominates the discussion.

If Denver beats the Patriots this weekend, who knows what new heights Tebow may achieve!

Much is being made in the media about Tebow’s religious affiliation, and how he regularly turns to prayer, appealing to a Higher Power for support and thanks. What interested us was to see if people were more interested in Tebow’s exploits on the field, or his relationship with God. We looked at all of the Tebow mentions in association with words like God, prayer, religion, faith etc and were actually surprised to find that of all Tebow mentions, only 7% of them also included one of the religious words. It seems that people are more inclined to discuss Tebows athletic feats than his religious affiliations.

Thank goodness!

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