This week in social media…
The best of times, the worst of times – to Tweet
Is there an optimal time to tweet or update Facebook? Link shortening service bit.ly released new data on the best and worst times to share data on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. According to the study, the prime time to post on Twitter is between 1 and 3 p.m., with the most potential between those hours on a Monday. For Facebook, shoot for 1-4 p.m., ideally on a Wednesday. Tumblr differs though, showing peak engagement between the hours of 4-7 p.m. And Tumblr is the only site that sees engagement carried over into the weekend. Although this is a nice nugget of information, it’s important not to apply it across the board. Knowing your brand audience and where, and when, they spend time online is much more worthwhile. Mashable has a great list of 5 tools to better time your tweets. Here’s a look at Liqui-Site’s Twitter engagement for example from a free service called WhenToTweet—and notice, it doesn’t match the bit.ly data.
Bing to launch social-search engine
Bing and Facebook are teaming up to boot search engine giant, Google, according to a release on the Microsoft News Center. Google is facing criticism over their foray into the social media world with Google +, as well as their new “Search Plus Your World” initiative—both of which muddy the waters of Google’s promise to deliver unbiased search results. Microsoft unveiled yesterday that Bing will be rolling out a new version of their search engine (available to US users as early as June). The new Bing will include a “social sidebar” that pulls in related information via Facebook (pictured below), and a “snapshot feature” that makes listings appear more vibrant. Microsoft believes the new features and layout will help users “leap from finding information to making quick, informed decision.” Accompanying the release are some key findings from Microsoft’s “Internal Survey Research, Fall 2011” which attempt to support the new Bing design. One of the findings claims, “57 percent (of 1,400 customers surveyed) say their search sessions last longer than a day.” That’s a bit of a generalization! Obviously search time varies considerably depending on the task at hand. What Microsoft is trying to do is repackage search as the means to “get things done” vs. the means of quality information retrieval. Bing has a prime opportunity to differentiate itself from Google right now, but the social-search combination is more following in its footsteps. Social-search may be more than a trend, but I think people will tire of having their social network hanging around when they are trying to get things done, so to speak.
AgoraPulse
A new CRM platform called AgoraPulse now analyses Facebook brand page ROI in terms of actual dollars. This is big news, considering the latest social media surveys and reports indicate the number one question marketers have regarding social media is Social ROI, or how to measure the results of their social media efforts. I previously talked about different ways to measure social media efforts (including that vague term “engagement”) and some of the Social ROI software available to marketers (ranging from the most basic conversation monitoring tools to the truly algorithmic discovery programs). But none delivered Social ROI currency. AgoraPulse is the best Facebook-specific Social ROI software I have tested to date, mainly because it segments Facebook brand-page data into key areas and offers pointed suggestions that enable brands to revise their social media strategy. AgoraPulse measures Social ROI in terms of qualification, interaction, reach, sentiment (that’s a new one), and yes, dollar return (in a one month period). The app has full social media marketing management capabilities including automated posting and analysis of business competitors. I highly recommend exploring this app. You can scan your company brand page for free by visiting their webpage and logging in with your Facebook user info.
