Talk That Talk: New Facebook Metric Indicates Pages’ True Influence

When it comes to Facebook, the number one question asked by brands is: What is the value of a fan? The answer is not so clear-cut, as there are several factors to consider when formulating a response. While a large Facebook fan count can speak to a brand’s overall influence, the act of engaging Facebook users to become influencers themselves is more important than sheer numbers alone.

Facebook’s new PTAT metric is helping marketers follow correlations between activity within the community and what’s happening on air.”

The roll out of Facebook’s new analytics tools in October (see 360i’s full report to learn more) served as a wake-up call to many brands whose inflated fan counts amassed to significantly less actual active users on their pages.  As an example, Lady Gaga’s massive 45 million fan count actually only yields anywhere between 400,000 to 600,000 users “talking about” the pop star via the “People Talking About” (PTAT) measurement (depending on how outrageous her latest video is).

Facebook defines its new PTAT metric as the number of unique people who are creating or sharing stories about your page, with a “story” meaning anything from a fan Liking your page to posting a wall comment or RSVPing to an event and virtually everything in between. Basically, any activity that publishes to a user’s personal wall or timeline counts, as it has the potential of reaching their vast social networks.

One of the most interesting applications of PTAT we’ve seen has been the ability to identify a direct correlation between what’s happening on-air and how much people are talking and sharing online, specifically with regard to our television clients BRAVO and USA Network. We’ve recorded major spikes in engagement while a show airs, which eventually taper off in subsequent days until the next new episode starts the cycle over again. The more users are engaging with content, the more stories are created, which in turn amplifies the message far beyond a brand page’s subscribed fan base.

Following the season premiere of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” on Nov. 4, the page’s PTAT score jumped 300% to over 56,000, with the amount of stories created ballooning by over 2600% — that’s a lot of Housewives talk. Of course, metrics and buzz are great and all, but ultimately it’s about the bottom line: Did this explosion of chatter move the needle in ratings? You bet. Not only did the show best its previous three seasons with a record 2.9 million total viewers, but it was also Bravo’s highest rated debut to date — for any series.

Similarly, USA Network’s latest season premiere of “Burn Notice” (on Nov. 3) saw increased ratings and a 160% jump in PTAT. A recent VideoMind article  confirms this trend of online buzz predicting ratings, with the strongest correlation being “among younger demographics ages 12 to 17 and 18 to 34.”  As these TV viewers increasingly engage with social media during broadcast, the influence of their networks encouraging tune-in through published stories marks a great opportunity for conversion. For networks, the couch has become the point of purchase. A recent study from Nielsen/McKinsey corroborates these trends, finding that there is indeed a statistically significant relationship between online buzz and TV ratings.

The key takeaway for brands: If you want your fans to walk that extra mile for you, it’s important to emphasize the quality of your community over its sheer size. Though you may only reach a fraction of your fanbase at any given time, the greater opportunity lies in segueing that exposure into influence. Granting people a voice within your Facebook Page is perhaps more important than getting them to click “Like” in the first place, as healthy engagement is proving to be a winning formula for inspiring fans (and their friends) to take action – whether that be buying a product, recommending a brand to their friends or tuning in.

- Steven Avalos