Monthly Archives: May 2009
Keeping Tweeters on Twitter
By: Anne Helmond
Current trends show that there are now over 19 million users on Twitter, up from 3.4 million last October.
Twitter has gained incredible momentum as a key social media platform to say the least. The big question is whether new users are sticking around and using the site or visiting once and not returning after drawing blanks on how to churn up a 140 character update.
Last month, Nielson posted their research showing that Twitter currently only retains 40% of its users (Andy Beal addresses a plausible reason why this may be inaccurate). In the past I’ve posted about why Twitter can seem intimidating which still rings true for a lot of new users trying to understand the purpose and potential of the site (Facebook seems to be facing a similar ordeal with 55+ users).
Looking back, one item I would add to that post is the overwhelming number of Twitter applications that can be used to help with a range of services from tweeting to monitoring and trend analysis. There’s a lot out there and getting a grasp on overall tool utility can be a detriment to someone who wants to fully understand the platform right away.
The guessing game continues with Twitter’s next big move, but I do love the recent step they’ve taken in internalizing Twitter search on twitter.com. They do limit you to only 10 saved searches, but that’s usually plenty for personal use or for setting clients up with solid daily snapshot monitoring.
It does seem that Twitter would take as many steps as possible to keep traffic on twitter.com for accurate data capture and user trend analysis…not to mention creating appeal for potential advertisers. As Steve Rubel notes, Twitter search is booming and social search is here to stay as a major player. How Twitter capitalizes on the growing traffic has yet to be determined but adding more internal features on the site and providing a basic user/best practices guide to keep new users coming back could help their efforts.
Personally, I would prefer using twitter.com over my current use of Twhirl if Twitter moves on incorporating the following essential items:
- A shorten/trackable URL tool such as budurl.
- Notifications for replies and direct messages
- Addition of a simple RT button
- Follower grouping and ability to privatize a tweet to a particular group (sounds like this is a possible consideration)
- Basic stats analysis and tracking
What other functionality would keep you on twitter.com or what do you think will motivate more people to remain engaged on Twitter in general?
-Scott
The Science Behind the Click
$21 billion. Billion.
That’s the amount of revenue that Google Ads generated last year. If you’re like me and 60% of all Internet surfers, you rely on Google everyday as your search engine of choice. Google has become such a reliable knowledge portal that it’s hard to recall what served as “home base” on the Web prior to their existence.
As critical as the Web is to my job, I’ve never thoroughly understood Google’s advertising structure beyond my basic involvement and research of pay-per-click (PPC) ads. Organic search and search engine optimization are of course crucial to understanding the Web, but the advertising aspect has always seemed a bit foreign to me.
I’ve never been one to give much thought to clicking on the sponsored links listed at the top and on the right sidebar of Google’s search results. Maybe it’s been my instinctual fear of viruses or phishing scams, but I’ve always viewed organic results as the “safe” play when determining where to navigate next on my search path.
Steven Levy’s Secret of Googlenomics article in the latest issue of Wired magazine opened my eyes up to a whole new understanding of how Google’s sponsored ads end up where they do. Aside from bidding on select keywords that connect ads to specific dates, time and geographic locations, Google also assesses the quality of an ad, examining how well the ad matches a search query, the load time and quality of content on an ad’s landing page, the ad’s past clickthrough rate and other key criteria. An ad’s rank on a search result page is then determined through a formula that multiplies the bid by the assigned quality score (1-10).
Aside from gaining some additional technical knowledge about PPC, Steven’s article speaks to the larger economic trend and overall impact of how Google’s auction-based marketplace creates a new “auction” each time a new search is processed.
It’s mindblowing to think about the wealth of data Google and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter (obviously on smaller scales and with Twitter having yet to capitalize on this data in a monetary fashion) are capturing on any given day. If you’re on Facebook, you’ve likely seen tailored “social ads” for products or activity on facebook that reflects your friends’ activity. The friend endorsement is a huge step forward and I’ll admit that it makes me far more likely to check out a particular link on Facebook.
Where does search and social network advertising go from here?
I’d love to hear any SEO/PPC or other online ad experts’ thoughts and insight on where they see search and social network advertising going next.
-Scott
Social Media Case Study – Mayo Clinic Video Goes Viral
We all know “viral videos” are rarely the result of a a crafted creative plan. It’s not to say that it can’t happen as we see big brands rolling out new videos every week that garner hundreds of thousands of views. The recent Snuggie phenomenon is a perfect example.
However, I’ve found that the viral videos that stick in my mind usually result from some form of surprise activity that catches people offguard or in the case of today’s post subject, immediately uses pathos to drive viewer attention.
Over the past month, I’ve been tracking the video below posted by Lee Aase, social media manager up at Mayo Clinic, that shows an older couple playing a song in the Mayo atrium. Lee posted the video on April 7, 2009 on their Sharing Mayo Clinic blog after the video had been viewed 1,005 times on YouTube during the six months prior. Since posting the video and using Mayo’s various social media outlets to spread the word, the video has tracked as follows:
April 7 – 1,005 views
April 13 – 26,973 views
May 3 – 187,956 views
May 4 – 228,055
May 10 – 555,675
May 11 – 608,141
May 13 – 776,352
May 17 – 1,170,609
May 19 – 1,352,890
Wow. This is the content marketers dream about.
David Mullen and I have both shared similar thoughts about how PR and marketing firms need to relinquish the notion that firms can create viral videos on a whim for clients. This is a perfect example of how outside elements and timing typically work together to cause videos to become “viral” in an organic fashion. This is not a video concept Lee or someone else sat around trying to drum up to leverage attention around Mayo. Rather, Lee was smart about quickly identifying solid content and finding the right channels to tell as many people as possible about the video.
Let’s break down a few other elements that have made this video go viral.
1) It’s Heartwarming. In digging deeper into the backstory behind this video, we come to learn about Sharon, her reconstructed jaw and extremely positive experience as a patient at Mayo. Sharon was on cloud nine that special day and stumbled upon Fran and Marlow Cowan churning up some tunes on the piano. The Cowans have been married for 62 years (Marlow is 90, Frances is almost 84). The couple grew up entertaining crowds together.
Despite your age or how much bad news is being thrown your way about the economy, crime, etc. you can’t help but smile after watching the Cowans remind us all how important it is to embrace the day.
2) It’s Raw. No special effects or creative video work here, just a good capture of a very special moment that adds to the honest, personable nature of the video. In watching, you feel as if you’re part of “the moment.”
3) It’s Short. Clocking in at 1:14, it’s a quick view which is critical to engaging new viewers who come across the video via email links from friends, coworkers, etc. A small psychological factor but one that plays heavily into the decisions we make in consuming online video.
4) Social Savvy. Lee is one smart man. I’m going to bargain to say that he immediately dispersed this video to the entire Mayo staff after posting on Sharing Mayo as well as took advantage of using their social media platform to spread the word through Facebook, Twitter, Mayo’s own YouTube channel and other outlets. And then he told them again.
5) Bridged Online With Offline. Lee also knows media relations and there’s no better way to spread the word about a good story than by letting as many people as possible know about it. The Des Register Star recently ran a story about the Cowans and bloggers (count me in) have run with sharing the video as well. UPDATE: The Cowans were also featured on Good Morning America!
I’m quite excited to continue to watch the views shoot upward. Given the significant proportion of people that choose to go to Mayo as a result of word-of-mouth, this video will continue to be a huge marketing tool. Just take a quick glance at the feedback comments on the original blog post as a great example of where to find Mayo’s biggest advocates and supporters. I would also imagine Lee is working with closely with Sharon to track YouTube Insight info on the video to analyze trends around who is viewing the video and how they are discovering the spot.
Congrats to Sharon on her new health and capturing this great video and congrats to Lee and Mayo for smartly pushing things along to help tell the Mayo story.
-Scott
UPDATE: Also see Lee Aase’s post providing a full internal case study analysis.
