Atlanta No. 4 on Facebook and a plug
Where does the Atlanta area rank in the number of Facebook users? According to the latest report from iStrategyLabs, the area is now No. 4, behind New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. As of June 8, there were 2.937 million Facebook users in the Atlanta area. See the full chart here.
We wrote last year about Atlanta’s phenomenal growth in Facebook users, which moved the area up to second, only behind New York. Now Chicago is experiencing similar growth, closely behind L.A. at No. 3. Chicago’s Facebook users have almost doubled in five months.
iStrategyLabs has been tracking Facebook use since 2007, using data from Facebook’s social ads platform. The agency’s CEO, Peter Corbett, correctly points out that concerns over privacy have not had an impact upon Facebook’s growth, with the U.S. user base growing 21.8% between Jan. 4 and June 8.
Which age group had the highest growth rate? That would be those over 55.
A quick note about our webinar…
OK, I’m going to depart from normal practice here to plug an upcoming webinar in which I’ll be participating. I’m partnering with good friends Tim Morrison and Brownell Landrum on a series of classes devoted to helping writers perfect their craft, build websites for themselves and their books, and market themselves and their writing through social media. Tim is a writing coach and Brownell helps people set up websites using the power of the WordPress platform. And, naturally, I’m the social media coach.
We’re having a free, one-hour webinar next Tuesday, July 13, at 8 p.m Eastern. You can find out more about our classes — and us — at our website. And you can sign up here.
Twitter Part 3: Of course it works
Note to self: When writing a three-part series, make sure you have time to finish it.
When starting a three-part series on Twitter several months ago I vowed to prove that Twitter isn’t fading, it’s not just noise and that it is, in fact, good not just for big businesses, but smaller companies as well.
What happened? A bunch of people suddenly asked me to help them use Twitter to meet their business goals. I am now working with businesses, non-profits and professional associations every day, coaching them or tweeting on their behalf and achieving objectives. While a few months isn’t nearly enough time to provide thorough case studies, I can report immediate results through Twitter. Such as:
– A group supporting environmental causes wanting to add new chapters asked me to launch a Twitter campaign less than three months ago. In the first week, they received a request for a media interview. They are now quoted regularly in national publications, building their brand awareness. A new chapter is about to form in a coveted area because tweets about the group caught the interest of a Twitter follower there. More chapters are on the horizon — thanks to Twitter and the dedicated followers it can generate.
– A writing coach hoping to expand his business is now connected to a large number of young, inexperienced writers and is now connecting to his ideal client — executives of large companies interested in writing books.
– A start-up that is licensed to sell a safety product in Georgia wants to expand its market. In just two weeks, response to the company has been remarkable.
It’s too early to document the details and name these groups/companies, but that day will come soon enough. These clients — and others — are already convinced of the power of Twitter to target those they most want to reach. More important, they have learned that the road to success is through building relationships and sharing valuable information with their followers.
That’s a sound business strategy anywhere and Twitter is just the tool to help them make that happen.
Twitter Part 2: It’s not peaking, it’s maturing
In between last week’s incessant reporting about Apple’s iPad came news that Twitter’s growth has become flat. CNN went so far as to ask: Has Twitter peaked?
Compete and comScore, Web analytics firms, both released figures showing a drop in average monthly Twitter visitors from July to December 2009. Imagine that? Fewer people used Twitter during December — a month with two big holidays (and plenty of days of downtime and travel surrounding them). Does that really surprise anyone?
Also, anyone who seriously follows Twitter knows that tracking site visitors requires going down the rabbit hole of all the third-party apps — from desktop to cellphone — that people use to connect with Twitter. Many critics question the reliability of numbers related to Twitter’s traffic because of the numerous ways to tweet without ever visiting the site.
When I read the word “peak,” I normally think a decline is around the corner. Curiously, some less prominent numbers in CNN’s article don’t suggest that at all. Web analysts HubSpot find average Twitter users now:
• Have more followers: From 70 in July to 300.
• Follow more feeds: From 45 in July to 170.
• Tweet more: From 120 tweets in July to 420.
HubSpot also found that Twitter is becoming more international. The U.S. represented under 51% of Twitter users in December, down from 61% in June. That number rings true personally as more and more overseas social media and marketing people are connecting with me.
So, let’s see, Twitter users are more engaged than ever. And people around the world are joining every day. Not exactly a “peaking” scenario, is it? Maybe Twitter is, gasp, maturing.
OK, business folks, you now know Twitter is neither a) all noise nor b) peaking. Next, we’ll show you how it can benefit your business, no matter the size.
Twitter Part 1: More than just noise
When talking to business people about social media, there is one thing they all agree on: They don’t “get” Twitter.
They say it’s a bunch of noise. Some say they don’t want to know what folks had for breakfast (More about that in a minute). They don’t see any tangible business benefit from using it.
I understand some of their concerns. There are plenty of idiots on Twitter. I love the idiots who look at the Trending Topics and then try to fit as many as possible into 140 characters. I love the idiots who have 5,000 followers and have yet to post a single tweet. And I especially love the idiots who spam about such exciting things as all-natural teeth-whitening.
I could go on. But there are idiots everywhere online. Locally, all you have to do is check out some of the comments on ajc.com’s sports or political blogs to know there are plenty of people who need an outlet for whatever venom or half-truths they need to share.
Why should Twitter be any different? Yes, there’s a lot of noise. Yes, there are hucksters. Yes, there are annoying Justin Bieber fans compelled to make him a Trending Topic several times a week. (Note to Justin: Can’t you just take them with you back to MySpace? Please?)
But there are other qualities that make Twitter a necessity for me, and should make it essential for many, if not most, business people. We’ll keep it simple today and not go into all the specific ways Twitter can help your business.
First, you have complete control on Twitter over who you follow and — very important — who follows you (once you get them to follow you, that is.) Don’t want to read the idiot offering whiter teeth? Block them.
Second, no matter what your profession, you will get access to the most cutting-edge and current information through Twitter. I promise you, while there may still be a few good discussion groups on LinkedIn, you will find superior information on Twitter. Why? Because that’s where the best minds are. After reading Twitter, LinkedIn seems so . . . 2005. I subscribe to countless RSS feeds, so that I can keep current on different subjects, including, obviously, social media. Yet every day Twitter brings me a new, and timely, information source — a blogger I haven’t read or a point of view I hadn’t considered. I wouldn’t have the competitive edge in my business without the intelligence Twitter users provide each day.
Third, Twitter users are more receptive to business messages, far more than on other social platforms. Studies indicate that at least 20 percent of the messages on Twitter relate to branding. Think you could get away with 20 percent of your Facebook status updates related to your business? I think not.
Now about that tweeting about breakfast complaint. What have been the top topics on Twitter this week? President Obama’s State of the Union speech hit 9,000 tweets per minute, while the iPad launch reached 7,000 tweets per minute, according to Retrevo’s Tech Buzzmeter. By comparison, topics such as Britney Spears get about 10-20 tweets per minute.
So much for breakfast, or celebrity, tweets. Next, we’ll take a look at another Twitter misconception — that it is peaking. Then we’ll delve more into some not-so-well-known ways Twitter can help your business.
Hope you had a great week. Have questions about Twitter? Give us a shout.
Proving social media ROI a piece of cake
We’ll avoid dwelling on one job posting, but this takes the cake. An unidentified company, which described itself as “cool,” recently posted a job for a “social media czar.” The job description was thoughtfully written, touching on all the requirements such a position should have, even mentioning the need for strategy.
Then came the punch line. The job was for two hours a day, $10-$12 an hour, depending on experience.
Evidently, this “cool” company doesn’t expect much ROI (Return on Investment) from social media.
A lot of business owners I’ve met in recent months are probably not that different than whoever runs this “cool” company. Small businesses and professionals are intrigued by social media, but a) don’t have the time to get involved or b) don’t see the ROI of hiring a professional to help.
So I’m going to give you not just one, but three simple examples of ROI in social media.
1. An Atlanta executive coach (Disclosure: a client who also happens to be my wife) who works with engineering firms was in a lull in signing new clients. However, the coach recognized that LinkedIn could help her open doors. She used the Advanced Search feature of LinkedIn to identify companies that were clearly doing well during the tough economy (e.g. hiring). Working through mutual connections on the business networking site, she was introduced to executives who then contracted to work with her.
2. Charles Nelson, president of Sprinkles Cupcakes, has a company that apparently makes great cupcakes. His cupcakes are so good that he has amassed 70,000 fans on a Facebook business page. The “Beverly Hills baker to the stars” announces a secret word each day, and the first 25 or 50 people to show up with that word at any of his five stores gets a free cupcake. The ROI: A booming business and highly effective word of mouth. Nelson has not spent a dime on any other advertising or marketing in five years.
OK, you say, that’s Atlanta and LA. Those are big, highly wired cities. Well, let’s turn to:
3. The New York Times In July featured mom-and-pop shops around the country making money through Twitter. Consider just one: Silver Barn Antiques in tiny Columbus, Texas. Even before launching a Web site, the owner was able to find both suppliers and customers nationwide. “Twitter has been a real valuable tool because it’s made us national instead of a little-bitty store in a little-bitty town,” she told The Times.
So what is the value of social media to your business? Consider your goals. What is the value of a new customer or client? You know how many leads you generally need before you attract one customer. What is the value of generating a lead for your business?
My guess is it’s worth more than $20-$24 a day. Or even 25 cupcakes.
