SOCIAL MEDIA ZOMBIELAND

Have you ever feel social media users' seem to behave like zombies? I have. When you dedicate a bulky part of your day to analyze Social Media Users' behavior, sometimes, inevitably, you get the feeling they seem to act like a bunch of zombies. Many seem to move incoherently from one content to another following the next viral thing that pops up. Hordes of limping walking dead creatures lurching towards the nearest fresh brain to feed from.

We live in a constant battle for attention, and there is little doubt, attention seems to follow gregarious activities. It's in our curious nature. If you drive by a place where you see a pack gathering, your attention will focus on the group, wondering what's catching so many people's eyes. It's no different in Social Media.  But, like it happens in the phisical world, once you take a peek on what's attracting so many, it takes the blink of an eye to make you decide whether is worth your time or not. For that very reason, brands should seriously evaluate if that is the type of erratic attention they ougth to be seeking for.

Nowadays, brands seem to be zombies too. They see the group of undeads running towards something and follow the crowd, just like another confused flesh eating monster.  They throw content erratically trying to fish some attention in the turbulent waters of zombieland. Or even worse, they place content like fishermen hook bait, trying to deceive fish with fake flies. That is wrong in so many ways, it scares me.

Some brands still don't get it: Social Media has not changed the field, it has changed the game, and this new game has new rules and new responsibilities. Let me point out 3 basic ones.

1. DON'T FEED THE ZOMBIE  

It may be controversial, but my advise to brands is to stop feeding meaningless content to the "zombie" crowd, regardless how much attention that content seems to be generating. Social Media Users may, sometimes, act and look like zombies, but they're not.

You don't want to be the smoking wrecked car of an accident. Although it certainly catches attention, it's not the one you want. You have to be the event people want to voluntarily attend. 

In Social Media, you have to provide content people take concious action to consume. The one they look forward and seek for.

Yes, funny cat videos get lots of viewers, but nobody wakes up eager to find the new funny cat video online. Plenty, however, look forward to watch a new chapter of their favorite TV Series or a game of their favorite team. Stop trying to earn erratic attention. Make your content worth the user's attention. Make each piece of content count.

2. YES, SIZE MATTERS...BUT...

I know: when talking about audiences, size matters. But you know what? Value matters more. Viral non specific content, like a light bulb to flies, is a magnet to zombies, I admit it. And zombie crowds are eye candy to marketers and brands...but there is little value in such audience.

Don't waste your efforts reaching out to the many, narrow down your content, and reach out for the valued few. 

Remember: people may accidentally bump into broad content that catches their eye briefly, but they voluntarily seek and pay attention to content specific for themselves.  It makes them feel special. And that, my friends, is the kind of attention you should be searching for.

If you sell outdoor trekking apparel online, you may choose between two content marketing strategies: You can take the path of the funny cat video content hoping to become viral and see if you catch the eye of the outdoorsy person by chance;

...or you can make a video listing the 5 best trekking routes of Yosemite's park. That video may not reach an audience as large as the cat's, but it will definitively get to one more valuable to your interests.

If you give value to social media users, you show respect for them. That respect will win you their appreciation.

Don't stop there: take a step further and narrow it down even more: The Best 5 Yosemite's trekking routes FOR FAMILIES. You may feel like you would be losing part of the audience but, in reality, you will be gaining more valuable attention. The trip planning parents with kids will defenitely pay closer attention to that content: it will be percieved as done just for them! Of course, within that video, be sure you subtlely point out the special cooler cantine, the reinforced socks, the portable med kit, the boots, the hat, the new waterproof cammera, and the pocketted vest your online store carries and recommend.  But careful! Don't make it too obvious! That would be creepy, zombielike.

3. IF YOUR BRAND IS NOT SOCIAL, IT IS A ZOMBIE BRAND

Zombies are not social creatures. They are individuals that do not interact with each other.  They gather around prey, yes, but they're not organized nor collaborative.

If you publish content appealing for zombies, chaces are you'll receive zombie behavior in return. And, what's worse, you'll be collaborating with the zombification of society. You may think your content has value because it catches the attention of many, but the truth is you'll be adding noise to a noisy environment. Your content marketing strategies should encourage relationships, interaction, social behavior... And I don't mean just within users, I mean with you, as a brand, taking an active role in the conversation.

This is one of the mistakes I see over and over again: brands creating great content that people enjoy and share, wasting that valuable effort putting themselves outside the conversation. It may've worked in the recent, yet archaic, traditional media world of the past, after all, we did not have the tools to ease up anything other than witness what users did with our content. That is not the game anymore. If you are not active in conversations, your brand is a zombie brand, regardless of how good your content is. Make it social.

THINK LIKE A FACEBOOK NATIVE

Facebook modified its EdgeRank Algorithm... Bad News?

Advertisers don't seem to be particularly happy about the change. Now that they were finally comfortable promoting their stories and cashing out on their hard earned likes, Zuckerberg's company changes the playing field and establishes new rules of engagement... how uncool... Why is Facebook doing this?

Facebook answer to that question is:

Surveys show that on average people prefer links to high quality articles about current events, their favorite sports team or shared interests, to the latest meme. Starting soon, we’ll be doing a better job of distinguishing between a high quality article on a website versus a meme photo hosted somewhere other than Facebook when people click on those stories on mobile. This means that high quality articles you or others read may show up a bit more prominently in your News Feed, and meme photos may show up a bit less prominently.

Apparently, Facebook has been conducting a series of surveys in order to finely tune up the way the algorithm perceives relevance for the audience in your updates. They presented users with different types of content and asked them the following:

• Is this timely and relevant content?
• Is this content from a source you would trust?
• Would you share it with friends or recommend it to others?
• Is the content genuinely interesting to you or is it trying to game News Feed distribution? (e.g., asking for people to like the content)
• Would you call this a low quality post or meme?
• Would you complain about seeing this content in your News Feed?

I have my issues regarding the survey design and results. I specially dislike the way the 5th question was presented. It categorizes the "meme" as low quality leading answers negatively about memes in the mind of the user. Somehow, I don't see a user answering honestly he or she prefers a funny meme over a well crafted article from a news organization, despite the fact that the former seem to be much more popular than  the latter, but I imagine Facebook has taken the shame factor into account interpreting the survey's results.

How is people reacting to the new algorithm?

Comments on FB Official Blog new algorythm's anouncement

Judging from comments in Facebook Official Blog, many suspect it's a matter of Facebook getting greedy. They think Facebook does not want companies to clutter people's newsfeeds with content unless is paid. And according to the comment of Nestor Carrasco, responsible for the fanpage "StarterDaily" the results of organic unpaid updates are dramatic: a decrease from 30% engagement to 2%.  Content that, up until today, made 30% of your fans engage, now gets only 2%. Less people exposed to the content turned into less people engaging.  If Facebook wanted engagement, reducing the number of people the content reaches does not seem logical... or does it?

My Opinion

Although Facebook usage is still growing, Facebook has seen a decrease in this growth. They want it back on high speed and they've figured out that engagement is key to recover velocity.

Engagement will keep users on Facebook, make them use it more, expend more time on it.  Take it from the perspective of a user: if your news feed keeps filling up with non engaging content, you'll look for it somewhere else. An engaging user is a person who goes from mere witness into action mode. From that point of view, brands should prefer this type of user over the other. Facebook wants to be a platform of engaging users because they know they have more value.

Turning non engaging users into engagement junkies is not a task Facebook can do alone. They want us marketers to step inside this "creating Mr Engager" scenario and add our 5 cents to the jar. In the long run, activating engagers is a desireable scenario for us too.

They made some recommendations alongside the anouncement:

• Make your posts timely and relevant
• Build credibility and trust with your audience
• Ask yourself, “Would people share this with their friends or recommend it to others?”
• Think about, “Would my audience want to see this in their News Feeds?”

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR BRANDS? 

1.What you consider important may not be what users find important.

Well, for once, it seems pretty obvious that Facebook does not encourage us to prioritize what we consider important over what users may consider important. That is a key factor to consider when we prepare our content. And don't only consider the essence of the content, notice the relevance of now. What is important for the users currently. Context Matters my friends.

2.Make "Engagement Trigger" Content

Shareability of your content seems to be important. Facebook prefers a message your followers would recommend to others, or even better, one they'd comment about, over content they may like but not feel in need to share. This presents some issues.

Imagine you are responsible for Viagra's Social Media Strategy. There is certainly a community of people interested in your content but... will they share it with others? Seeking shareability is undoubtely a challenge.

3.Make your content Facebook Native. Links may not work as they used to.

AllThingsD interviewed Lars Backstrom, Facebook's NewsFeed Manager, and he had some remarks that particularly caught my attention:

Q. Are you paying attention to the source of the content? Or is it solely the type of content?A. Right now, it’s mostly oriented around the source. As we refine our approaches, we’ll start distinguishing more and more between different types of content. But, for right now, when we think about how we identify “high quality,” it’s mostly at the source level.
Q. So something that comes from publisher X, you might consider high quality, and if it comes from publisher Y, it’s low quality?A. Yes.

It's yet to be determined what a high quality source by Facebook's algorithm standards is. Backstom's answer lead us to think that a vague article about cancer treatment from the New York Times would be considered of higher quality than the testimony of a cancer patient posted on his personal blog... I happen to disagree. But, since it's a factor, it may be better for us to create the content natively within Facebook, so outside links to what could be consider a not so high quality source weight less on the algorithm's criteria.

4.Value Facebook Users' interests as much as Facebook does

All the changes Facebook does to the algorithm have one purpose in mind, and it is not to make you pay to reach their users. Facebook wants to empower their users. They want them better informed, more engaging and active. They cherish the user because he is the main asset of their business. Facebook prioritizes a better user experience over a better marketer's one because users' enjoyment, not advertisers money, is Facebook's source of income. Advertisers will always come second, that is the way it has to be. A Facebook with a UI tailored for advertisers instead of for users is not valuable even for advertisers.

So, Facebook designs its algorithm trying to get into the mind of the Facebook Native. They want to mimic their thoughts, think like one, in order to give him or her what he or she wants. You should do exactly the same.