Have you ever clicked on “I like” on a Facebook page for a sport team or for your favorite store? And then, do you often follow this page writing comments?
I have just read an article that deals with that. In fact, thanks to this “I like” application we could see which pages are the most famous and enjoyed by the internet users.
For example, a lot of Facebook pages are created on soccer teams.
When you look at two of them for a comparison you could think “FC Barcelona has more fans then Manchester United” (10,337,494 VS 9,915,504)… But actually that is not true.
The most important number you have to be aware of is the number of active fans. For those soccer teams FC Barcelona has 142,137 active members and Manchester United has 256,206 active fans. So we realize that in reality Manchester United has more than twice the number of fans of FC Barcelona.
The companies thought the number of “I like” was an important point to consider when you go online but in reality it is not the most important. That is why a New York start-up, FanGager, is uploading each month a ranking of the top 100 most ACTIVE fan pages.
This ranking shows us all kind of pages, not just for the sport ones.
You can for example check the most famous artist. Justin Beiber has 20 million fans VS Lady Gaga has 29 million. But once again the tendency is reversed when you look at the number of active fans: 360,000 for Justin Beiber and 148,000 for Lady Gaga!
So, if you create your own page to go online with your company, check not only the number of fans but also the number of ACTIVE fans, because those ones are the most important for your business.
You make a very interesting point! I have never heard of the term "active fan", but I agree that "active fans" are what businesses should be looking for. Yes it may look good if you have as many fans as Gaga, but if you don't have that many fans active on your page you aren't really accomplishing your goal of utilizing social media.
ReplyDeleteI never really considered a difference between someone who liked a page versus someone who is an active fan. You're right, there is definitely a difference. Personally, I don't really "like" that many pages on Facebook. It's a great resource for local businesses. My best friend manages the Facebook page for the boutique she works at and must update the photo albums with new arrivals and create status updates that invite conversation among consumers. Companies should definitely pay attention to active or engaged consumers rather than just numbers. It's quality over quanity.
ReplyDeleteI do not 'like' very many pages on Facebook, and I am not active or even keep up with the ones I do 'like'. I think the difference between the number of 'likes' a page has and the number of active fans a page has shows the difference between popularity and loyalty. A brand, celebrity, or company that has many 'likes' is more than likely pretty popular. However, the number of active fans a page has measures the amount of loyalty the brand, celebrity, or company has from its fan base. In my opinion, loyalty is more important than popularity, therefore I would pay more attention to the number of active users than the number of 'likes' a page has.
ReplyDeleteI was not aware that Facebook differed from non-active and active fans. This was an insightful post! I actually have a few pages I run, so this is good to know.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting post I did not know that fan pages on soccer where such a big deal. Also it’s cool to see that it also keeps track of current and non-current fans. One of my friends runs a page and I’m sure this info would be helpful to him. Great post.
ReplyDeleteI was not aware of this difference. This makes a huge difference in how you should market to the different types of users. I am guilty of "liking" certain pages, just to help boost their publicity, but not really being a avid user of their page.
ReplyDeleteAt a small giftshop that I work at occasionally, I helped start a Facebook page for the store in order to gain more publicity virtually. This is great insight on how useful the page really is. I will be sending the article included within your blog to the store owner. She will find this very interesting! Thank you!
This is an very interesting post. I always thought their were tons of fans that "like" a certain brand or celebrity on Facebook. But I guess it does make a difference when it comes to actual fans that are active on the Facebook fan page. Businesses should know which consumers are really active because those are the ones that are helping the business become better. When consumers actually leave comments companies can see what consumers like and how to become better.
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