Wave: "tracking how people and brands use social media"

What To Expect When You’re Expecting movie tailors the Facebook environment to engage beyond the core audience

Charles Allison — Thu, 17 May 2012 13:00:30 +0000

The upcoming What To Expect When You’re Expecting movie shows how tailoring social media environments can be a good strategy to engage consumers beyond the core target audience. While the main WhatToExpectMovie Facebook page successfully engages women, men are more likely to engage with the male orientated Dude’s Page.

The What To Expect When You're Expecting movie has set up two separate Facebook pages. The first one called WhatToExpectMovie is the main page which by and large is aimed at women who are the main target audience of the movie. However, a separate page called the Dude’s Group aims to engage men around the movie by giving them a space that is “For Dudes and Dads alike. We hang out. It’s cool”. Facebook likes show that the men’s page is very much in the minority attracting only 1,700 likes so far compared to 146,000 for the main page. However, WaveMetrix wanted to understand more about whether this strategy is successful at engaging the male audience.

WaveMetrix social media monitoring shows that men are much more likely to engage with the Dude’s Page than with the main WhatToExpectMovie Facebook page. Two thirds of consumers commenting on the Dude’s Page are male compared to only 8% on the main page. Men comment mainly positively about the movie and The Dude’s Page prompts a majority of males to say that they will “definitely” or be “likely” to watch the movie.

While consumers who comment on the main WhatToExpectMovie page are almost entirely female, the majority of consumers on the DudesGroup page are male:

Almost all consumers who comment on the main WhatToExpectMovie page are female: Females are highly engaged with the movie’s Facebook page contributing over 146,000 likes. They are “eagerly awaiting” the “funny” movie that will be “great entertainment” as they “loved the book” and are especially looking forward to Jennifer Lopez

The majority of consumers commenting on the DudesGroup page are male: The Dudes group page has only 1,700 likes. However, males are mainly positive about the movie as the “casting and preview are great” and the movie “portrays Dads in a positive light”

The DudesGroup page also engages women: One third of consumers commenting on the page are women who "want to be part" of the DudesGroup because they are "so looking forward to the movie"; Some discuss the male roles in the movie

Both men and women who comment on the Facebook pages indicate that they will definitely or be likely to see the movie:

Women are more likely to say they will “definitely” see the movie: They are “super excited” and “eagerly” awaiting the movie premiere. Fewer men show such excitement for the movie

Both men and women are “likely “ to see the movie: They show enthusiasm about the cast and trailers to the movie and “look forward” to watching a “funny” and “entertaining” movie

Very few consumers indicate that they are unlikely to watch the movie: A few men say movie looks like “garbage” or a “major letdown”

Advocacy Tracker: Nivea users tell others to try the brand’s products for “moisturising” and “softening” results

Leonie Bulman — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:51:50 +0000

Analysis of explicit recommendations for Nivea shows that results are the number one reason why consumers tell others to choose Nivea. The majority of explicit advocacy occurs on the beauty community Makeupalley as Nivea users share their recommendations with potential customers.

Last week’s advocacy article looked at the different ways consumers can recommend a brand and identified three types of advocacy. Explicit advocacy is the most desirable as users are directly telling other consumers to buy a product through a call to action, such as “you should buy this”. Implicit advocacy is the most common form and occurs when consumers compare a product favourably to competitors, saying it’s the “best”. Prompted advocacy is driven by review sites asking consumers if they would recommend the product or not.

Comparing advocacy for skincare brands Neutrogena Naturals, Nivea and Jergens Naturals revealed that Nivea has the highest proportion of explicit recommendations. This week, our article investigates what drives Nivea’s advocates to recommend the brand to others and where explicit advocacy occurs. Analysis shows that “excellent” results are the main reason why Nivea users tell others to try the brand’s products. This suggests that Nivea should put their “soothing”, “moisturising” and “softening” results at the forefront of their brand communication.

Results drive explicit recommendations for Nivea, followed by scent and application:

Results drive 38% of explicit recommendations for Nivea: Consumers advise others to try products such as Nivea Lip Care because they “really moisturise” or Nivea body washes because they “leave you skin feeling like velvet all day”

Scent and application also contribute to a third of explicit advocacy: Consumers using the Sun-Kissed range recommend it to others who are looking for an “easy to apply” tanning lotion with a “fresh and powdery scent”. Identifying the drivers of explicit advocacy for specific products allows Nivea to hone in on what users value most about the product and what will convince others to buy it

The majority of Nivea explicit advocacy occurs on the Makeupalley beauty community:

43% of explicit recommendations for Nivea occur on the Makeupalley site: A community environment where consumers are asking for and sharing advice is by nature a likely source of recommendations. This shows that Makeupalley can be seen as a impactful source of information for potential Nivea customers

If you would like to find out more about our new Advocacy Tracker, you can download a full overview here or read our sample report on why consumers recommend Neutrogena Naturals. Advocacy Tracker helps brands understand why consumers recommend them to others.

HTC successfully place consumer recommendations at the heart of their social media presence

Thomas Hannah — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:15:03 +0000

By allowing detailed reviews to be posted on their Facebook page, HTC successfully generate constructive product discussion, as well as a very high proportion of positive recommendations for their phones.

HTC have recently launched their new range of HTC One smartphones alongside a marketing campaign, which places professional and consumer recommendations at its heart by asking them what they think of the HTC One line-up. Part of this campaign allows consumers to post reviews on the Facebook and main HTC site. WaveMetrix compared reviews of the HTC One S to responses to HTC Facebook post s.

Using human analysis, WaveMetrix is able to show that the reviews tab has created a source of detailed and positive feedback for HTC’s phones. It also leads to a very high proportion of consumers explicitly and implicitly recommending the HTC One S to others, as it is the “best phone they have ever had”, providing a powerful social media tool to encourage others to invest in HTC products.

Reviews tab leads to almost 90% of consumers to positively recommend the HTC One S:

The HTC reviews tab successfully encourages consumers to recommend the HTC One S to others: The majority of consumers recommend the HTC One S to others either explicitly, “I highly recommend this”, or implicitly, the HTC One S “is the best phone I have ever had”

Responses to HTC Facebook posts generate less advocacy: The proportion of consumer advocates is much lower, at under 50%

Consumers are overwhelmingly positive about the HTC One S in reviews:

The overall response on the reviews tab is also more positive than the response to HTC Facebook posts: The reviews tab proves to be a good forum for generating positive product discussion, and, while there is a little negativity, this is inevitable with consumers unlikely to be completely satisfied with every aspect of their smartphone in today’s market

Fosters make a "Good Call" by complementing TV advertising on social media

Charles Allison — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:41:37 +0000

Fosters Good Call Centre shows how brands can successfully use social media to complement an existing marketing campaign.

On May 8 Fosters lager brand launched an online Good Call Centre to complement their Good Call TV advertising campaign, featuring helpful Australians Brad and Dan. The site gives consumers the chance to share their friends’ problems, from a list of options, in order to receive humorous advice from Brad and Dan. The game has been publicised on Fosters’ YouTube channel and Facebook page, with responses to the campaign highly positive.

WaveMetrix social media has previously shown how Stella Artois complemented their TV advertising for Stella Artois Cidre on social media. Like that campaign, responses to the Fosters’ Good Call Centre have been largely positive, with most describing the ad as “excellent”. In addition promotional videos for the campaign have generated more than 7,000 YouTube views and over 650 Facebook likes since they launched on Tuesday. However, although the campaign has been very well received, it has failed to boost positivity around the Fosters product, which receives a mixed response. This suggests that while using social media to complement an existing advertising campaign can drive positivity around the campaign, it may not necessarily change attitudes towards an existing product.

Buzz around the campaign itself is highly positive, but Fosters’ products are less praised:

The “Good Call Centre” campaign is highly praised: Most consumers agree that the ad is “brilliant” and praise Fosters for their “consistently great marketing”

However, buzz around Fosters’ products is less positive: Some say that it is a “shame the adverts are so much better than the beer” though other defend the beer and say the ad has made them “thirsty for Fosters”

Consumers frequently praise the “great” ads, but some call Fosters’ beer “worse than ordinary”

Responses praise the ad, but are less positive about the product: This suggests that brands can effectively complement existing advertising on social media, though the technique may not necessarily change pre-existing opinions about the brand and its products

Advocacy Tracker: identifying the different types of advocacy helps brands understand how consumers recommend them

Leonie Bulman — Tue, 08 May 2012 11:17:50 +0000

Analysing the different ways in which consumers can advise others to choose a brand helps understand how advocacy occurs, empowering brands to drive even more recommendations through focused communication strategies.

In previous articles about advocacy, WaveMetrix have shown how recommendations influence potential customers and how aligning brand communication with advocates can generate more positive brand buzz. This week, we look at the different ways in which consumers can recommend a brand, and how brands can use this information to refine their strategy. There are three distinguishable forms of advocacy:

Understanding how recommendations are broken down into the different types of advocacy is the first step in helping brands align their strategy with the motivations of advocates.

Analysis of positive advocacy around Neutrogena Naturals, Nivea and Jergens Naturals shows how it is broken down according to three types of recommendations:

Implicit advocacy: Over half of Neutrogena Naturals advocacy is driven by implicit recommendations, as consumers compare its products favourably to competitors, subtly suggesting that potential customers should choose them. For example, they say Neutrogena Facial Cleanser is "the best" or "more effective" than other cleansers

Prompted advocacy: Jergens advocacy is driven by prompted recommendations, which occur on review and shopping sites where consumers are asked to say whether or not they would recommend the product to a friend.

Explicit advocacy: Explicit recommendations, which are direct calls to action from consumers telling others that they "should choose" or "try" a particular product, are much a rarer, but also the most powerful form of advocacy. Nivea has double the proportion of explicit advocacy as Jergens and Neutrogena Naturals

O2's launch of "half-baked" O2 Wallet app creates a backlash among Facebook fans

Leonie Bulman — Tue, 08 May 2012 08:17:00 +0000

O2 shows that using an online community to promote the launch of a new product can backfire, providing early adopters with a platform for negative feedback. O2’s Facebook launch of the new O2 Wallet app generates criticism for the app’s lack of NFC support, showing that innovative products should initially be tested in a more controllable environment than online communities.

Previous case studies have shown how brands can mobilise existing fanbases to launch a new product, such as Calvin Klein’s new CK One re-branding. Mobile operator O2 have followed the same approach with the new O2 Wallet app, allowing users to perform transactions using their mobile phone. With O2 Wallet, O2 is joining the UK's mobile payment services, including the ability to send and receive money via SMS or using your phone as a contactless payment card.

WaveMetrix analysis shows that launching the app on O2’s Facebook page prompts negative feedback from early adopters who raise privacy and fraud concerns. They also complain that the app does not support near-field communication, which is necessary for in-store payments. This suggests that brands would benefit from launching highly innovative products within more controlled communities before undertaking a widespread launch among their social media fanbase.

O2 Wallet's launch on Facebook causes negativity around both the app and the O2 brand:

89% of Facebook comments about O2 Wallet are negative: O2 Wallet announcement is met with criticism on the brand's Facebook page, with users saying they are "hugely disappointed" by the lack of NFC support, which makes the app "pointless". Others complain that O2 has not addressed security concerns which come with mobile payments and that O2 Wallet "should have been thoroughly tested" before release

Negative perceptions of O2 Wallet reflect badly on the O2 brand: Some O2 users take the opportunity to criticise the brand's services, including the price of data plans or signal coverage, revealing the drawbacks of launching an innovative product within social media communities

NBC gets viewers Ready For Love with early social media campaign

Charles Allison — Thu, 03 May 2012 11:37:04 +0000

NBC’s Ready For Love campaign suggests that brands can benefit from building social media buzz even when a product is in its infancy.

In early April NBC launched a Facebook page for upcoming dating show Ready For Love, even though the series is not set to debut until winter 2012. The page features photos and videos of the show’s male contestants and promotional clips featuring the show’s hosts Giuliana and Bill Rancic and executive producer Eva Longoria. In addition, the page gives female fans the chance to apply to be on the show. As of May 3 the page has generated 2,256 likes.

WaveMetrix analysis suggests that the page has been successful in building early excitement around the show. Almost all of the responses on the page are positive, while over 8% express definite intent to view the show, even at this early stage in the release cycle. In addition, by making the show’s contestants and cast members a key part of the page’s content, NBC has also built positivity around the show’s assets, all of which are praised. The campaign’s promising start suggests that brands can successfully build positive engagement around a product, even if it is a long way from release.

Responses on the page show strong intent to view, even at this early stage:

Over 95% of responses express positive intent to view Ready For Love: Most express “interest” in the show, which some call “a cool concept”, while 8% say they will definitely view the show and already “can’t wait” for its release

Intent is driven by "sweet" male contestants: Some fans say they "wish they could meet the guys in person" and that they "get excited about the show everytime they see" images featuring the men

All aspects of the show are praised in early buzz:

Ready For Love’s Facebook page builds positivity around the show’s assets: Most buzz is general, with consumers calling the show “cool” and “great”, but a significant amount focuses on the show’s “hot” male contestants, who give some "new faith" that there are "still good men out there" and "wonderful" hosts Giuliana and Bill Rancic, who some call "the perfect couple"

Advocacy Tracker: aligning brand communication with advocates can help drive more positive recommendations

Leonie Bulman — Tue, 01 May 2012 12:29:09 +0000

Understanding advocacy can help brands develop messaging which is aligned with the reasons why consumers recommend them to others. Aligning brand messaging in this way can in turn drive more positive advocacy and help mitigate detraction.

Last week, WaveMetrix revealed how recommendations influence potential customers, showing how important it is to understand advocates. If advocates are impacting the purchase decisions of consumers, what are they saying which convinces them to buy your products, and how can brands align their own messaging with that of advocates? This week's case study shows how brands whose messaging is in tune with advocates receive more positive advocacy than brands where there is a discrepancy between the two.

Comparing advocacy for personal care brands Neutrogena Naturals, Nivea and Jergens Naturals reveals that results are the number one driver of recommendations for all three brands. However, only Neutrogena’s brand communication is in line with advocacy and centres on results. In contrast, brand messaging for Nivea and Jergens Naturals focuses on ingredients, scent and texture as well as results. Analysis shows that Neutrogena's aligned approach generates more results-based advocacy and less detraction than Nivea and Jergens. Understanding advocates and the reasons why they recommend for and against their brand would aid Nivea and Jergens in developing a better aligned strategy.

Results drive recommendations for all three brands, but also negative advocacy for Nivea and Jergens:

Neutrogena Naturals has the highest proportion of positive advocacy driven by results: Positive recommendations based on results account for 42% of Neutrogena advocacy, a higher proportion than both Nivea and Jergens. This suggests that Neutrogena's aligned brand messaging, with a strong focus on results, helps generate more recommendations around the "moisturised", "clean" and "soft" skin achieved by its users

Only 4% of results-based advocacy is negative for Neutrogena: This is a much lower proportion than the 31% for Nivea or the 23% for Jergens Naturals. This suggests that Nivea and Jergens have not lined up their brand communication in a way that resonates with their brand advocates

Only Neutrogena Naturals truly focuses on results in its brand messaging:

Neutrogena Naturals focus much more strongly on results in their brand messaging: Whilst 72% of Neutrogena's messaging is results-focused, Jergens' and Nivea's strategies are much more scattered, with their communications also focusing on ingredients, scent and quality. This suggests that the lack of alignment between brand communication and advocates' concerns can cause negativity in social media

Limited edition offers grow Facebook communities, but they must be accessible to target audience

Andy Pilkington — Tue, 01 May 2012 10:18:45 +0000

Limited edition and exclusive offers to an online community can be an effective method for growth, but brands must ensure the offers are accessible to community members or risk a backlash.

Although having a large online community is by no means a guarantee of a brand’s social success, growing an online following remains a key challenge for marketers. Although most communities see some level of organic day-to-day growth, many brands have launched specific incentives for joining a community. Broadly speaking, these incentives come in one of three guises:

Giveaways: a brand gives free samples or products to consumers who join the community
Philanthropy: a brand pledges to donate a sum of money to a particular charity for each new community member
Exclusive offers: a brand offers exclusive content or limited edition products and promotes them via the community

WaveMetrix examined the third approach, looking at brands that offer or promote limited edition and exclusive products to their followers. Analysis reveals that the method can drive a significant increase in the rate a community grows, with growth rates doubling for Nespresso during these periods. However, further comparison with other case studies shows that the strategy is not guaranteed to succeed if the offer appears inaccessible for community members. This suggests that while limited editions may well work to attract new fans, brands need to carefully consider how easily an offer is accessible to their audience before embarking on such a strategy.

During periods where Nespresso promote new limited edition flavours via their Facebook community, growth rates increase:

By using the community to promote limited edition new flavours, Nespresso attract more fans: During periods of promotion, the growth rate for the community more than doubles, showing limited editions can be an effective way to attract new fans

However, whilst limited editions may attract new consumers, they are not guaranteed to succeed:

Nike's "Back to the Future" limited edition range was received with negativity: Because the limited edition products were not available to all the community and were priced at thousands of dollars, the promotion left many fans feeling disenfranchised

In contrast, the Heinz exclusive promotion of Balsamic Ketchup was received well by consumers: Despite technical glitches with the Facebook store, consumers responded well to the concept

The North Face show how linking social platforms together can help build a larger online community

Leonie Bulman — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:29:10 +0000

Outdoor gear retailer The North Face have built a much larger online community than competitor Helly Hansen, with 60 times more Facebook likes and 20 times more Twitter followers. The North Face achieved this in part by linking their Facebook and Twitter handles back to each other.

Both The North Face and Helly Hansen share similar content on their Facebook and Twitter pages. On Facebook, they both share pictures of events and athletes they sponsor, ask fans about their sporting achievements and post about new products. On Twitter, they both tweet about events or competitions, share relevant news and respond to fans’ questions about products. However, despite a seemingly similar approach, The North Face have achieved a Facebook community 60 times bigger than Helly Hansen’s and a Twitter community 20 times that of Helly Hansen’s?

Closer analysis reveals that one possible reason for The North Face's bigger community is their their Twitter and Facebook handles, a strategy which has shown to be successful in a previous case study on The Hunger Games movie. When The North Face post on Twitter, they include links to pictures on Facebook. Likewise, their Facebook posts often contain Twitter hashtags or usernames. Analysis of recent posts shows that 40% of North Face's tweets link back to Facebook, whilst only 20% of Helly Hansen's use this strategy. Links in the other direction from Facebook to Twitter are completely absent from Helly Hansen's Facebook posts. This suggests that The North Face's stronger interlinking of both platforms has helped to achieved a larger online community than their competitors, as fans are driven from platform to another.

The North Face have a much larger Facebook and Twitter community than Helly Hansen:

The North Face have achieved a much larger community on both Facebook and Twitter: Despite a similar approach in terms of the content posted, The North Face have attracted a Facebook community 60 times larger and a Twitter follower base 20 times larger. This stronger community could partly be due to The North Face's stronger linking between both platforms

A high proportion of posts from The North Face link Twitter and Facebook:

40% of North Face posts on Twitter link to Facebook: The North Face tweets often include links to pictures or other relevant content on Facebook. The North Face use this strategy twice as often as Helly Hansen whose tweets are only linked with Facebook 20% of the time

The North Face links their Facebook page to Twitter 15% of the time, whilst Helly Hansen don't do this at all: Links from Facebook to Twitter are less frequent, but 15% of North Face Facebook posts include Twitter hashtags or usernames, but this approach is not used by Helly Hansen