While it is generally considered better to have more fans than less on Facebook, fan engagement rates usually decline as a Facebook Page adds more fans. There’s a couple things to take from this revelation.
The larger a community is, the more heterogeneous the make-up of its members. People fan brands for different reasons and at different points of entry, wrote Matthew Wurst. Some fans want product information or news, others are waiting for coupons or deals while there may also be a subset of you fan base that joined six months ago as a result of a contest or sweepstakes. Serving up relevant, engaging content to each of these constituencies can be a challenge. It was Abraham Lincoln who said ‘You can please most of the people some of the time, some of the people most of the time, but none of the people all of the time.’
There’s also issues with international fans, and sometimes language and timing can affect people’s engagement. It should be noted that links and pictures tend to lead to more engagement in posts as well.
While we have yet to collectively agree on a universal method for dollar value of a Facebook page, let’s be sure that we’re asking the right questions, added Wurst. There is no Klout score for a Facebook page, no universal scorecard to help understand the weight of qualitative and quantitative interactions. Total fans is not the answer, especially not the mythical ‘One Million Fan’ target. Neither is the sum of likes and comments per post. These only tell part of the story.
Ultimately, having a large number of active fans is always in the goal. Meaning, of course, size still matters, concluded Wurst.
Source: AdWeek
