Social Media Platforms

When beginning the framework for social media platforms a business should evaluate each platform to determine which will be the best for their business because what may be best for one particular business may not be the best for another.  Below is a list of questions to help determine which platform(s) will be the most beneficial to the business. 

1      What is the unique purpose of this platform?

2      Do its attributes relate to my business’s needs?

3      Which target audience does this platform serve?

4      How much time on this network is necessary to have the best impact?

(Powers, K. 2015)

By answering these questions, a business can begin to develop a better understanding of what their social media needs are and which platform(s) will be best for them.

Social media is social- which is probably the most understated and forgotten portion of the equation.  Not unlike good public relations, businesses should use social media as a source of 2 way communication with their audience, regardless of the platform.  This means that in addition to posting articles, videos, and other relevant posts you want your audience to ‘Like’ and ‘Share’, you need to interact with them.  Interact with the audience, listen and respond this is one way that the audience can feel that they are being heard and that their likes and dislikes are being noticed.

Start with a social media platform that connects the business with the right audience, aligns with the business’s needs, and one that can be regularly managed and keep in mind that some businesses need multiple platforms to reach out to their audiences.  (Powers, K. 2015)

The Raleigh Playhouse and Theatre & Sir Walters Tavern (located underneath the theatre) are located in Beckley, WV and as they are two separate businesses that are owned and operated by the same owners, housed in the same building but they ultimately operate as one unit.  In order for their audience to determine which one is having an event it is up to the social media platforms to do their magic and work together to advertise and promote movies, plays, bar events and any other individual or co-events that may be brewing in the tavern below or the theatre up top.  Sir Walters is always open anytime there is an event at the Theatre because one of the advantages of a local movie house is that a guest can take their cocktails or cold beers upstairs while enjoying a movie, musical concert or play.   By having multiple platforms, it gives the audience an opportunity to choose one they connect with the most instead of singling out just one. Facebook is The Raleigh and Sir Walters most effective and responsive form to reach out to audiences and Twitter, even though could be very a very popular outlet has not seen the response that Facebook has.  Instagram is a platform but should be used more because the audience is heavily active on Instagram and would speak volumes to those who are there.  With it also being a small and local business there are many customers that are regulars and would like and/or likes to be noticed and appreciated for their business and this is another way that social media and its many platforms work well when operated properly, effectively and timely.    

Facebook and Twitter have primary purposes and unique attributes that create their platform personalities and connect with their own audiences.  By working together on two separate outlets The Raleigh Playhouse and Sir Walters will be able to reach out to their audiences and be able to communicate with them the way they want to, which it makes liking, sharing, and communicating with them their way effortless and effective. 

Facebook 

Primary Purpose: Builds brand loyalty and reputation. Establishes your business as an authority through interesting content and informational posts.

Unique Attributes:

1. Reaches a variety of segments of an audience with one post
2. Offers opportunity to create ads to drive traffic to your website/blog
3. Encourages dialogue and depth with a customer base
4. Ideal for sharing personal stories, testimonials, detailed information about your business

Twitter

Primary Purpose: Shares breaking news and quick updates, promotes new products, content, or brand contests, collects instant feedback from your audience.

Unique Attributes:

▪     Serves people looking for quick info, company news, and immediate response to questions about products or events

▪     Focuses on dialogue creation and starting conversations with customers

▪     Known for its hashtag (#) communication functionality

▪     Best platform for PR/publicity purposes when traditional media does not respond

(Powers, K. 2015)

I am sure we have all heard the phrase ‘Content is King’ but what about the interaction and conversation?

““Content is just something to talk about” puts human interaction at the centre of the picture. And it explains the rise of social media on the web, the growth of multi-user games on all platforms, and the persistence of people meeting in real life, and not just in “cyberspace”. Content without conversation is just broadcasting, or just advertising. It goes to the listener/reader/viewer/visitor... and stops there. If the sender is lucky, it may lodge as a piece of information in the receiver’s consciousness, and they may act on it someday. If the sender is luckier, or perhaps more engaging, it may be something that the receiver wants to talk about. And then the message gets a whole new burst of energy. The energy behind the message is what gives it meaning, and a life of its own. That happens because we humans like to communicate with each other. Thus the conversation begins.” (Novak, C. 2010)

When social media is one of a businesses main forms of advertising, selling, promoting and knowledge of the business it is very important to take notice and listen to the audience- they can make or break a business and what a business needs to be the best on all platforms so they can connect with all of their audience.  Social media is a popularity contest and it is all about getting the audience to know you and like you and keep coming back for more.  The audience will have a positive response if they listen, respond, inform, update and appreciate the platforms will speak loudly and their audience will listen.

Reference

Powers, K. (2015, August 21). Social Media: Choosing the Best Platform | VerticalResponse. Retrieved October 30, 2016, from http://www.verticalresponse.com/blog/social-media-your-business-choosing-the-best-platform/

Novak, C. (2010, July 10). Why Conversation, not Content, is King | Social Media Today. Retrieved on October 30, 2016. 

Visit Duration

                                                                               

Visit Duration is defined by the length of time in a session. Calculation is typically the timestamp of the last activity in the session minus the time stamp of the first activity of the session. (WVU. 2016)

“As time on site doesn't account for the time spent reading (or ignoring) the last page in the session it can't be said to be an accurate reflection of how visitors actually use the site. So leaving your browser open on a page doesn't cause the average time on site to increase unless you click on another page. In this case each web analytics tool will have its own rules about when to terminate a session and start a new one. In most cases this is based on a gap of 30 minutes or more in the sequence of activities. So if you left your browser open on a page and went to lunch then returned in an hour to click on a link it would be counted as a new session or visit to the site.  Time on site is a good indicative and relative measure. For instance, if you compare the difference in time on site for each campaign that you run, then you can see how each campaign compares in regards to the time on site that results.” 

(Panalysis. n.d.)

If a visitor would go to the website and browse for an item and couldn’t find it right away they would use the search option and if the website did not have what they looking for they would likely leave the website.  One reason for extended times on websites can be a browser being left open and there isn’t a way to see activity just time.  One way to understand how time works on a site is to understand how the metric is calculated. 

A business can measure the average session length by a visitor for example let’s say that 4,000 visitors spent a total of 29 hours on a site in one month the average session length is about 26.1 seconds per visitor.  This may seem like the average visitor doesn’t stay on the site that long but it all depends on the nature of your site and your industry.

Businesses can also use the average session length to evaluate the success of changes it makes to a particular process.  For example, say that a business streamlines the checkout process and if sales remain steady or increase while the average session length decreases that would be a good indication that the transactions are taking place more quickly.

Another good note to keep in mind is that a relatively long average session length could indicate that visitors are engaging with the businesses content and want to stay on it, or it could mean they are struggling to understand the navigation scheme to find meaningful content but generally speaking if a visitor has a long average session length time then it means that a business is successfully engaging with the visitor.  (Haden, J. n.d.)

Reference:

Haden, J. (n.d.). Web Metrics: Average Session Length vs Repeat Visitor ... Retrieved October 24, 2016, from http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/web-metrics-average-session-length-vs-repeat-visitor-ratio.html

Panalysis. (n.d.). How to Interpret Time on Site - Web Analytics Experts. Retrieved October 21, 2016, from http://www.panalysis.com/resources/articles/understanding-time-on-site

WVU:Reed College of Media. (2016).  Lesson 1: Intro to Web Analytics and the Basics of Web Analytics Retrieved October 24, 2016 from https://ecampus.wvu.edu/webapps/blackboard/execute/displayLearningUnit?course_id=_69901_1&content_id=_3398289_1&framesetWrapped=true

Repeat Visitors

There are many elements of web metrics and while each is unique and important all on their own there are some web metrics that may prove to be more useful or more important than others.  Repeat visitors is one metric that promises results and can measure success by the amount of visitors, knowing that visitors are returning is a good indication that something is working and is proving successful on the website.   

Repeat visitors are defined as the number of unique visitors with activity consisting of two or more visits to a site during a reporting period.  Repeat visitors is one way to determine how a business is successfully engaging with visitors.  (WVU. 2016)

For example, say that a business wants to drive more traffic to their website/ blog and the business runs ads to generate that traffic.  New visitors are great but it is even better once a business has repeat visitors because you have a return reader/ visitor that you don’t have to spend extra time or money on, attracting them, they are there for the content and it is sufficient enough for them to return to the website or blog.  Which means that the data is saying the more repeat visitors you get the better your website must be at engaging the visitor as they are coming back for more.  Another example is when looking at an information-based website a business depends on repeat visitors.  “Even if your ultimate goal is to sell a product or service, you're much more likely to sell to visitors who come back time after time. The old cliché, "A person has to see an ad seven times before they'll buy," is actually based on data.” (Haden, J. n.d.)

A business can ultimately get more visitors by investing in more advertising but if they are looking at ways to increase repeat visitors marketing becomes more efficient because a business is getting more out of the advertising revenue.  However, there is also the option to explore lowering the advertising budget, because if a business has been able to convert more repeat visitors, they do not have to spend time on bringing in as many new visitors.

A business can also improve on their repeat visitors by having a better understanding of their target market, making sure the content is efficient, ensure that the website is seamless and visitors can navigate, stream and search effectively.  By keeping content that is new and creative, fresh, relevant and accurate can almost always ensure the success of repeat visitors as it is important to make sure that the information they are receiving is as important as their first visit. 

By analyzing and investing in the knowledge of what drew the visitor in to the website the first time and what brought the visitor back will be a good indication of what a business needs to do to keep up with the return visitors' needs and wants, so that their return visitor ratio continues to increase and the business continues to excel in this metric.  

Reference

Haden, J. (n.d.). Web Metrics: Average Session Length vs Repeat Visitor ... Retrieved October 24, 2016, from http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/web-metrics-average-session-length-vs-repeat-visitor-ratio.html

WVU:Reed College of Media. (2016).  Lesson 1: Intro to Web Analytics and the Basics of Web Analytics Retrieved October 24, 2016 from https://ecampus.wvu.edu/webapps/blackboard/execute/displayLearningUnit?course_id=_69901_1&content_id=_3398289_1&framesetWrapped=true