Hasta La Creative!

The latest news from Facebook is grim for brands and their online communities. Organic reach is down by at least 49% and is continuing to decrease. That community of fans you’ve worked so hard to build, that you thought you owned and were able to reach through earned media, is now only reachable through advertising. And those other branded communities on channels like YouTube, Twitter and Instagram? They’re likely to go the same way. The reality is, they’re not your brand’s communities. Those groups, along with their data, behavior and preferences, belong to the social networks.

And yet, those fans who say they love you are powerhouses, driving revenue through purchase and influence. A word-of-mouth recommendation is behind 20% to 50% of purchases, and customers referred by loyal customers have a 37% higher retention rate.

The promise of Facebook and other social networks was an army of advocates. Now, only a small portion of a brand’s social following, roughly 5% in Facebook, actually drives word-of-mouth results. Often, brands have no idea who these individuals are, nor do they have an efficient way to activate them. And, with increasing social fragmentation, marketers have to dedicate more and more resources to develop content for each social channel so it resonates and adheres to the unwritten rules of conduct for that specific network. And who knows what social network will emerge in the future?

Continue reading at AdAge.com