Study: Facebook Posts Via Hootsuite, Seesmic Decrease Fan Engagement 80%
Though numerous third party tools like Hootsuite exist to post to social networks and make marketing one's music a bit easier, a new study by EdgeRank Checker supports the theory that Facebook is consistently downgrading the EdgeRank of wall posts that arrive via such tools. According to the study, engagement per fan decreases by around 80%.
EdgeRank Checker is focused on increasing one's Facebook EdgeRank that affects the likelihood of posts to one's fan page appearing in fan's Top News newsfeeds which is the strongest way to reach fans on Facebook. Last week they released their findings on the differences in fan interaction with fan page posts when using third party posting tools such as Seesmic and HootSuite versus directly posting on Facebook or using official mobile apps.
click on image to enlarge
What EdgeRank Checker found is that posting via third party tools resulted in 80% less fan engagement, i.e. likes and comments, than posting directly to Facebook or using an official Facebook app for mobile devices. They believe the most likely reason is that Facebook is consistently downgrading the EdgeRank or "weight" of posts via third party tools.
Other possibilities for the lack of engagement include Facebook combining updates from the same source so that only one is initially viewed in fan's newsfeeds, that scheduled FB posts aren't timely, that automated content is sterile and that content posted via such tools is not optimized for Facebook.
The Answer
While experts and enthusiasts are arguing the finer points in the comments on the above linked post, the clearest takeaway from this study is that posting manually or via official FB apps on your fan page dramatically increases the likelihood that fans will interact with your fan page posts.
For additional ways to increase EdgeRank and fan engagement see:
- 10 Tips To Get Your Music News & Content Into Facebook's Top News Feed
- Quick Guide To Timing Twitter & Facebook Posts
Hypebot contributor Clyde Smith is a freelance writer and blogger. He is currently relaunching Flux Research to pursue his long-standing obsession with web business models. To suggest music services and related topics for review at Hypebot, please contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.
