Case Study- Building Social Relationships

The following document outlines an experiment I have conducted in the social space. It was a very small one, with the purpose of measuring the effects of a social announcement on a new website (No traffic). On May 5, 2009 I completed and passed my GAIQ (Google Analytics Individual Qualification) exam. Once you pass the exam you are given a certificate of accomplishment from Google, which you can see by clicking the link above. I posted this certificate on Facebook & Twitter. Below is my account of the effect using Google Analytics to measure website traffic.

Network: Facebook & Twitter

Purpose: Effects of a Social announcement on website traffic

Date: May 5, 2009

What is it that you want people to know about you? Is that the key to finding interested people that form into Building Social Relationshipsmeaningful relationships online? When you begin to make your network connections they wonder who you really are as your relationship grows. They will check out your profile to find the answers they are looking for. So, ask yourself before you join a network “who are you?” Is your persona reflected in the public profile people can see or do you even want people to know the real you? It should be noted these 2 questions strongly influence who you attract.

Pre Engagement General Observations

  1. Who is talking about your brand right now?
  2. What kind of help can (do) you provide?
  3. How are people you find interesting interacting with others?

Buy-Me Strategy

In an earlier experiment we engaged a few smaller networks with aggressive sales messages. Although the website did receive a few visits, results were minimal. It was discovered a social network is not a place where you scream buy me. Instead, help people understand what you do and how it can help them through natural conversation. On your profile you can leave a link to your blog or site, providing other users access to your information. Curiosity is part of human nature and I can assure you social networks are populated with real humans. I have been socially connecting online with people for a while now. In my business world I have always networked with like minded people. Whether it’s online or offline, your connections to other people can have a profound effect on the success of your business.

Case Study- A Facebook Friend Story

At Facebook I have a growing list of network connections who all share in engaging conversation. This study is about a new friend I actually met in at Linkedin. Once we connected she invite me to connect at Facebook. When we connected on Facebook, I noticed that she had a large group of followers as well. Let me give you an example of a recent conversation I had. Because of privacy I will not show names in the screen captures but you will get the general idea.

  1. On May 5, 2009 I took My Google Analytics Individual test. I passed the test and wanted to share the news with my Facebook friends.
  2. On Facebook I have many friends that I have connected with through Google Analytics Facebook Groups. Also many of my longer term friends are involved in related businesses.  I thought it would be interesting to post an image of the   Google Analytics Individual Test Authentic Certificate.
  3. Several friends viewed my image and left me with a pat on the back. Something I just love and am sure you do to.
  4. A couple of my friends were really impressed and decided to REPOST my accomplishment to their friends. Example 1What happened here was my friend told her 357 friends “Kudos to Robert Kennedy for passing his Google Analytics Certification exam. I just started studying for this myself – looking forward to getting it done!” She also decided to take the test herself and who knows how many of her friends were influenced.

    Example 2

  5. Later on the same day I posted 2 links to research articles I wrote on Google SEO. Another friend decided that she liked what I wrote and reposted it to her 236 friends.

What Was the Effect?

The first part of this I want you to understand is I did not post this image to generate business. I shared it as an accomplishment I was proud of with my network of friends. They responded with congrats and at least one of them is also taking the Google Analytics Individual Qualification exam to get qualified as well. When you are analytics qualified it makes you worth more then you were yesterday in Google web analytics.

Last week I took 3 phone calls from people on Facebook that found me through my website. My website contains the phone number on one page only so these people were really looking to talk with me. One (maybe 2) of them choose to engage my services for an optimized Google Analytics set up.

  • In this one small example my name is now in front of 236 + 357= 593 new people plus all those friends of friends now associate my brand with my name. They saw my name and associated it with Analytics installation Training and Support, which is one of my business offerings.
  • 3 people reached out to me and allowed me an opportunity to engage in business
  • My friends think I am smart and trustworthy:-)

What Did My Friends Get?

  • Living proof that the Google Analytics Individual Qualification exam is doable. Many of my friends are involved in internet marketing, a field where Google Analytics is a treasured tool.
  • The ability to chat about it freely on my wall. Since I don’t mind helping people get started it was a pleasure to answers all those questions I was asked.
  • Verifiable information to share with their friends and act on.

Unintended ConsequencesUnintended Consequences

In the above example these are unintended consequences. They are not necessarily unpredictable consequences. The truth is, opposite results can occur if your information usefulness has little to no value for the reader. It can be as simple as a flash game link, sharing your current activity, e.g. “cooking chocolate chip cookies”, or making someone smile. Social interactions are a two way street. The best way to meet people in any social network is listening. The user-centered internet speaks loud and clear when you can hear the message. Feedback from people is amazingly insightful when you hear the message.

Add Your Blog To Facebook

Facebook also allows you to share your information with your network of friends. You can create an attractive Facebook page, follow other bloggers, comment on other blogs, and expand your network even more. A couple weeks ago I added my website promotion blog to Facebook which is updated daily with the latest news. This is done through an RSS feed from a social network.

Social Networking is Rocking and Rolling Social Networking

Facebook is now a generational habit for the baby boomers. It is the fastest-growing activity in the social space right now. “Active users doubling every 6 months”

The growth of social networking is not going to slow down anytime soon. With additional networks like LinkedIn business people can also network to find employees or find work. Prominent networks such as Facebook, Flickr, Orkut, and HI5 are all growing in different ways according to our friends over at webanalyticsworld

Ways to Pursue More Meaningful Relationships in Social Networks

  1. Read User profiles.
  2. Find applicable social networking sites.
  3. Learn what interactions users have in each network?

Offer straight up advice with a helping hand when communicating. If you create a post, respond to a question or comment you own it.

Summary

Google Analytics Recent SnapShot

Below is a screen capture of the traffic streams visiting my website. I can confidently say more then 50% of my traffic comes from social connections in this small test. The Google Analytics tracking system also sends traffic it cannot confirm into direct traffic so I am sure the numbers are even more favorable than the data shows. I know for sure a percentage of direct visits are from social sources by the landing pages people are going to, they are only accessible through social links. This is a new website so I can see I need to improve my bounce rate drastically. Deep analysis is not the purpose of this exercise, it is to discover the effect of building social relationships. Each one of the highlighted traffic sources below I am active in social communities with.

Examples of My Networks

  1. Linkedin
  2. Twitter
  3. Facebook
  4. Yahoo! Answers

Google Analytics Recent SnapShot

Currently Facebook is the fastest growing social network. The Boomers are realizing they need the interaction Twittersocializing brings. According to comScore over 30 billion page views in February occurred as a direct result of users Bookmarking content and upcoming events. While Facebook, Flickr, Orkut, and HI5 seem to be the fastest growing social networking sites we have not even talked about Twitter. It is quickly becoming the story of the year with a growing user community that is interactive, talented, brilliant, creative, and famous. My next post will be on my experiences with Twitter.

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