Emvies 2012: Giving a new definition to Facebook Likes

Maxus developed a new currency on Facebook, giving a new definition to Likes, which over a period of time had become redundant.

Drawing an analogy with the iconic 90's show, Friends, Maxus, in a case study presentation titled 'New Definition of Facebook Likes' in the Best Media Research category at the Emvies 2012, elaborated on how it addressed the pressing need for a unified metric to measure the social media interaction on Facebook that will aid brands to use the platform more effectively.

According to the research conducted by the agency, the brands need to continuously engage and involve consumers on Facebook to ensure the expected results. It highlighted that the brands must keep the fan engaged on the brand page. Brands across categories have the tendency to run behind fan count and ignore the critical step of engagement that will drive their brand message. In a scenario where Facebook has emerged as a critical touch point for brands, if not Likes, what will the marketers use to quantify their success on the platform?

In the absence of a measurement unit, the need of the hour was a unified currency that could throw light on how fans behave and engage with brands on Facebook. The agency conducted extensive research in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, where it took a deeper look into the content and components of engagement in the Facebook world to create a strategic framework that allowed brands to leverage the power of social media.

The agency outlined three core objectives for the same. The first objective was to quantify engagement on the Facebook Fan Page through a metric called Engagement Index. The second objective was to understand the component that drives this engagement. The third objective was to identify the drivers of the engagement at a category and brand level.

The result of this research was a proprietary tool developed in association with Nielsen, after conducting interviews with over 1,000 fans across Fan Pages of eight brands in the youth and telecom category.

The research methodology was planned across three stages. In the first stage, the engagement was quantified by creating an engagement index, a composite score of three factors - time taken to create fans on Facebook page, fans' willingness to spend time on page and willingness to recommend the page.

In stage two of the research, the agency conducted factor analysis on 25 predetermined statements using principle component analysis. Using the analysis, Maxus found out eight core factors that drive Facebook fan engagement. These were free stuff and deals; perception of hipness; liking of updates; more information about brand; interaction with brand; interaction with like-minded people; self-association towards the brand and contests. In stage three, the agency found out what drives the engagement at a category and brand level using vector analysis.

At the end of this study, Maxus found out that the number of Facebook Likes is not equal to higher engagements, though 90 per cent of the respondents felt that it is the right medium to reach out to and interact with consumers.

According to the agency, the study helped to provide a framework by giving the comparative analysis of the category drivers versus brand drivers, giving marketers a clear idea on the areas to be focused on so as to ensure greater engagement and optimum use of social media. The research found that one solution will not help any brand make a success story on a platform such as Facebook. It found that engagement drivers differ not only from category to category, but also among different brands from the same category.