Inside Facebook
Inside Facebook |
- Facebook for Android 1.6.1 Lets You Post to, Search For, and Tag Pages
- Platform Update: Graph API Management of Pages, Send Button Referral Parameter
- Facebook Opens Viral Growth Channel for Pages, Delivering Invites to Like as Notifications
- Featured Facebook Campaigns: HP, Stella Artois, Stoli Vodka, Lady Gaga, Monster Galaxy and More
- 60 Photos, Mobile, Pages, MyCalendar and Bandsintown on This Week’s Top 20 Facebook Apps by MAU
| Facebook for Android 1.6.1 Lets You Post to, Search For, and Tag Pages Posted: 18 Jul 2011 04:37 PM PDT Facebook recently updated its Android native mobile app, adding several ways to interact with Pages in version 1.6.1. Users can now see a list of Pages they’re an administrator of, and post updates as these Pages, allowing the app to be used as a Page management tool. All users can now see a list of Pages they Like, search for Pages, and tag Pages in their status updates. With its 32 million daily active users, these additional capabilities should assist with Page growth since it will be easier for users to find, share, and engage with Pages.
Facebook for Android has been experiencing strong and steady growth recently, gaining 3.6 million DAU this month. For comparison, in the same time span Facebook for iPhone has seen erratic growth and only gained 1.2 million DAU despite being more popular with a total DAU of 45.8 million.
The last update, Facebook for Android 1.6, allowed users to upload videos and browse Page walls. Before then, the only way users could interact with Pages was by seeing their updates in the news feed. This meant the app lagged significantly behind the Facebook for iPhone app in terms of Page management capabilities. Android users would have to visit m.facebook.com to view Pages they Liked, search for Pages, or post to them. Now when users click the search icon on the app’s home screen, they’ll see a tab for Pages. When tapped, it displays a list of Pages the user is an admin of, followed by a list of their Likes. User can click through to one of the Pages they admin and post as that Page from the wall. This will allow admins on the move, such as managers of touring musicians, to easily publish status updates, photos, and videos to their fans.
When users are composing status updates, they can use the @symbol to tag any Page. This allows users to share Pages with friends, and could lead to a very small increase in the rate at which Pages acquire new Likes. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Platform Update: Graph API Management of Pages, Send Button Referral Parameter Posted: 18 Jul 2011 02:08 PM PDT In the latest Platform Updates to the Facebook Developer Blog, the company announced the ability to manage Pages, change their wall settings, and install tab applications via the Graph API. This should make it easier for developers who manage multiple Pages. Facebook added a referral attribute to the Send button for tracking which Send Button and what type of Send button story led a user to click back to a developer’s site. Developers can now use the Graph API Explorer with test accounts, and the set of payment methods displayed when users buy Facebook Credits is now optimized by country. In the previous Platform Update, Facebook announced that developers can now name their test users, and can use the App ID where they previously used their API key.
To further this effort, Facebook now allows Page admins to retrieve Page access tokens through the Graph API using the call: https://graph.facebook.com/PAGE_ID ?fields=access_token&access_token=ACCESS_TOKEN This token can then be used to make changes to the Page. Wall settings such as whether users are allowed to post can be pulled using the /settings connections. These settings can be changed via an HTTP POST to Developers can also “read, install and manage app tabs for a Page via the /tabs connection.” This allows them to check which tabs are currently installed and add new ones. For example, a developer could simultaneously install a promotional app across all the local branch Pages of a single business for a coordinated marketing push. Details for managing Pages via the Graph API can be found in the Page object documentation. Facebook launched the Send button in April to facilitate sharing of content around the web with specific friends rather one’s entire network through the Like button. In May it added Send button metrics to Domain Insights, as well as the Graph API and FQL Insights table. Now, a referral parameter can be included in implementations of the Send button so developers can be sure which Send button is generating emails, Group posts, and Facebook messages that are leading to referral clicks. Developers can also see which of these three Send types led to the click. The following is an example of an added referral parameter that can be embedded along with a Send button: <html><body> <div id="fb-root"></div> <script src="http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"></script> <fb:send href="YOUR_SITE_URL"></fb:send> </body></html> Clicks to your website will generate a referrer URL containing the ref value and parameter, for example: http://www.yoursite.com/home?fb_ref=top_left&fb_source=message
This data will help developers optimize the placement and style of their Send buttons, and choose on which web pages to include the social plugin. It will also help developers determine what Send button message type is being used most often. For instance, if they see that their content is frequently being sent to Facebook Groups, they might include messaging on their site encouraging users to share with their Groups. A few weeks ago, Facebook launched the Graph API Explorer to allow new developers to get acquainted with the API, and experienced developers to test their apps. Now developers can log in to the console as a test account. The permits them to test installing apps, posting content, and taking other actions that generate news feed stories without worrying about clogging the news feeds of friends with tests. Facebook said it received a high volume of requests for this capability.
When developers create their test accounts, they can now name them to more easily keep track of them and to produce tests that look more authentic than tests using unnatural names. The name of a test account will in part determine what email address it is assigned. Facebook has also changed how payment options for Facebook Credits are displayed. Now, methods will be ordered depending on which is most commonly used in a user’s country. This way, if a mobile payments are more prevalent than credit cards payments, the mobile payment option will appear higher in the list. This should increase the likelihood that users will complete Credits purchase transactions, thereby increasing the number of users with Credits balances and the amount of Credits they have. This should make it easier for apps to turn users into paying customers. Last, Facebook is phasing out usage of the API key in app settings to remove redundancy in the developer app. Developers can now use their App ID wherever they previously used their API key. This means there’ll be one less code that developers will need to keep accessible. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Facebook Opens Viral Growth Channel for Pages, Delivering Invites to Like as Notifications Posted: 18 Jul 2011 11:19 AM PDT Facebook now allows Page administrators to send their friends invites to Like their Page that appear as notifications, opening a new viral channel that could assist Page growth. Because these invites generate Facebook and email notifications, they are much more noticeable and could have a higher conversion rate than the Page suggestions admins could previously send that appeared in the “Recommended Pages” sidebar module that would occasionally appear. However, accepting an invite requires users to click through to a Page. Admins of new Pages looking to establish an initial fan base should use the new “Invite Friends” link that appears on their Page. Adding a large number of admins that can all use the feature on their own friends could be an effective growth strategy for smaller Pages.
Before we look at specific ways that admins might use this feature, here’s a quick review of how the feature has changed over the years. In 2009, both admins and users could send Page suggestions that appeared in the Requests panel on the home page. In January 2011, Facebook stopped allowing users to send Page suggestions, restricting a core viral growth channel for Pages. Admins could still send suggestions, but users had to send wall posts or messages that required more effort.
By April, Facebook had phased out the Requests panel completely, and started delivering admin-sent Page invites indirectly by occasionally surfacing them in a Recommended Pages sidebar module that would appear in the right sidebar of the site as recipients moved around the site. Users could also answer and manage their Page invites in the rarely visited Page discovery browser. Using Invites for Page GrowthNow Facebook has switched back to direct delivery of Page invites. Admins now see an “Invite Friends” link in the right-hand admin panel when viewing their own Page. When clicked, admins see a multi-friend selector that allows them to search for friends or sort them by Recent Interactions, network, Group, or friend list. Admins can then select friends and send a batch of invites. There doesn’t appear to be a limit to how many invites can be sent at once. If there is a limit, it is higher than 20, which was once the simultaneous application invite cap. Selected friends receive these invites as notifications on Facebook that display the name and photo of the friend who sent the invite. Users also receive email notifications of invites if their account notifications settings permit. Users aren’t presented an option to instantly Like the Page, but instead must click through to the Page where they can decide whether to Like it. This conversion process takes more effort on the part of the recipient, which might offset the boost to conversion offered by the higher visibility of direct invites.
Our initial test of the invite system quickly showed a high conversion rate. This is likely because users see the invites as soon as they log on, and the inclusion of the sender’s photo makes the recipient feel that they’ve received a trusted recommendation. There’s a chance that if admin-sent Page invites delivered through notifications show a high conversion rate but aren’t abused, Facebook could open the viral channel to use by non-admins. However, Facebook has to balance free, viral fan acquisition channels with its paid Page advertising services so that Page owners feel like they’re getting a high return on their Facebook marketing investment. Too much virality pollutes the user experience, but too little can make marketing on the site seem to expensive. By providing this enhanced viral channel for invites that can help new Pages establish a fan base for free, Facebook can hook admins on using the site for their business. It can then look to sell admins advertising to continue growing their Page once they’ve exhausted the potential for securing Likes from their own friend network. [Thanks to Eti Suruzon for the tip] More strategies for gaining fans can be found in the Facebook Marketing Bible, Inside Network’s comprehensive guide to marketing on Facebook. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Featured Facebook Campaigns: HP, Stella Artois, Stoli Vodka, Lady Gaga, Monster Galaxy and More Posted: 18 Jul 2011 09:54 AM PDT Contests, giveaways and free downloads were what the brands on our weekly roundup of Facebook campaigns used to grow their Pages and gain network exposure this week. We've excerpted two of the campaigns below. You can see the full week's coverage in the Facebook Marketing Bible, which also includes detailed breakdowns of dozens of other featured campaigns by top-performing brands and businesses on Facebook.
HP Envy's Edge of Glory ContestGoal: Page Growth, Brand Loyalty, Network Exposure Core Mechanic: A photo and video contest wherein users share content that shows how they live on the "Edge of Glory," like the Lady Gaga single. Method: After uploading their photo or video, users can publish this fact to the stream. The more votes they get, the closer they are to winning prizes such as headphones, gift cards, Lady Gaga merchandise, a computer and more. And what's different about this contest is the average voter also has a chance to win outside of being a grand prize winner. Providing prizes for voters and entrants encourages participation across the board, and will likely make it easier for entrants to rally their friends to vote, greatly expanding the contest’s reach as users are prompted to share on FB and Twitter whenever they vote. Impact: The voting prompt is somewhat vague, which in a way allows more people to participate, but can also discourage entries. Thus far the Page has 596,300 Likes and about 230 entries, so it seems to be pretty successful nonetheless.
Stella Artois' DVD GiveawayGoal: Page Growth, Brand Loyalty, Network Exposure, Product Purchase, Engagement Core Mechanic: A Like-gated trivia contest. Method: After a user Likes the Page, they are prompted to answer a question related to a film from a DVD being given away by Stella Artois on the Page. After a user answers the question, they are prompted to provide both their phone number and email address in order to enter to win a chance to win either one free DVD or a collection of 40. Then users have the chance to share the contest to the stream. Impact: This contest is much easier to enter than others because all a user has to do is enter their email and phone number, plus, they're doing it in the context of answering a fun movie trivia question about a movie they presumably like. The Page currently has more than 25,700 Likes and will probably continue to grow through the life of the contest. How are top brands in the industry designing their Facebook marketing campaigns? See the Facebook Marketing Bible for detailed breakdowns of dozens of Featured Campaigns by top-performing brands and businesses on Facebook. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 60 Photos, Mobile, Pages, MyCalendar and Bandsintown on This Week’s Top 20 Facebook Apps by MAU Posted: 18 Jul 2011 08:04 AM PDT
Other notable apps included Yahoo, Bandsintown, and a birthday calendar. The titles on our list gained the most MAU of any apps, growing from between 338,300 and 3.3 million MAU, based on AppData, our data tracking service covering traffic growth for apps on Facebook. Top Gainers This Week
60photos topped our list this week with more than 3.3 million MAU; the app shows users the photos of their Facebook friends, giving them an opportunity to rate them, then generating feed stories with favorable ratings.
Other apps bringing in a user's friends this week included Socialbox, which is a downloadable desktop chat app that grew by 640,400 MAU. 21 questions grew by 469,800 MAU and asks users questions about their friends, publishing to that particular friend's Wall with an answer. Friend Buzz grew by 399,900 MAU and asks users silly and raunchy questions about their friends, publishing answers to the stream; this app grew particularly in the United States, the Philippines and India. Mobile apps included Snaptu's Facebook for Every Phone with 1.9 million MAU and Samsung Mobile which grew by about 436,000 MAU. Then there were Page tab apps on the list. Static HTML: iframe tabs with 1.8 million MAU, the Turkish Sayfalar için Hoşgeldiniz Sekmesi – Davet ve Beğen butonlu! with 644,500 MAU, Static Iframe Tab with about 574,000 MAU and Welcome tab app for Pages with about 479,000 MAU.
MyCalendar is an app that asks users to send friends requests to add their birthdays to this calendar, helping the app to grow, then asking for a user's email, helping the app to retain users; the app added more than 1 million MAU. Yahoo's app grew by 759,200 MAU, Turkish video app Video Yeri grew by 706,000 MAU and BandPage by RootMusic competitor Bandsintown grew by 338,300 MAU. All data in this post comes from our traffic tracking service, AppData. Stay tuned for our look at the top weekly gainers by daily active users on Wednesday, and the top emerging apps on Friday. |
As the Page management industry grows and developers begin to administrate numerous Pages for clients or their own apps, Facebook has sought to improve the tools for managing Pages as a team , and for single admins to efficiently manage one or many Pages without using the graphical user interface.
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