Facebook building insight team to measure social media activity

Cannes: Facebook is building its audience insight team to help brands measure the results of their social media activity.

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Carolyn Everson, Facebook vice president of global marketing solutions told delegates at Cannes Lion that brands need to move away from obsessing over numbers of ’fans’ and ’likes’ but to explore actual consumer behaviour.

“Measuring clicks is an old display model. We need to measure awareness, affinity and purchase intent,” she adds.

The social media site is working with insight firm Neilsen to investigate the combined effect on audiences of Facebook with TV.

Everson adds: “There are questions around whether creative on Facebook can be as good as TV or print. But this is an opportunity you have never had before, to spark a conversation taking place across all of your marketing. Don’t think about this as just a display ad
“We believe in the power of TV, but in making it social.”

She gave examples of successful brand activity on Facebook from Samsung, Nike and US airline Jet Blue.

Samsung targeted 24,000 early technology adopters on Facebook, reaching a total of 7 million people. Jet Blue’s Facebook app earned it an extra $500,000 in revenue. Meanwhile, Nike’s Write the Future activity not only debuted its iconic video exclusively to Facebook fans, but it was supplemented by a page encouraging aspiring footballers to promote themselves to be scouted online.

Everson also dispelled rumours of Facebook developing an in-house agency. However she revealed the launch of Facebook-studio.com, which aims to aid brands by providing case studies and creative examples. A Facebook Studio Live event will be taking place in London in September.

Facebook is setting up a “client council” to help advise on marketing and advertising on its platform