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HOW TO MARKET ON FACEBOOK WITH MICROBLOGS

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with The Silent Partner Marketing

Is microblogging on Facebook the key to cutting through all of the noise?

It seems as if everything is getting smaller this days.

Don't believe me?  Look at a carton of ice cream.  Bet you still thought you were getting a half gallon, didn't ya?

The whole concept of shortening things up created a multi-billion dollar player - Twitter.

So in an age where we seem to have more and more content out there for us to consume, is the answer in microblogs?

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the average attention span of a human being has dropped from 12 seconds in 2000 to eight seconds in 2013.  That, my friends, is shorter than the attention span of a goldfish.

If I still have your attention, let's go back to the concept of the microblogs.

The goal of blogs - or any content marketing, for that matter - is to increase engagement, yes?  If we're all in agreement on that, it's safe to assume we're all in agreement that the higher level of engagement...the better.

A number of websites have recently started talking about how it seems that simple status updates yield a higher level of engagement on personal pages than photos (but less than videos).  Many are asking whether it makes any sense - after all, photos are highly captivating, right?

Here's my hypothesis: Facebook gives serious props to video, as it is easily monetized and helps them compete with YouTube.

Facebook then ranks status updates above photos not because it likes them better...but because it helps break up the newsfeed.  And marketers, for the past couple of years, have been preaching the need to put pictures with every single post.  As a result, status updates without pictures or map locators are harder to come by...and Facebook is giving a greater level of attention to those still playing old-school style.

Through a variety of A/B/C testing on our personal pages and business pages over the past several months, we've found that we're definitely onto something.  Setting parameters of same times and days for different types of posts, we noticed that on personal pages (especially) status updates tend to perform exceedingly well, trailing behind video but coming in ahead of photos.

Could we be entirely wrong?  Of course.  But we ran over 100 test sets and found relatively consistent results.  

What does this have to do with the concept of microblogs?

It's simple, really - I'd argue that a status update is simply a very, very short blog - with the sole purpose of creating a high level of engagement.  

While creative content teams all across the globe are battling to come up with the most snazzy meme, it sort of makes you wonder - are you overthinking things?

I'd love to know what you think.  Share your experiences in the comments below!

POSTED BY

Kyle Reyes is the President and Creative Director of The Silent Partner Marketing, New England's #1 Marketing Agency. We're a boutique marketing firm focused on helping businesses grow in an age of exploding technology. You can find him on Google+Facebook and Twitter.

Posted by
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Kyle Reyes is the President and Creative Director of The Silent Partner Marketing, a boutique marketing firm focused on helping businesses grow in an age of exploding technology.
 
Reyes is an acclaimed Keynote Speaker on entrepreneurship, leadership, marketing and social media.
 
The CEO is a former Producer of News and Special Projects, having worked in broadcast journalism for nearly a decade.  His team offers a marketing one-stop-shop, filling the role of a Chief Marketing Officer and support staff at a fraction of the cost of having to worry about the payroll, taxes, benefits, etc.
 
Reyes has appeared in multiple media outlets including Aol.Com, Yahoo and Bloomberg Business. 
 
You can find him on FacebookTwitter, Instagram and SnapChat (@dasilentpartner).  And he wants to connect with you on LinkedIn, so send him a request!
 

Comments (42)

John Pusa
Glendale, CA

Kyle - Thank you for the valuable information about how to microblogs on Facebook.

Jun 07, 2015 03:06 AM
Silvia Dukes PA, Broker Associate, CRS, CIPS, SRES
Tropic Shores Realty - Ich spreche Deutsch! - Spring Hill, FL
Florida Waterfront and Country Club Living

Facebook is another great way to stay in front of people.  I like a short status update together with a photo, never thought of calling it a microblog but the name fits.

Jun 07, 2015 04:30 AM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

Thank you very much for sharing this very interesting suggestion.

Jun 07, 2015 06:36 AM
Sharon Alters
Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realty - 904-673-2308 - Fleming Island, FL
Realtor - Homes for Sale Fleming Island FL

Kyle, this is a profound post and interesting to note that status updates rank above photos. 

Jun 07, 2015 12:29 PM
Bob Crane
Woodland Management Service / Woodland Real Estate, KW Diversified - Stevens Point, WI
Forestland Experts! 715-204-9671

I am not surprised about the attention span revelation, I see it in the reponse to blog posts here in the rain.

Perhaps I should be making a larger effort on fb.

 

Jun 07, 2015 03:14 PM
Ed Silva, 203-206-0754
Mapleridge Realty, CT 203-206-0754 - Waterbury, CT
Central CT Real Estate Broker Serving all equally

I need to get more active on social sites, and this might be a good place to start.

Jun 08, 2015 02:41 AM
Gene Riemenschneider
Home Point Real Estate - Brentwood, CA
Turning Houses into Homes

A lot of things are getting blurred.  I like to link simple things to detailed for those that are hooked so to speak.  I link my AR blogs on Facebook.  When you put the link up you can comment.  Perhaps that needs to be a "Micro Blog" to get them to go to the full post.  Generally when I am on facebook that is what happens; if something short catches my interest I jump to the full article.  

Jun 08, 2015 03:47 AM
Pamela Cendejas
Second Self Virtual Assistance - Kingman, AZ
Second Self Virtual Assistance (928) 692-3235

Did you mention we had a short attention span?  Sorry...I kinda zoned out on that paragraph.    Seriously, though, you're absolutely right.  I have found this to also be true on my tutorial videos.  I need to chop them up into small, digestible videos instead of giving the whole "lesson" in one long video. 

Jun 08, 2015 03:52 AM
The Julie Morales Team
RE/MAX Cinco Ranch - Katy, TX
Real Estate Questions? Call (832) 367-3412

I never thought about this but this is awesome information! I found you through Roy's re-blog and I am happy I did. Thanks for the great information!

Jun 09, 2015 05:01 AM
Donna Foerster
HomeSmart Realty Group - Parker, CO
Metro Denver Real Estate Assistant

Kyle, I tend to agree that short, quick reads are more likely to engage. I know I have a short attention span!

Jun 09, 2015 05:25 AM
Frank Rubi
Frank Rubi Real Estate, LLC - Metairie, LA
FrankRubiRealEstate.com

Kyle, I rarely read a long post. I barely made it through yours. 

Jun 09, 2015 05:55 AM
Kyle Reyes
The Silent Partner Marketing - Manchester, CT

Frank Rubi, MBA ...thanks...? :)

Jun 09, 2015 11:35 AM
Praful Thakkar
LAER Realty Partners - Andover, MA
Andover, MA: Andover Luxury Homes For Sale

Kyle Reyes - long time no see my friend. I'll keep my comments short.

We see the reversing trends - Twitter wants to add pictures and video to their feed. LinkedIn opened up 'Pulse' (you introduced that to me - and you use it for your benefit, correct?). Google does not even account for short posts for the ranking - as much as I learned from ActiveRain! Even ActiveRain contests wants minimum 300 words.

None of these are microblogs.

Wondering where's the disconnect?

To show our presence in the wild world of Internet, should we have 'sufficient' content in our blog posts or should we microblog?

(And we do misinterpret the 'attention span'! Believe me, it's all relative - I am sure you can come up with a great post on that.)

My attention span for many posts is limited to about a minute whereas I have taken lot more than a minute just to post this comment! What does that mean? Attention Span is a relative thing!

More later - when we meet next! Missing you my friend.

Jun 09, 2015 01:54 PM
Kyle Reyes
The Silent Partner Marketing - Manchester, CT

Praful Thakkar my friend...it just goes to show that the most important element in marketing is getting the right message to the right person at the right time.  For different people and on different platforms it's a different message in a different style!

Jun 09, 2015 09:16 PM
Sandy Padula & Norm Padula, JD, GRI
HomeSmart Realty West & Florida Realty Investments - , CA
Presence, Persistence & Perseverance

Kyle Reyes Thanks for providing me with another reason to <Bookmark> your blogs. Always informative!

Jun 10, 2015 01:32 AM
Laura Cerrano
Feng Shui Manhattan Long Island - Locust Valley, NY
Certified Feng Shui Expert, Speaker & Researcher

Great and basic! Meta content and microsites are like having a magic wand when you can really master them! I can dig it!

Jun 10, 2015 04:10 PM
Laura Cerrano
Feng Shui Manhattan Long Island - Locust Valley, NY
Certified Feng Shui Expert, Speaker & Researcher

Gene Riemenschneider There's a real cross-channel aspect to it all that takes a hot minute to get the hang of for sure, but it's so worth it when we get it right!

Jun 10, 2015 04:12 PM
Laura Cerrano
Feng Shui Manhattan Long Island - Locust Valley, NY
Certified Feng Shui Expert, Speaker & Researcher

Frank Rubi, MBA  I'm sure you don't regret reading this one whatsoever! All pretty great logic and enough bases are covered in my opinion. :)

Jun 10, 2015 04:15 PM
Laura Cerrano
Feng Shui Manhattan Long Island - Locust Valley, NY
Certified Feng Shui Expert, Speaker & Researcher

Pamela Cendejas You get points for humor there for darn sure! Love and light to you and all your business! :) Very worth the read though, right? 

Jun 10, 2015 04:18 PM
Sussie Sutton
David Tracy Real Estate - Houston, TX
David Tracy Real Estate for Buyers & Sellers

I am currently deciding what I will post and share on my FB personal and business page. There is a need for change.

Jul 09, 2015 04:11 PM