PORTLAND, OR--(Marketwire - February 25, 2010) - Webtrends, an enterprise customer intelligence company, today announced new Facebook measurement capabilities within Webtrends Analytics, which provides marketers the most comprehensive tracking and measurement for the activities that happen inside Facebook.
The Need to Measure
The
popularity of Facebook is staggering. With 400 million users spending
an average of almost an hour per day on the site, marketers are
clamoring to invest in advertisements, Facebook pages, custom
applications, contests and more. According to Compete.com, this month Facebook overtook Google as the most visited site on the Internet.
"The ability to have concrete measurement on investments within Facebook and compare them apples to apples with other digital channels is critical to marketers," said Jascha Kaykas-Wolff, vice president of marketing, Webtrends. "Our comprehensive approach to measuring Facebook, beyond just applications, allows marketers to understand the broader picture of how their Facebook investment is performing."
Webtrends can now show you how your tabs, apps, and share features are working.
A few examples are:
- Twitter activity driving to Facebook Fan pages
- Facebook Fan page activity overlaid with corporate blog posts
- Conversion performance if they happen in Facebook
- Custom applications, Facebook page tabs, and Facebook ad click performance
Webtrends believes Facebook is one of the key social channels for brands to invest in and these capabilities will help them validate those investments.
Webtrends Analytics for Facebook
Webtrends'
new Facebook measurement capabilities utilize Webtrends Analytics 9,
which combines our powerful real-time analytics engine with its
best-in-class user interface. For the first time, marketers can view
their Facebook measurement alongside other digital marketing
investments such as websites, microsites, blogs, mobile apps, and more.
Additionally, using Analytics 9's RSS overlay capabilities, marketers
can easily see the impact of promotional efforts. Tracking custom tabs,
applications, and sharing provides the most complete measurement of
Facebook available in the market.
How Webtrends Analytics Collects Data on Custom Tabs
Custom
tabs and applications have critical differences for data collection,
due to Facebook's Terms of Service and its commitment to user privacy.
- Brands can't use traditional analytics methods for tracking custom tabs because Facebook does not allow Javascript, and they aggressively cache images.
- To overcome these limitations, Webtrends developed a new method that uses their data collection API to bring Facebook data into Webtrends Analytics.
- In addition to tracking tab views, Webtrends can also measure:
- Tab views segmented by fans and non-fans
- Clicks on buttons and links, such as the Share button and its options
How Webtrends Analytics Collects Data on Facebook Applications
- Applications allow more tracking options both because they allow Javascript and because the Facebook's Terms of Service allows for collection of user level data.
- Webtrends utilizes their Data Collection API to bring Facebook data into Webtrends Analytics.
- Webtrends can measure any type of application built on the Facebook platform.
The Great Data Giveaway -- A Demonstration of Webtrends' Facebook Measurement Capabilities
To demonstrate their new capabilities, Webtrends created a prototype Facebook campaign called The Great Data Giveaway. Webtrends is using this campaign as a model for their customers' reference.
"Marketers are wrestling with how to earn and prove ROI from social media marketing," said Kaykas-Wolff. "We designed The Great Data Giveaway to not only demonstrate our new capabilities in action, but to also show marketers that social channels like Facebook can generate qualified leads."
The campaign is a drawing for prizes that appeal to Webtrends' target market, which are data prizes like ReadWriteWeb premium reports and InfoChimps' Twitter Census Data.
- Webtrends created an application and placed it on a custom tab on Facebook to explain the contest details. KPIs: views segmented by fans and non-fans.
- The user becomes a fan first (known as a "fan-gate"), then allows the installation of the app in compliance with Facebook's Terms of Service. KPIs: Rate of fan interest, number of installs.
- Once the app is installed, the user can enter the contest via a form driven by our Eloqua marketing automation system. KPIs: Entries, follow-up email opens, follow-up email conversions.
- The app allows users to post the contest info to their wall. KPIs: Number of shares.
- Webtrends marketing provides air-cover for the contest by mentioning it on Twitter and in blogs. KPIs: RSS overlay of promotion efforts on views (tab) and visits (application).
"We are so proactive in talking about Facebook measurement because it's a critical area of growth for our customers. The new capabilities we have developed were shown at our recent user conference, Engage 2010, earlier this month, and we have several implementations underway," said Kaykas-Wolff. "To meet their needs and keep up with the rate of change in this space, we have a series of capabilities we're adding to Webtrends Analytics that will be released in the near term and ongoing basis."
Webtrends Analytics 9 for Facebook Webinar
Webtrends
will also host a Webinar in April discussing how companies can take
advantage of Facebook measurement in Webtrends Analytics 9. For more
information including registration, date and time, please visit us here.
If you are interested in seeing more about how you can measure Facebook in Webtrends Analytics, please visit our solutions page here.
About Webtrends Inc.
Webtrends
is an enterprise customer intelligence company that turns online and
offline data into understanding. We help organizations realize a
competitive advantage by providing insight-driven optimization of their
digital channels. Our leadership extends beyond the web analytics
industry we founded in 1993 to the measurement, optimization and
integration of all digital content and customer intelligence, including
web sites, social media and paid-search advertising. Our products and
services are trusted by thousands of leading brands and global
organizations, including Microsoft, Toyota, The Coca-Cola Company, The
New York Times and General Mills. You can learn more about Webtrends
products and services at Webtrends.com
or call 1.877.932.8736. Webtrends is a registered trademark of
Webtrends Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other
trademarks and registered trademarks are the properties of their
respective owners.
Contacts:
Colin Crook
ccrook@vocecomm.com
650-269-5235
@colincrook (twitter)
Webtrends Contact:
Jascha Kaykas-Wolff
jascha.kaykaswolff@Webtrends.com
503-553-2216
@kaykas (twitter)