March 2014 is 3/14. Get it?
A movement started by Spencer Taggart at LDS Business College in Salt Lake City has been spreading. Let’s take a look at the Facebook stats to understand how it’s grown.
Their latest post got 351,000 organic reach and also 351,000 viral reach.
The 916 shares are the main reason for the viral impressions, which are views caused from the actions that other users have taken on the post.
The screenshot above shows 352,000 total reach, which is likely a bug. Reach is a measure of unique impressions, so it would mean that nearly everyone who had a viral impression also had an organic impression. Typically, when a post gets hot, the viral is a multiple of the organic, which is the initial reach.
The cause has been gaining momentum.
Here is daily impressions since the page started just 10 days ago.
The page has only 717 fans and 1,068 “talking about this”.
Some would say that fan count is, therefore, unnecessary– an obsolete metric.
But the “secret” about Facebook page growth is that you need some type of fuel to get it going. It’s almost never going to be organic engagement on the page itself.
Here are the likely suspects– paid Facebook reach, marketing promotion outside of Facebook (TV, print, Google AdWords, website, email, etc..), or another page promoting you.
In this case, World Pie Month got the help of a network of pages to help it launch. And that’s why it shows up as organic.
The web follows the same dynamic. I’ve been privy to the data behind the largest of sites and can confirm that “if you build it, they will come” just isn’t true. Most sites grew because a network of other already large sites gave them a boost.
How can you leverage this strategy for your business?
About the Author
Dennis Yu
Dennis Yu is the Chief Executive Officer of BlitzMetrics, a digital marketing company that partners with schools to train young adults.
Dennis’s program centers around mentorship, helping students grow their expertise to manage social campaigns for enterprise clients like the Golden State Warriors, Nike, and Rosetta Stone.
He’s an internationally recognized lecturer in Facebook Marketing and has spoken in 17 countries, spanning 5 continents, including keynotes at L2E, Gultaggen, and Marketo Summit.
Dennis has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, LA Times, National Public Radio, TechCrunch, CNN, Fox News, and CBS Evening News.
He’s a regular contributor for Adweek’s SocialTimes column and has published in Social Media Examiner, Social Media Club, Tweak Your Biz, B2C, Social Fresh, and Heyo.
He held leadership positions at Yahoo! and American Airlines and studied Finance and Economics at Southern Methodist University as well as the London School of Economics. He ran collegiate cross-country at SMU and has competed in over 20 marathons including a 70-mile ultramarathon.
Besides being a Facebook data and ad geek, you can find him eating chicken wings or playing Ultimate Frisbee in a city near you.
You can contact him at dennis@blitzmetrics.com