Social Media Analytics can help a beginner, growing or experienced business/user.

For this week’s post, I decided to take a break from the sports talk and switch of to a more analytical view of social media. With all the hype around social media lately, many ask the questions, “How can I obtain more followers?” “How many people look at my pages?” or, “What topics that I post are people interested at?”

These questions can be answered fairly simply through a math equation called, Social Media Analytics.  This are two popular tools within the  social media metric system that can really help achieve more followers, and create a better understanding for social media users.

There are several social media metric devices and strategies I would like to see help me out. Really, they all seem extremely interesting. To me, this is a very foreign side of social media. I was surprised to learn that there was even tools to use for this aspect. One in particular that stood out to me and that I plan to use was Google Analytics. Tools like Google Analytics let you track website referral traffic from social media, see what percentage of overall referrals come from social media, and determine the frequency rates of your visitors. This last metric represents the real improvement on standard click-through rates (CTR) numbers. Visitor Frequency Rate are supposed to parses viewers into new and return visitors, two particularly valuable groups to understand and target. It should show return visitor numbers further indicate the depth of engagement and strength of your social networks. New visitors confirm that your more nebulous ‘reach’ and ‘audience’ metrics accurately depict meaningful growth.
Secondly, there is a source called “reach.” This metric tool helps track your “Audience Growth Rate,” and it’s tracking benefits can directly connect social media data with audience and business profits, such as total amount of followers. Thankfully, vague aggregated metrics like Facebook’s “People Talking About This” are disappearing, replaced by more specific break-out categories. One item you should pay attention to is your Audience Growth Rate. A refinement of New Followers or similar stats, expressed in percent-change over time, the growth rate of your audience depicts your social media momentum.

Audience Growth Rate will allow you to evaluate marketing efforts over time, without getting distracted by irrelevant information total followers’ numbers. It should help you compare growth-hacking efforts in your business’ infancy with more sophisticated campaigns you’re using today. Such as, what events match up with the highest growth-rate periods in my history?

Tennessee vs. Florida

As we prepare to enter the third weekend of NCAA football there’s a lot to be excited about if you’re a Florida Gator fan. Victorious in its last game inside College Station against new SEC foe, Texas A&M, the Gators had a late rally in the 4th Quarter to knock of the Aggies 20-17.  There is also a lot to be excited about if you’re fan of their opponent, the Tennessee Volunteers.

There might finally be good reasoning for excitement of Volunteer football in Rocky Top.  The Volunteers are coming off a lopsided victory over Georgia State, 51- 13.  Even more impressive, the Vols beat a talented N.C State team 35-21 inside the Georgia Dome, who is expected to finish in the top 3 of the ACC this year. It’s not that Tennessee and Florida tend to brag about beating the likes of Aggies and Wolpack. It’s that both teams, both programs, and both head coaches desperately needed those wins, and both teams left home and came back victorious. Both teams should be confident on Saturday night when they face each other inside Neyland Stadium. The Volunteers were voted into the Associated Press Top 25 poll this week, coming in at  #23 in the nation.  Florida jumped six spots from #23, to #18, setting up a Top 25 clash between the Gators-Vols this Saturday. Then add ESPN’s College Gameday deciding Knoxville for its weekly, number one rated Saturday pre-game show.  Yup, College Gameday is back in town for their seventh trip to this rivalry, which puts Vols-Gators in a tie with Ohio State-Penn State for the second most covered Gameday matchup ever (Florida/FSU is number one with eight). Saturday will be the 18th time the Vols have appeared in the on-site marquee matchup for ESPN’s CollegeGameday, and the eighth time the show has been in Knoxville. The hosts’ of the show Chris, Lee, and Kirk haven’t been to Neyland Stadium since the 2004 Auburn game, a game they lost. The Vols haven’t appeared in a Gameday matchup since the 2006 Arkansas game in Fayetteville.  College Game Day was scheduled to be in Fayetville this Saturday for the Razorbacks game against the more than impressive Crimson Tide; that didn’t work out very well for ESPN, as the Razorbacks flat out lost to a team outside the realms of the BCS, along with losing starting quarterback Tyler Wilson for at least this weekends SEC West match-up. Now, ESPN and the nation have quickly swerved its attention towards a once heralded rivalry made famous in the nineties when the two teams were SEC royalty.  Florida has regained that royalty since, winning two SEC and national championships in the last six years.  Tennessee hasn’t. The spirit of UT football really began to go in a down hill spiral during Phillip Fulmer’s last few seasons of his nearly 17 year tenure at the university. Chris Simonetti, a former UT student from 1996-1998 and dedicated vol fan since childhood said, “It’s just not the same anymore. ‘The Strip,’ the spirits of the students and fans, even singing ‘Rocky Top’ just hasn’t been the same. The overall atmosphere of game day on Saturdays in Knoxville have been pretty depressing the last few years and has been on a fall for a while. I mean don’t get me wrong, they have had a some good seasons in the last decade, but when a team doesn’t perform to expectations, fans spirits drop.” True. The Volunteers have gone through three head coaches in the last five years which as a result has brought down recruiting, fan attendance, and the Volunteer name.  Current head coach Derek Dooley has been on one of the hottest hot seats of any program over the summer after coming off a disappointing 5-7 record in his second season.  It only takes one year though. One year where all the dice actually fall into your pocket. Just one season can turn a whole programs prestige around and sky rocket them to success or back to success. However in this case, it could be one game.  Maybe this is that game for Derek Dooley. “Big Orange Country” is looking to go 3-0 for the first time since 2004, which coincidentally was the last time Tennessee beat Florida.  A 30-28 victory that came down to a dramatic 50 yard redemption field goal attempt by James Wilhoit is the last memory Tennessee fans have of beating Florida.  Traditionally played within the first three games of the season, the gators have handed the vols an early season lost for seven straight years. A large part of why the rivalry has lost much of what it once was.  And a big reason of why the Vols lose so much momentum early in the season.  But with the recent media hype and awareness of College Game Day coming to town, Volunteer fans are starting to believe again. And why not?  The team is healthy and Derek Dooley finally has a somewhat experienced team under his belt.   Jake Eskew, a Senior at The University of Tennessee said, “There is a buzz on campus that hasn’t been felt in at least 5 years.  Everyone, including the professors are talking about.” The University ticket office has announced that the game is a “sell out.”  A game hasn’t been announced sold out this far before kickoff since the Oregon game two years ago.”  The Ducks came into that game with a pre-season ranking of #3 in the nation. The University of Tennessee sent out an email earlier this week addressing students that all reserved student guest tickets would be forfeited due to the high demand and reopened for students only. “Since the students started getting charged for guest tickets in 2008, this has never happened.  Students never got the option to get guest tickets before then, so therefore this is the first time it has happened, ever.”  If the Vols are able to beat the Gators this Saturday, it will be in front of a sold out, rejuvenated crowd and a fan base that is once again excited about Tennessee football.  At least until the end of the game, orange is in again.

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