Indices like the DJIA have been tracking the financial health of brands for more than 100 years. But tracking the social health of companies hasn't been possible - until now. The Track Social Facebook 100 Index (F100) is a tracking index for the Facebook activity of 100 of the world's best known brands and is backed by the most complex social media analytics platform available today.
The F100 is the best way to see overall trends in the health of brands on Facebook, as well as 25 other indexes tracking metrics such as Audience, Engagement and Buzz.
We always knew individual brands felt the impact of Timeline on their Fan engagement scores, but now with the F100 we can see just how far reaching the effects of the Timeline rollout were.
Timeline Release has significant negative impact on overall Facebook Brand Results
Starting from January 1 2012, the F100 shows an increase in Overall Performance, and a similar increase in most of the underlying metrics, up to the end of March 2012. The release of Timeline (drop dead date for Pages to implement was March 31, 2012) corresponded to a roll-off in Overall Performance.
Much has been written about the death of Tabs due to Timeline. But following the release of Timeline, the Track Social F100 also saw a 3-month slide in brand posting activity, Fan posts and 'Talking About' scores.
Facebook Finally Recovering from Timeline
The good news is that in recent months Overall Performance seems to be back on track, rebounding and recently reaching the high set around the release of Timeline.
Interestingly, while Timeline may have thrown a monkey wrench in overall brand activity on Facebook, individual Fan participation didn't suffer. The F100 Engagement Index, a more specific measure of interaction levels per Fan, shows this type of engagement has been on the rise all year. And in recent weeks as Overall Performance has rebounded, engagement levels have accelerated to match.
It is not clear at this time to what extent seasonal effects impact Facebook activity. For that, we will need to keep watching the F100 over the next 12 months.
For a closer look at the F100 index, including tracking data for numerous Facebook metrics, go here.
Track Social, a leading social media analytics platform and consultancy, offers enterprise clients the ability to analyze and optimize their social media presence across all major social platforms. For more information, and to apply for a free assessment of your brand's social performance, go here.