The Myth of the Facebook Fan Page [TravelMole]

You’ve spent considerable time and resources (some brands spend up to $50,000!) creating your interactive Facebook fan page. You’re developing fun content (polls and quizzes, videos, the latest news, etc.) for your core customers to engage and interact with. Maybe you’re running promotions and contests or selling products and services as well. While all of these activities are considered a must in order to successfully connect and interact with your customers on Facebook, here’s some hard hitting evidence that you may be wasting your t ime (and money) with the fan page!

90%

The unofficial percentage of fans who visit a Facebook fan page once and never return is at just slightly higher than ninety percent! I must repeat this…ninety percent!!

Want more bad news?! Enter Facebook’s EdgeRank algorithm…

Bec ause of Facebook’s EdgeRank system, only 1-2% of that fun, interactive content I mention above actually reaches your fans’ news feed!

Here’s why…

Facebook looks at the content (videos, pics, wall posts, etc.) you create as “objects.” An object’s EdgeRank is determined by three factors: affinity (the score given to the relationship between creator and user), weight (interaction with the object - likes, comments, tags, etc.) and timeliness (length of time between when content was created and engaged with).

So, because every object receives its “ranking”, this determines if it will show in your fans’ newsfeeds or not. Obviously, objects with a high EdgeRank appear in their “Top News” feed and objects with a low EdgeRank will not.

When a fan actually does interact with your fan page, EdgeRank makes the assumption that they are interested in hearing what you have to say and thus will deliver your posts to them more frequently. The more the fan clicks to your page and interacts with the content you’ve posted, the more consisten tly you will reach them through the news feed.

On the flip side, if 90% of your fans are not returning to your fan page and interacting with your posts, all that you are creating will err to the side of a low ranking and this is where the 1-2% figure that I mention earlier comes in.

Wait, there’s more…

According to a study by The Daily Beast, objects with a really low EdgeRank may not even show in your “Most Recent” news feed. Ouch!

So, what does all of this mean for companies in the travel space looking to market, promote or just interact through Facebook?

Know this…

“Top News” is the default setting for content on your fans’ personal pages, so unless they change their default, it’s quite possib le they’ll never see your updates.

So, no matter how good the content, no matter how well you manage your Facebook page, EdgeRank is a “wall” between you and your fans.

I ask, then, what is the point of creating a Facebook fan page at all if you are only going to; a) lose your fans after their first visit (over 90% of them) and b) they are not even going to see your content (low EdgeRank)?!

The solution: TravelMole Bamboo – not a Fan Page – a Facebook Application!

TravelMole Bamboo (TMB) is a simple, cost-effective, out-of-the box Social Rewards Platform (it’s an App) that generates revenue from your core audience immediately. In essence, Bamboo is a robust, flexible and completely private-labeled “Brand Ambassadors Club” that allows companies to leverage Facebook (and Twitter) to achieve a positive ROI.

In its simplest form, TravelMole Bamboo is a game in which your company’s core audience earns and redeems points for creating more awareness about you, your products, events, etc. Leveraging this core audience allows them to share all kinds of content (same stuff you’d create for your fan page - wall posts, invites, virtual gifts and coupons, to real-time alerts, interactive polls and quizzes, videos, product info and the latest news, etc.) with their friends on Facebook and Twitter – they become “Brand Ambassadors” and market to their friends on your behalf!

The Big Difference…

Surpassing the reach of a fan page, which only offers a 1:1 communication channel, Bamboo features a 1:240 communication channel (that’s because each of your Brand Ambassadors has 240 unique friends). This “leverage” helps you reach untapped audiences to sell products and services to, thus generating a new incremental revenue stream while continuing to engage and drive sales from your existing fan base.

In fact, TravelMole Bamboo is so effective, you do not even need a fan page for it to work! Here’s how…

The LOVE Button…

It’s done via TravelMole Bamboo’s ingenious “Love” button, their social plugin which is added to your website, email newsletter, confirmation email, fan page or shopping cart to entice a company’s visitors or customers to join your TMB program. TravelMole Bamboo, with the “Love” button, becomes an out-of-the-box “Ambassadors Club” that allows your customers to join your new Facebook loyalty program – all simply by clicking “Love.” This, in essence, removes the need for a fan page.

What’s more, the TravelMole Bamboo Love Button is not connected to Facebook’s “Like” Button and thus the amount of people who ‘Love this’ can be controlled by you. For instance, if your company has 1,000 “Likes” on Facebook and 25,000 current customers, you can count those customers as those who love your company. You no longer have to start over from zero and Facebook does not control this widget. Offer them 1,000 points (or however many you want) to join your loyalty program simply by clicking on “love.” When t hey do this, they are brought into an “Allow” screen (this is normal for any application on Facebook). Once you customer clicks on “Allow”, they are brought right into your branded TravelMole Bamboo application and can begin earning points.

And, Lead Gen through Bamboo is greatly re-de?ned. As “Allow” is clicked, you pick up all of the visitor’s info without requiring them to type in their name, email, city, etc. into an annoying form. Anyone who has ever developed a lead generation program knows that the abandon rate on ?lling out those empty ?elds in a form is ridiculous! Now the entire process is streamlined to just hitting one “Allow” button!

Great Analytics

For Marketers, Bamboo records and measures every impression, hit, visit, page view, click path, lead, and sale. Equally, it records who did it, when, where they came from, and measures the audience (friends and followers) and their interconnections. From all of the data collected, Bamboo allows marketers the ability to run an exhaustiv e statistical analysis and create reports: projected/actual reach, popularity and conversion rates of specific pieces of content, results of polls, etc. Some reports are similar to conventional web analytics, and some are specific to social media such as virality and popularity of the content, size of unique audience, etc.

TravelMole Bambo o Connects it all Together…

If you are serious about reaching deep into the Facebook network (600+ million) to connect with new audiences, the TravelMole Bamboo platform is the only platform within Facebook that truly allows you to do this and for the travel space, it’s the ultimate social loyalty program!

Porsche Limited edition racing car: 911 GT3 RS 4.0

GT3 RS edition with four-litre displacement

Limited edition racing car: 911 GT3 RS 4.0

Stuttgart. With the 911 GT3 RS 4.0, one of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart's most popular, coveted and successful racing pedigree production cars is entering the home straight. Limited to 600 vehicles, the 911 GT3 RS 4.0 brings together in a road car all the attributes that have made the Porsche 911 GT3 a serial winner on the race track. The new model purveys thoroughbred motorsport technology to its innermost core. The flat engine's crankshaft has been lifted unchanged from the 911 GT3 RSR racing car's six cylinder engine and the forged pistons' connecting rods are fashioned from titanium. The four-litre displacement sports engine, the biggest 911 model line engine ever, is also the most powerful naturally aspirated engine with 125 hp/litre (92 kW). It achieves its maximum power of 368 kW (500 hp) at 8,250 revs per minute. The engine delivers its maximum torque of 460 Newton metres at 5,750 rpm.

The 911 GT3 RS 4.0 offers truly impressive performance. The most eloquent figure: It makes it round the Nürburgring-Nordschleife in 7:27 minutes. The 911 GT3 4.0, available exclusively with a six-speed sports transmission, sprints to 100 km/h (62 mph) from a standing start in 3.9 seconds, its gearing designed for the racing circuit taking it to the 200 km/h (124 mph) mark in under 12 seconds.

The 911 GT3 RS 4.0's outstanding driving dynamics are the fruit of meticulously coordinated details. In addition to using the suspension components typically encountered in motor racing, weight reduction is also of supreme importance. Equipped as standard with light weight components such as bucket seats, bonnet and front wings made of carbon fibre, plastic rear windows and weight-optimised carpets, the two-seater's ready-for-road weight is a mere 1,360 kilograms with a full tank of fuel. At 2.72 kg/hp, the 911 GT3 RS 4.0's power-to-weight ratio thereby dips below the magical threshold of 3 kilograms per hp.

The limited edition 911 is painted white as standard and emphasises its proximity to motor racing by its dynamic appearance. Trademark characteristics are the wide track, the low vehicle position, the large rear wing with adapted side plates, the typical central twin tailpipe and the aerodynamically optimised body. The lateral front air deflection vanes, so-called flics, making their first appearance on a production Porsche, testify to the aerodynamic precision engineering. They create increased downforce on the front axle and together with the steeply inclined rear wing bring the vehicle into aerodynamic equilibrium. As a result, at top speed, aerodynamic forces exert an additional 190 kg pushing the 911 GT3 RS 4.0 onto the road.

The market launch of the new Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0 begins in Germany in July 2011. The basic list price is 178,596 euro including 19 per cent value added tax and country-specific equipment.

GOLD ! GOLD ! GOLD ! FOR SOPHIE SERAFINO

Australia's Sophie Serafino and her custom made  Golden Violin will perform an exclusive gold themed show at the  Sydney Opera House on Wednesday 25 May and also release her new single PRISENCOLINENSINANCIUSOL this week.

In the same nonsensical world of Mary Poppins' SUPERCALAFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS Sophie's re-release of Italian superstar Adriano Celentano's  70's hit PRISENCOLINENSINANCIUSOL is quite meaningless !

PRISENCOLINENSINANCIUSOL is out now at

www.sophieaserafino.com

Listen at:

http://www.sophieserafino.com/customPages/audio?subSiteId=1

A massive hit across Europe when released in 1972 ,Sophie Serafino's version strongly features her golden violin as well as Celentano's original catchy and infectious dance beat with gibberish lyrics to show how Italians hear the English language!

Violinist , singer and composer , Sophie Serafino's high energy concerts have been seen throughout the world with over 400 international shows including performances for heads of state and royalty such as the Crown Prince of Dubai and Sheik Mohammed at the Emirates Palace in Sao Paolo , Brazil.  

Her next Royal performance in Denmark is her second for  Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederick to coincide with the country's second Sculptures By The Sea exhibition.

Coming up for Sophie ....

FROM WED 27 APRIL

Free download on i-tunes of Sophie Serafino's VOCALISE

SATURDAY 30 APRIL Relay for Life Sylvania, charity event for Cancer Council

WED 25 MAY Opera House to launch new EP

THURSDAY 2 JUNE Denmark Royal performance.

Be inspired and listen to:

www.sophieserafino.com

Royal Wedding Themed Cocktails

In order to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of William and Kate, www.iDRINK.com is conveniently providing a number of cocktail recipes in the royal wedding theme.

In fact iDRINK.com has over 20 great recipes from Absolut Royalty to Wedding Belle.

Here is a sample of some recipes to try:



Wedding Cake Martini

2 oz            Cranberry juice
1 tsp           Sugar
0.5 tsp         Vanilla Extract
1 oz            Vodka

Place all ingredients in shaker with ice. Shake. Strain well.

Kir Royale

7 parts         Champagne
1 part          Creme de Cassis

Fill a glass 3/4 full with champagne. Add a few drops of Framboise or creme de cassis.



Royal Romance

1.5 oz          Gin
0.5 oz          Grand Marnier
2 dashes        Grenadine
1 oz            Passion Fruit Syrup

Mix together with crushed ice in a glass and garnish with mint leaves

While you may not be on the guest list for the wedding, you can certainly be our guest and enjoy the above recipes.

http://www.idrink.com/royalwedding.html

iDRINK has over 32000 cocktail recipes to experiment with.

Please drink responsibly.

BOTSWANA DEFENCE FORCE SELECTS PILATUS PC-7 MKII

PC-7 MkII turboprop trainer in Swiss Air Force colours (Pilatus)

Pilatus Aircraft Ltd is proud to announce that the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) selected the PC-7 MkII turboprop trainer aircraft to replace their Pilatus PC-7 fleet which has been in service since 1990.

PC-7 in service since 1990
to be replaced

The decision confirms the continued trust that the Botswana Defence Force places in Pilatus and the Pilatus aircraft as a training system. Once Pilatus always Pilatus.

The contract value is approximately 40 million Swiss Francs to procure a fleet of 5 PC-7 MkII turboprop trainer aircraft, with ground based training system including computer based training, spares, support equipment, as well as pilot and technician conversion training elements. The contract was signed in Gaborone on 13 April 2011.

Delivery of the aircraft, ground based training system and logistic support package is scheduled to be completed in early 2013, enabling the BDF pilot training to transition to the new PC-7 MkII platform during 2013.

Pilatus Aircraft Ltd is committed to continue serving the BDF, a long standing partner of Pilatus, with its world renowned dedication to Swiss precision and quality.

Fast and Furious 5 - Worldwide Premiere

Dwayne Johnson, Paul Walker, Vin Diesel and Tyrese Gibson pose together as Universal Studios joins Now Live in presenting the World Premiere of "Fast & Furious 5" at the Cinepolis Lagoon Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Friday, April 15, 2011. (Alex J. Berliner/abimages)

TV personality loses son to rare disorder

Lyndey Milan and her son, Blair.

The 29-year-old son of a well known food and wine expert has died from a rare blood disorder just days after complaining of feeling tired.

Blair Milan, son of Lyndey Milan, collapsed at his home in Erskineville, in Sydney's inner west, on Thursday after returning home from an overseas trip where he was promoting a new cooking series he completed with his mother.

Blair was recovering from wisdom tooth surgery and thought his fatigue was due to the trip and a slow recovery from surgery.

But he was admitted to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital on Thursday after a blood test showed he had Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Ms Milan, one of Australia's most recognisable food and wine personalities, was in Sicily when she learned from her ex-husband that their son had been diagnosed with the aggressive form of leukemia.

Ms Milan decided to fly home immediately after doctors said chemotherapy was the only way to save Blair.

"I said if you do it, will he still be there when I get home and they said, 'I cant tell you that'," she told Nine News.

She arrived home at 7am on Saturday morning and went straight to the hospital, where Blair was medically sedated and breathing through a ventilator.

He died on Sunday.

Blair began his TV career at the age of 14 as a presenter for Nickelodeon's Coast to Coast and also launched GO! Channel for the Nine Network in 2009.

A funeral is expected to be held this Thursday.