Imagine that you managed Facebook for either OPSM or Specsavers. What would you write about?
I love Independent Optometry. However, I know good people at OPSM and Specsavers.
As of writing, OPSM Australia has 30,042 Likes compared to Specsavers Australia 44,216 Likes. For Pages like these, Facebook provides useful statistics through Audience Insights.
So lets dive in and have a look.
Audience Similarities between OPSM and Specsavers:
- Both OPSM and Specsavers have a significant proportion of Women Liking their Facebook Page (over 76%).
- Both attract a similar proportion of people between 45-54 years
How are they different?
- Significantly greater 55-Plus users for OPSM than Specsavers
- Significantly higher 25-44 years for Specsavers than OPSM
This statistic ties in well with Self-Reported Relationship Status. OPSM had a significantly higher proportion of “Married” users (48% vs 36%). Specsavers had a significantly higher proportion of users who said they were “Engaged” or “In a Relationship”.
Which Page gets more Engagement?
Interestingly, Facebook users who like OPSM are less likely to Engage (Comment, Share or Like) on other non-OPSM Pages. In other words, Specsavers users generally Engage more on Facebook, including other Pages that they Liked (i.e. non-Specsavers Pages). Therefore, it follows that Specsavers had a higher number of people interacting with their own Page than OPSM had with theirs. When pages are ranked for Engagement, Specsavers ranked #239,470 compared to #447,469 (lower rank is better), according to Sumorank.com.
Where are their followers from?
OPSM and Specsavers seemed to attract significantly higher proportions (compared to Overall Facebook Proportions) from Hobart and Adelaide. OPSM managed to attract more Followers from Perth, whereas Specsavers attracted more users from Newcastle and Adelaide. Other cities were comparable to the overall Facebook Proportions.
What are their most popular posts?
On the Specsavers Facebook Page, the most Engagement was seen with updates containing 0-50 characters (i.e. shorter than a text message on a mobile). OPSM’s best engagement was with 300+ characters.
The most popular posts for OPSM were images under the “Style at Any Age” Campaign, including images of Ita Buttrose and others. A post about Shannon Peckham, the first Indigenous Optometrist, was also popular.
The most popular posts for Specsavers were sports jokes aligning with the slogan “Should’ve Gone to Specsavers”. A portrait of Eva Longoria was also popular, and was likely a paid promotion.
The most common day to post Facebook Updates for OPSM is Tuesday, and Specsavers Friday.
Similarities between OPSM and Specsavers:
- Fashion featured prominently (both mentioned Harper’s Bazaar) and offered fashion tips about styles, textures and tones.
- Both posted about Charity Work, including OPSM’s One Sight Program and Specsavers support of the Fred Hollows Foundation.
- Both offered Discounts/Offers on dispensing, although these weren’t overdone.
- Both discussed Tips on Eye Health, or Awareness of Eye Diseases
Differences between OPSM and Specsavers:
- Specsavers tended to heavily promote frames. For example, they ask Followers to compare two frame models and choose the ones they liked best.
- Specsavers used significantly more humour in their Image Posts. Some of these gave them their highest Engagement. (This matches their advertising campaigns on TV.)
- OPSM significantly promoted it’s Charity Work more than Specsavers
- OPSM also posted about individual Private Health Funds
- OPSM promoted their association with AFL and Cricket. Specsavers posted about Rugby League State of Origin.
What does this mean for Your Practice?
Think about the Objectives for your Practice. If you haven’t had a look already, check out the article on “Growing Your Practice with Social Media” in Mivision October 2015.
You need to identify the patients who best support your Practice (a.k.a. Ideal Patient). Write to them.
Think about their Age Bracket, Marital Status and other Facebook Pages that they might be more likely to follow.
Use some of the ideas from OPSM and Specsavers, including the types of posts that most resonate with their Audiences. Make them your own. Then post these with your Ideal Patient in mind.
Test which day (and time of day) gives you the best response from your posts. You can verify this with your own audience on your Facebook Page. Check out this post.
Think like a corporate optometrist and apply your agility and Independence. Grow your Facebook following.
By the way,
One other insight…if you worked at OPSM or Specsavers and were given chocolates by a patient, chances are you would be given Ferrero Rocher or Cadbury Dairy Milk. Let me know if you don’t, and I’ll amend this report. Cheers, LP.
