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Flanner's Temporarily Shuts Doors in Milwaukee
The family-owned store has been in business since 1891 and is run by former PARA president John Flanner. The company is a member of the very selective PRO Buying Group, which in recent years lost its most prominent member Tweeter Home Entertainment to bankruptcy.
According to an article in Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Flanner says the temporary shut-down is due to financial problems, but the company is not out of business and has not declared bankruptcy.
The company's website defaults to a message from John Flanner which says:
Like many businesses, we've faced some challenges from the recent economic downturn. We're in the process of renegotiating our business and financing relationships to improve the company. This process has taken longer than expected, and we are no longer able to provide the experience or level of service we strive to provide. Therefore, we are temporarily pausing operations. We appreciate all of the support we've received as a local, family owned, independent business, and we intend to continue serving this community for years to come.
According to the article, Flanner's attributes about one-quarter of the store's $15 million in revenue to custom installation service. The business was started in 1891 by John Flanner's great grandfather.
In the past year, two elder-statesmen custom retailers - Myer Emco and Bernie's - shut their doors due to increasing competition.
Behind every successful custom installation is a CE ProAnd CEPro magazine is there keeping you up-to-date on the latest products, techniques, designs and business practices. From HDBaseT 2.0 to cat5e wiring, from UHDTV to wireless lighting control, CEPro explains how they work and how best to use them. Each issue delivers constructive, real-time content to help you find innovative ways to successfully build and maintain your business. Discover how to make smart use of today's current technologies...and those that are emerging...subscribe today!
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Article TopicsNews · Pro Group · Hybrid Dealer · Flanner's ·
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6 Comments (displayed in order by date/time)
That is totally sad and I'm certain that all in the industry join me in wishing John Flanner and his intrepid crew nothing but the best in emerging from this challenge a stronger, healthier company. I have very fond memories of calling on Flanner & Hafsoos (as they were known then) back in the 70s and 80s and of interacting with John during his tenure as PARA prez.
Here's what I tweeted (@juliejacobson) ... pass it on:
Milwaukee AV lovers: Support Flanner's, which has done so much for the local community and the industry. http://bit.ly/9RYI9a
and I've just become a Flanner's "fan" on Facebook . . . let's all do everything we possibly can to help them through this crisis:
Milwaukee-area audio/video and home theater lovers: Please Support Flanner's, which has done so much for the local community and the consumer electronics industry. It would be a sad day indeed to see one of the oldest retailers (possibly THE oldest) in the country become yet another victim of our current down economy and increasing competition from the big box stores.
I feel sorry for the higher-end stores going the way of the do-do. But the markups, the state of the economy, and the growing base of technical literate consumers spells the end for these stores.
I am going to miss the high end stores, but their time has passed. They can't compete with big box stores that offer products that are very close to the same performance of the products of the high-end stores for substantially less.
What do we do it we still have warrintees?
I once upon a time was employed by Flanners Pro Audio. I would like to see further expansion into the fine detail work that their skill accentuates.


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Fuel prices up after subsidies removed, decision triggers protests
By Omar Obeidat - Nov 13,2012 - Last updated at Nov 13,2012
AMMAN – The Cabinet on Tuesday decided to lift subsidies on oil derivatives, raising the prices of four fuel products.
The decision prompted protests in several cities and caused a rise in demand for fuel, with cars seen queuing at gas stations around Amman and other cities. Sources told The Jordan Times that scores of angry protesters vandalised public property in the southern city of Karak and that two policemen were injured in an attack by angry mobs in Taybeh near the northern town of Irbid.
According to the anticipated decision, the price of 90-ocatne gasoline will go up by 15 per cent from JD0.70 a litre to JD0.80 a litre.
Diesel and kerosene prices will increase, according to the new update to be effective as of Tuesday midnight, to JD0.685 per litre instead of JD0.515 a litre, which means the prices of the two products will go up by 33 per cent.
Cooking gas saw the highest rise, with the price of a gas cylinder going up from JD6.5 to JD10.
The decision to lift subsidies and sell fuel products at cost was taken to avoid further financial losses to the Treasury, according to Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, who estimated the cost of subsidies on this year's budget at JD800 million.
In an interview with Jordan Television, the premier explained that the new subsidy regime will deliver direct cash support to low and medium-income Jordanians.
Each individual of a household that consists of six members or less and whose income is less than JD800 a month or JD10,000 a year will receive JD70 in compensation of the hike in prices, Ensour said.
He further noted that there are 7.5 million people living in Jordan, 1.5 million of whom are not Jordanians but benefit from the blanket subsidy regime.
Those who deserve government support after eliminating the subsidy system are between 3.5 million and 4 million Jordanians, whose families' annual income is less than JD10,000.
A government official told The Jordan Times Tuesday that the new subsidy system will reduce the cost on the Treasury from nearly JD800 million to between JD270 million and JD300 million.
He stressed that the decision to eliminate fuel subsidies could not be delayed due to the financial and economic situation of the Kingdom, which he described as "very critical", emphasising that such a step should have been taken two years ago.
"This government came to office to supervise parliamentary elections and I would have preferred to spend my term without addressing such a sensitive issue to gain popularity, but my duties towards the country have forced me to lift the subsidy in order to avoid a financial crisis," he said at the interview.
Ensour said public expenses in this year's state budget were higher than revenues by JD3 billion.
He noted that the cost of generating power will reach JD1.7 billion due to interruptions in gas supplies from Egypt.
This means that next year, state finances will see a shortage of over JD5 billion.
To cover such additional burdens, authorities had to raise taxes and remove the current subsidy regime, he added, noting that foreign assistance is also needed.
Local banks almost covered the financial shortfall the government has been facing, but banks may no longer be able to do so in the coming years, the prime minister elaborated, noting the recent measures are aimed at avoiding insolvency.
Ensour said the government has also endorsed several austerity measures that seek to reduce public spending, in addition to other policies that would raise state revenues.
During the interview, the premier addressed the Jordanian audience in an attempt to convince them of the soundness of the recent measures by mentioning that there are two diesel shipments at the Aqaba Port that the government cannot find the liquidity to pay for.
He told the public that he is fully responsible for the decision to lift the subsidy, adding it was the right move to prevent an economic catastrophe.
Protests erupted in several parts of the Kingdom, including the capital, Karak, Irbid and Maan, on Tuesday night after the government's decision on subsidies was announced, according to local news websites.
In Amman, protesters blocked traffic on the vital Interior Ministry Circle, chanting slogans against Ensour's government and demanding his resignation.
Related Articles
Demand for petroleum products dropped sharply over the past few days after prices of oil derivatives in the local market went up following a government decision to lift fuel subsidies, according to the Gas Station Owners Association (GSOA).
Economists on Wednesday agreed that allowing the private sector to import refined petroleum products into the domestic market is a proper alternative for authorities to cut the cost of fuel subsidies.
The government will review prices of fuel products on a monthly basis as of January 1, 2013, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Secretary General Farouk Hiyari said Monday.
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When asked why they chose Kickstarter as the venue in which to premiere the short, Jaz Garewal, writer/director of BLAMBLAMBLAM, ClickClickClick:
In an effort to distract from the whole affair, Skinny Bones Productions also announced two new pledge levels. The first is a temporary tattoo or, as Skinny Bones Productions co-founder Chris Wolf puts it, "A tramp stamp that lasts just a bit longer than the guilt-hangover from the night before." The temporary tramp stamp will ride shotgun with the tainted, aforementioned DVD of "BLAMBLAMBLAM, ClickClickClick:
The next pledge level is for that enterprising entrepreneur who has a product they want defiled on camera. "I believe the industry term is 'product placement',"
The "BLAMBLAMBLAM, ClickClickClick:
# # #
Skinny Bones Productions specializes in all forms of narrative entertainment, ranging from commercials to features.


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Here is a list of events canceled due to the weather.
BGHS Boys and Girls Basketball in Christian County
BGHS Swimming in Christian County
Family Literacy Events at Parker-Bennett-Curry Elementary (ESL, GED, and Citizenship)
All evening events for Bowling Green Junior High (strings, ESS, sports activities, etc.)
New Teacher Academy (Rescheduled for February 7)
T. C. Cherry After-School Computer Lab
W. R. McNeill Afternoon Activities: Academic Team Practice, Chess Team Practice, and After-School Computer Lab
Academic Team Match Potter Gray @ Dishman-McGinnis
Click Here to access the online Public Inspection File
Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Rain restricts Essex progress
Watch free daily video highlights from every LV= County Championship match here on ecb.co.uk this summer
Essex's bid for a second LV= County Championship win of the season was hampered by rain at Old Trafford today.
In their attempts to avenge Lancashire's early-season win at Chelmsford, the visitors had gained a lead of 278 when weather forced the players off the field at 3pm on day three.
Matt Walker and Ryan ten Doeschate were in the midst of an unbroken fifth-wicket partnership, adding 49 and taking their side's second-innings total to 155 for four in the 63rd over.
Captain Mark Pettini would have hoped for an hour's bowling before the close, but instead his batsmen will probably have to return to the crease in the search for quick runs tomorrow.
There is still time for Essex to force a win, but Lancashire will be a lot happier than they would have been overnight.
The home side claimed only three wickets in the 49.2 overs possible, but Essex added just 129 runs, with 46 runs from 29 overs in the morning session.
Ravi Bopara, playing his first championship match of the summer, looked completely out of sorts during his 53-ball innings of five.
Opener Jaik Mickleburgh made his way to 64 off 146 balls, including seven fours, but he was run out by Steven Croft from cover during the shortened afternoon session.
Kyle Hogg took Lancashire's first wicket of the day – his second of the innings – when he had nightwatchman Chris Wright caught behind by Luke Sutton for eight.
Bopara then edged former West Indies pace bowler Daren Powell to Paul Horton at first slip to leave Essex 61 for three.
Essex looked at their most positive when Walker and ten Doeschate, who hit 85 in the first innings, came together, and the latter even planted Hogg over midwicket for six on the way to 31 not out off just 30 balls.
When the rain arrived left-handed Walker had reached 36 off 85 balls.
Meanwhile, Andrew Flintoff batted in the nets at Old Trafford for around half an hour this morning as he continues his recovery from knee surgery.


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Dan Hall
Sociology Instructor
Wayne State University
Master of Arts in Sociology
Northern Michigan University
Bachelor of Science in Sociology
Master of Arts in Sociology
Bachelor of Science in Sociology
The Dalles Campus (541) 506-6000, Monday - Friday, 8 am - 5 pm
Hood River - Indian Creek Campus (541) 308-8211, Monday - Thursday, 8 am - 6 pm; Friday, 8 am - 12 pm
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Out of Town Patients
At Eastlake Cosmetic Surgery Center, out of town patients are welcome to enjoy the experience and benefit our cosmetic surgery center has to offer. Located in sunny San Diego, out of town patients also have the opportunity to experience beaches, restaurants, shopping, and other attractions during their visit. We are proud to offer out of town US and Mexico residents successful cosmetic surgery procedures at favorable prices.
Many of our patients are out of town patients that decide to travel to have cosmetic surgery procedures performed by Dr. Talebzadeh. We have a number of patients from Los Angeles and Tijuana, Mexico. From Tijuana, our clinic is a short drive from the US border. Please give us a call if you are an out of town patient so we may explain several steps including setting up a Virtual Consultation with Dr. Talebzadeh.
We have significant number of patients that travel from other states in US and the world to receive cosmetic surgery care. Dr. Talebzadeh and staff wish to help you make your travels easier.
The process for our out of town patients starts with consultation. We realize the face to face consult would be difficult with patients therefore we would like you to either email us or call us. We will send you the initial consultation information and ask you to send us pictures of the area of your concern. Once we have this information, then Dr. Talebzadeh will contact you by phone to ask you more information and let you ask questions that you may have. We can help facilitate your visit to San Diego. We are also able to provide information about After care services.
Following phone Consultation:
Following the phone consultation, Dr Talebzadeh will inform the treatment coordinator about the treatment plan. She will contact you and provide information about the fees and arrangements for your travel and needs.
Pre-operative medical workup:
Once we have planned your procedure, we will start your pre-operative laboratory work up in your hometown. This process may take 2-3 weeks prior to anticipated travel. We will also plan your post operative recovery in advance. We would like to take close care of our patients. We will plan to have you stay in sandiego, until we can make sure; you are well and can go home.
Dr. Talebzadeh will need to see you the day before your surgery for personal re-evaluation and review your procedure and answer all your questions prior to surgery.
The Following are resources that can help you make arrangements to visit us.
1. Omni Hotel San Diego
2. San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina
3. Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego
4. Hard Rock Hotel San Diego
5. Horton Grand Hotel & Suites


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Kumi Japanese Restaurant + BarAugust 19, 2014Japanese • Las Vegas, United States
The "hot mess" is the way to go. Good place to grab a roll before a concert.
Stadiums18 Tips
Casinos12 Tips
The "hot mess" is the way to go. Good place to grab a roll before a concert.
One of the few casinos in Vegas where you can still find a $5 blackjack table.
Great place for a quick stop for lunch on the PCH. The fish and chips and clam chowder were excellent.
A trip to SF isn't complete without a stop at Swan Oyster Depot. Everything is fresh and you can't go wrong with anything on the menu. Don't forget to bring cash. No plastic.
Great concert venue with terrific acoustics. One of the best places in Vegas to catch a concert.
Can't go wrong with the Lasagna or Chicken Rio.
go for brunch. well worth it - $20
only gamble what you can afford. if you need the money, keep it in your pockets
always set a limit to lose and a goal to win
How will YOU remember Manny Ramirez?
if you can't get tickets to the game, watch it at Stan's Sports Bar - just a block away from Yankee Stadium. Just be sure to make a reservation first :)
despite being the oldest stadium in the MLB, Fenway is always jam-packed because it hosts the best baseball team of the century. Go Red Sox!
after the game, visit Gio's Cafe & Deli for great subs!
Blackjack tip - when the cards start to turn on you, that's your cue to switch table.
Blackjack hint - always split on 7's if dealer is showing 7 or lower
don't feed the bears!
roulette - bet 20 bucks on 21 ;)
in roulette, avoid single number bets - the have the biggest diversity between true odds and actual payouts
in blackjack, dealer has a 61% chance of busting on 16
Keno is the worst game to play - it gives you the worst odds (25%)


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Demi Lovato: "I Basically Had a Nervous Breakdown"
How did Demi Lovato end up in rehab last fall?
"I basically had a nervous breakdown," the 18-year-old Disney star confides in the new issue of Seventeen magazine. "I was really bad off. My parents and my manager pulled me aside and said, 'You need to get some help.' It was an intervention."
(In previously leaked excerpts from Lovato's interview -- her first post-crisis sit-down -- the Sonny With a Chance star admitted to a "life-long" eating disorder and struggle with her body image.")
"I wanted freedom from the inner demons," she says. "I wanted to start my life over."
As part of that new start, the on-the-mend star has partnered with Seventeen and the Jed Foundation for the "Love is Louder Than The Pressure to Be Perfect" campaign -- which will focus on helping teen girls cope with self-esteem issues.
PHOTOS: Well-known celeb rehabs
"My fans have been such an incredible support system for me -- I hope I can repay this and help other girls learn from my experiences," says Lovato, who will be writing a regular column for the mag online.
"It's very crucial that you get your feelings out, but don't ever inflict harm on your own body because your body is so sacred," Lovato adds in her interview. "If you are going through that dark period, go to your family and closest friends. Don't put yourself in danger."
PHOTOS: Demi's devastating breakup
She continues: "I wish I could tell every young girl with an eating disorder, or who has harmed herself in any way, that she's worthy of life and that her life has meaning. You can overcome and get through anything."
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Elite Gold is the easiest and best pineapple for the home grower.
Elite has a perfect sugar to acid ratio. It taste like what your used to eating from the Supermarket. Your kids won't think that it has a "weird" flavor. Instead, you will likely find that it's one of the sweetest, most delicious pineapples you have ever eaten.
Some decorative pineapples make a tiny fruit. Elite's are large enough for your whole family to enjoy. Plus you can grow big fruit out of a compact pot.
Elite Gold is easy to grow. It's drought-tolerant... not picky about soil... and it likes sun or shade. They love containers. Just bring indoors when the temperatures get down to freezing. Put them in your garage or bring inside, where they will liven up your home.
Elite Gold produces a central rosette bearing long, narrow leaves with fine, sawtooth edges. The vibrant fruit grows from a sturdy stalk produced at the plant's center, giving you a tropical feel. This distinctive plant will make a great conversation piece.
The Elite Gold is a perennial plant, so you can enjoy its colorful beauty year after year. Its stiff, deep-green leaves grow from 2 ½ to 4 feet in length and the plant's rosette grows about 3 feet wide. From the heart of the plant arises a slender whorl of up to 200 purple-red blooms. As the flowers fade, they set berries which then combine to produce a luscious pineapple. The growth stages are fascinating to watch. Plant in groups of three, for a stunning effect.
Your pineapple plant arrives with a well developed root system. This can help you pick fruit 6 months earlier. Many nurseries sell tiny plants that are newly rooted. We grow ours longer so you don't have to wait. Plus you get a hardier plant that you won't have to baby.
Growing Zones:
4-11 patio / 9-11 outdoors
This plant is recommended for zones:
4-11 patio
9-11 outdoors
|Step 1 - Dig Your Hole
Select a site with full to partial sun and moist or well drained soil for your Elite Gold Pineapple.
|Step 2 - Place Your Plant
Next, separate the roots of your Elite Gold Pineapple gently with your fingers and position them downward in the hole.
|Step 3 - Backfill Your Hole
As you backfill the hole, apply water to remove air pockets.
Info for Those Who Love to Read:
Orders are occasionally delayed if we see really bad weather approaching, or if we encounter unusual circumstances. A small number of our plants show a specific release date. If you purchase one of these and would like your other items sooner, just let us know.
|Amount of Order
|Shipping Charge
|< $14.99
|32% of order total
Will my Trees Look Like the Photographs?
Most Fruiting Plants are Pruned Before Shipping... at No Cost to You
|Maple Tree before pruning
|Maple Tree after pruning
|3 gallon Knockout Rose before pruning
|3 gallon Knockout Rose after pruning


text: Meyer House was named for the generations of the Meyer's family who made this large Victorian (c.1885) their home. Still with most of its originality, Meyer House can be your home away from home. Located in a small town on top of a mountain in Davis, West Virginia, we're convenient to numerous nearby points of interest; 9 miles from Canaan Valley State Park & Ski Resort, 7 miles from Timberline Ski Resort, 1 mile from Blackwater Falls State Park, 2 miles from Monogahela National Forest, 14 miles from Mt. Storm Lake, and within driving distance of Seneca Rocks, Smoke Hole Caverns, Spruce Knob Lake & Dolly Sods Wilderness Area. Area activities include downhill skiing, snowboarding, cross country skiing, sledding, hunting, fishing, whitewater rafting, hiking, horseback riding, bird watching, golfing, biking, scuba diving, sightseeing, shopping, antiquing, local crafts, fine restaurants, scenic & adventure tours... plenty of fresh mountain air, and relaxation.


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Archive for the 'reach' tag
How Union Metrics Twitter analytics impressions compare to Twitter impressions
At Union Metrics, we provide measures of potential reach and impressions on Twitter with both our snapshot reports and in-depth Twitter analytics.
Reach is the size of the estimated potential unique audience for a set of tweets. We calculate reach algorithmically, based on data we've been collecting from Twitter since we launched more than five years ago. It's a great way of estimating how large your audience on Twitter could be, and takes unique recipients into account, removing duplicates.
Impressions measure the size of total potential exposure. This shows you how many total timelines your tweets were delivered to – including multiple deliveries to the same account – so it's a count of the maximum total impressions possible for a set of tweets.
If you've ever seen the analytics Twitter provides for your Twitter account, you've noticed they provide a count of actual impressions for each of your tweets. That impressions number shows how many times people actually saw that tweet. So you may be wondering how Union Metrics Twitter analytics impressions and Twitter impressions relate to each other. What do they each mean? Which one should you use? Why are they so different?
Twitter provides actual impressions for your tweets, while our Twitter analytics calculate total potential impressions for those tweets. You can use these numbers together to fully understand how impactful your tweets are. The number of actual impressions your tweets receive will vary from tweet to tweet and account to account, but your actual impressions will likely be between 1% and 20% of your potential impressions.
Knowing how your actual impressions compare to your potential impressions shows you exactly how well your tweets are performing, how large your activated audience is, and how large your potential audience could be. What's the ratio of your actual impressions to potential impressions? Are your tweets on the low side? Do some tweets perform better than others? Ask yourself the following questions to help improve the ratio of actual impressions to potential impressions.
What tweets get the most impressions?
First, look at which tweets are seen – and engaged with – by the most people. What makes those tweets different from your lower-performing tweets? Maybe you used a particular hashtag or included a photo. Maybe you mentioned someone who retweeted you. Whatever it is, try doing more of that to see how you can activate more of your potential audience, and improve your ratio of actual to potential impressions. For example, we've found for our own content, hashtags like #smm and #measure help get our tweets in front of a receptive, responsive audience interested in social media marketing. And our tweets with an interesting photo or video get high rates of engagement. And when it comes to posts about our company, tweets using the #hiring hashtag generate a lot more impressions than an average tweet.
What tweets get the fewest impressions?
Next, look at the tweets that are performing the worst. Which ones have the fewest impressions and least engagement? Look for patterns in those tweets. Sometimes you can learn more from what's not working than from what is working. For example, we've found that some of our text-only tweets get fewer impressions and lower engagement than our visual content does. But not every time – there seems to be certain types of images that work better than others for us. What do you see in your analytics?
What's different about your outliers?
Finally, are there any tweets that get way more engagement or impressions than the rest of your tweets? Dig deeper into these tweets, in both Twitter and Union Metrics Twitter analytics. What exactly spurred that response? Twitter will tell you how many retweets, replies, clicks and favorites a tweet received, and our analytics can tell you who retweeted or replied to you and how much amplification they contributed to that tweet. Use this information to see what caused the spike, and think about how you can try to replicate this on future tweets.
Who engages with your tweets? And how?
Finally, you can use other metrics on engagement (like retweets and replies, average retweet rate) and contributors (such as the people who have engaged the most with your content and generated the most amplification for your content) to understand not just how far your content is reaching, but how and with whom. When taken together, along with actual and potential impressions, you can more completely understand what's working with your Twitter account and how you can improve what isn't.
You can run a free TweetReach by Union Metrics snapshot report here any time, on any hashtags, usernames or keywords. Try it now! Want more? Check out our comprehensive Union Metrics Twitter analytics, with real-time monitoring and analytics, starting at just $99 per month.
Why potential reach and impressions matter on Twitter
All TweetReach reporting includes a number of engagement and listening metrics for Twitter. Two of the main metrics we provide are potential reach and impressions. Let's talk a little more about what reach and impressions are, and why they're so important to your Twitter strategy.
Reach is the size of the estimated potential unique audience for your tweets. TweetReach calculates reach algorithmically, based on data we've been collecting from Twitter for more than five years. It's the best way of knowing how large your audience on Twitter can be, and takes unique recipients into account.
Impressions measure the size of total potential exposure. This shows you how many total timelines your tweets were delivered to, so it's a count of the maximum total impressions possible for your tweets.
Both of these estimated audience metrics are essential for understanding the full impact of your tweets, especially when used alongside Twitter's internal analytics. Here's how.
Reach and impressions for your Twitter account
Twitter's analytics calculate actual impressions for each of your Twitter account's tweets. That shows how many people actually saw that tweet. TweetReach calculates total possible impressions for those tweets. Use actual impressions and potential impressions together to fully understand your impact on Twitter. The number of actual impressions received will vary from tweet to tweet and account to account, but your actual impressions will likely be between 1% and 20% of your potential impressions.
Knowing how your actual impressions compare to your potential impressions shows you exactly how well your tweets are performing, how large your audience is, and how large your audience could be. What's the ratio of your actual impressions to potential impressions? Are your tweets on the low side? Do some perform better than others? Use this information to determine how you can improve your ratio. Which tweets are seen – and engaged with – by more people? What makes those tweets different? Maybe you used a particular hashtag or included a photo. If so, try doing more of that to see how you can activate more of your potential audience, and improve your ratio of actual to potential impressions.
Additionally, you can use other TweetReach metrics on engagement (like retweets and replies, average retweets rate) and contributors (such as contributors who have engaged the most with your content and generated the highest exposure) to understand not just how far your content is reaching, but how and with whom.
Reach and impressions for competitors' or influencers' accounts
While Twitter's activity dashboard focuses on your own Twitter presence, you can use TweetReach to analyze any Twitter account, including your competitors, influencers in your industry, celebrities, or any other public Twitter account.
Start with a quick share of voice analysis. How do your reach and impressions compare to those of your closest competitor? How about other similar Twitter accounts? Remember these are potential impressions, so know that – just like for your own Twitter account – your competitors' actual impressions will be a similarly small percentage of their potential impressions.
For a more advanced analysis, dive deeper into competitive intelligence. Run TweetReach reports or Trackers for your competitors, then take a look at the popular content and top contributors in these conversations. What Twitter accounts are engaging with your competitors? Who are they and do you follow them? What hashtags are your competitors using? Are there any new or relevant hashtags you could use? What tweets are resonating in the conversation?
Reach and impressions for hashtags, keywords or other terms
With TweetReach, you can measure more than just a Twitter account – you can measure the impact of anything in a tweet, like a hashtag, a phrase or keyword, even a URL. Twitter's activity dashboard only includes tweets posted from your account, so you can't use it to analyze impressions for the overall conversation around a hashtag, for example.
You're probably using a variety of hashtags in your tweets – some for specific campaigns or events and other more general hashtags to signal participation in a particular industry or conversation. Do you know the reach of those hashtags? With TweetReach, you can understand the potential reach and impressions for any hashtag, which helps you understand the size of the conversation you're participating in. If a hashtag has a low reach, then you'll be able to have a large impact in a smaller space. If the hashtag's reach is high, you'll less likely to make a big impact in the overall conversation, but you're participating in a more popular topic. The best Twitter strategy includes a bit of both; use a combination of specific and general hashtags in your tweets to reach the most people.
Interested in learning more about how you can use potential reach and impressions to improve your Twitter strategy? We'd be happy to show you how to use TweetReach's Twitter analytics to better understand the full impact of your tweets. Let's talk!
How can I use Twitter's analytics alongside Union Metrics Twitter analytics?
Twitter's new tweet activity analytics includes a set of metrics to help you understand the performance of your tweets. It provides a great complement to the Twitter account analytics we provide with Union Metrics Twitter analytics. Want to know how you can use them together to make the absolute most of your tweets? Here are a few suggestions.
1. Understand your brand's impressions
Twitter's analytics will tell you how many actual impressions your tweets received (defined as the number of times a user is served a tweet in their timeline or search results). Here's an example of metrics for a tweet from our @unionmetrics account.
With our Twitter analytics, we provide a measure of potential impressions (defined as total maximum deliveries of a tweet) for each tweet. Here's an example from a Tracker showing maximum possible impressions for the same tweet above.
Use these impressions numbers together to understand what portion of your audience you're reaching and how impactful your tweets are.
2. Improve your tweet performance
Twitter's new activity dashboard includes detailed metrics for each tweet, letting you know what kind of (and how much) engagement they receive. Over time, you can use this to learn what kinds of content perform better and use that to inform your Twitter strategy.
With our Twitter analytics, we can drill even further into the content in your tweets – the hashtags and URLs you share, including those from Vines or Instagram photos cross-posted to Twitter, which is especially helpful during a campaign that spans platforms. Here's an example:
Combining these sets of data you can clearly see which types of content are being shared more, clicked through or favorited more, or some combination of those. Use it to test the same content shared in slightly different ways to see which clearly resonates most with your audience, and build a stronger content strategy tweet by tweet.
3. Measure engagement with your account
With Twitter, you'll see stats on retweets, clicks, favorites and replies from the past month, including how these figures compare to the month before, like the image to the right. It's broken down by tweets from your account, retweets and replies, and promoted tweets.
With Union Metrics Twitter analytics (pictured below), you get retweets and replies, and how that breaks down into an average retweet rate, in addition to an overview of your follower growth and the reach of your tweets. Look at an all-time overview of how many tweets you've sent with an average tweets per week stat, and all of your mentions, with an average tweets per contributor stat. This lets you understand your engagement levels with those who are contributing to the conversation around you; we'll talk more about this in a minute.
Putting these together, you can see exactly which kind of content gets the most – and the best – engagement. If your how-to posts and tips and tricks are all getting favorited, you know which kinds of customers are looking for those resources and saving them to reference later. If your question-style headlines are getting the most clicks, you'll know to write more of those in the future if you want to get your posts in front of more eyeballs. If your product posts are getting the most replies, look to see how many people ask further questions and how many thank you for sharing the information. Use their questions to inspire new posts and fill gaps in your FAQs.
4. Identify your biggest fans or advocates
Who's engaging with your content and mentioning your account? Our Twitter analytics gives you a list of the top contributors to the conversation with your Twitter account, letting you know who your biggest supporters and advocates are, telling you who you should be paying attention to, engaging with, and rewarding and thanking. Being able to identify your brand advocates is absolutely invaluable to growing your following and increasing engagement.
Additionally, knowing who interacts with your account can help you understand more about who your audience is on Twitter. Is this the audience you want to reach? Should you shift your strategy to try and reach a slightly different audience? Twitter's analytics will also help fill this part of the puzzle out; their follower analytics tell you where most of your followers are tweeting from and what they're interested in.
Using our contributor list augmented by Twitter's follower details will help paint a deeper portrait of the people who are most engaged with your account and the content you're sharing. This will help you build the most informed Twitter strategy possible.
Want more?
These are just a few ways you can use Union Metrics Twitter analytics together with Twitter's internal analytics to improve your Twitter activities. And that's just for your owned Twitter account analytics. We can also monitor hashtags and keywords on Twitter to help you understand larger conversations and trends. Learn more about how we can help you measure and optimize your tweets. Email us if you want to talk more!
Healthcare companies and social media metrics: What to focus on, what to measure.
The industries that have moved more slowly to embrace the social media world have, understandably, been the more highly regulated industries such as law and healthcare. But as social has moved from what some saw as a quirky new marketing fad into a steady part of our daily lives, so too have these industries followed– and now they're playing catchup. After all, the percentage of Americans alone who turn to social media- and trust it- for health information is growing.
The first step is making a plan to figure out what metrics are going to be important to measure on each of the social sites you decide to have a presence on, such as Twitter. So what metrics should healthcare companies focus on?
1. Decide what your goals are
Healthcare companies or professionals using social media will obviously have very different goals with their accounts compared to businesses in the beauty, travel, or other industries; there's never a one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to social.
By figuring out what you want to accomplish you'll know what it is that you need to measure. Here are a few ideas of what a social presence can mean for a healthcare company:
Provide health resources
Provide support by answering company-specific questions
Provide support by hosting chats with qualified professionals to answer health-related questions
Communicate new information; for example, explaining recent changes to your company, or explaining what the new Affordable Healthcare Act means to those using your services
A combination of some or all of these
Many of these things will spread awareness of your brand and amplify your brand voice, particularly if you decide to participate in or host tweet chats. (If you want more information on building or establishing a brand voice, go here.) Tweet chats also lead to higher engagement with your audience. Which brings us to our next step.
2. Measure based on those goals.
If your goal is to increase awareness of your brand, you'll want to look at share of voice, or specifically metrics like volume, reach, exposure, and amplification relative to the volume, reach, exposure, and amplification of your closest competitors, if they're on social media. If they're not on social media but your target audience is talking more about them than you, you need to really ask what they're doing that you're not. Here are more resources to break down how to measure each of these metrics specifically:
For share of voice:
For a breakdown of volume, reach, engagement, influence and share of voice: 5 essential & easy social media metrics you should be measuring right now
For more specifics if you're kicking things off with a campaign: The 5 easy steps to measure your social media campaigns
Amplification is definitely tied to share of voice- most metrics have some manner of overlap- but it's also important to look at how others are helping to amplify your voice or your messages, which means looking at engagement as well. Retweets, annotated retweets (think the classic retweet, with commentary before the RT), link shares from your website, etc. The above resources cover much of this as well.
3. Rinse, repeat.
Social media is a constantly changing landscape, which can make it daunting to tackle, but the best way to go about it is just to jump in and listen, then start swimming. Establish a time period for regular evaluations- compile specific monthly metrics, schedule quarterly metric revisions- and investigate and change whatever isn't working.
Social media basically consists of constant experimentation and adjustments, but with the right information it's more of a fun and exciting project that a terrifying task. And as always, we're here if you have questions.
Image courtesy NYPL Digital Gallery
Announcing our new reach algorithm
This post was written by Union Metrics CEO and Founder Hayes Davis.
We started TweetReach in 2009 with a simple idea: to provide a simple report that showed people the reach of tweets about any topic. Since that time, we've grown far beyond that simple reach report and added comprehensive tracking, as well as many other metrics and insights. But reach is still something we care a great deal about, so I wanted to tell you about some changes we're making to the algorithm we use to calculate reach.
This is a long post, so here's the executive summary:
- We've built a new and extremely robust model for calculating reach that will replace our current algorithm.
- Historical reach data won't change, and newly calculated reach will change only slightly in most cases relative to historical trends.
- This new algorithm allows us to increase our data limits across all TweetReach Pro plans.
- These changes go into effect next week.
For those of you who are interested in learning more about how we built our new algorithm, read on.
Setting the stage
Reach is a complex metric with many definitions across vendors and industries, so let me explain how we think about reach on Twitter. For us, reach is the total number of unique Twitter accounts that received at least one tweet about a topic in some period. Knowing this helps you understand how broadly your message is being distributed on Twitter.
For most of our existence we've measured reach by using Twitter's API to determine the actual Twitter IDs of users who received tweets about a topic. From that copious raw data, we then applied a dose of math and lots of computational horsepower to derive our reach measurement. While this brute force method produces a very reasonable estimate for reach, it has some serious drawbacks in terms of meeting the needs of our customers. It slows down our reporting for customers pulling data on ad-hoc periods and – while our data limits are generous relative to our competitors – it meant we had to place stricter data limits than we wanted on our TweetReach Pro plans.
In addition to these increasingly frustrating drawbacks, Twitter has announced a major set of technical changes to their API. Included in those changes are additional restrictions on the API calls we make to determine the raw data we use in our reach calculation. So instead of working around those API limits and continuing with our brute force approach, we decided it was time to get smarter.
Investigating the data
At TweetReach, one thing we have is data – lots and lots of data. This means that we have an extraordinarily large archive of information about how campaigns work on Twitter, which goes back years and is unique to us. From these data and our experience, we know that the reach of a Twitter campaign is essentially a function of the number of unique contributors (users tweeting), how large their follower bases are, and the overall number of tweets. The question is: What are the mathematical parameters of that function?
We started our investigation by looking at what we call the "potential reach" of any conversation on Twitter. This is the maximum possible reach of any conversation if all people who tweet about a topic have no followers in common. While it provides an upper bound on reach, it's obviously flawed; the assumption that no one has followers in common just doesn't make common sense. It is, however, a good starting point, so we put it in a scatter plot to at least see if there was a relationship between potential reach and actual reach:
The way this graph turns upward at the end shows us there's not a clear linear relationship in this data, but there might be if we plotted this on a log-log graph.
There is a nice positive linear correlation after all. However, there are also some pretty absurd numbers. In fact, some of those "up and to the right" data points in the first graph show a potential reach above 2 billion (nearly 30% of the world's population and more than 8x Twitter's 250 million monthly active users). As it turns out, this is what many in our industry call "reach". But we knew we could do better.
Enter statistics
Armed with the notion that potential reach had some value, we set out to combine that with other data to build an algorithm that could predict reach. We experimented with many different approaches that we applied to tens of thousands of data points derived from real Twitter campaigns. And after many iterations, we've developed an extremely robust model that explains 99.51% of the variance in reach on a Twitter campaign.
Below is another scatter plot (with a trendline) that shows our reach prediction model applied to a test data set.
The data have a nearly 1:1 positive linear correlation, and there are no crazy outliers. This means we can predict an accurate reach with an extremely high degree of confidence without having to resort to brute-force methods.
What does this mean for our customers?
For the vast majority of our customers there will be very little noticeable impact to reach. Most of you won't see any change at all. But a few of you will see some small changes. We will not be altering our reach calculations for historical periods, so some of you may notice your future reach increase or decrease slightly when compared to historical levels. And since no model is absolutely perfect, a small set of customers may see somewhat larger increases in reach for certain campaigns. If you have any questions at all about a change in your reach, don't hesitate to contact our support team and we'll be happy to take a look!
But best of all, these changes bring some significant benefits to our TweetReach Pro subscribers. The first benefit is that viewing ad-hoc periods within a TweetReach Tracker will now be much faster than before. The second, much more exciting benefit, is that we're now able to increase our data limits for TweetReach Pro plans.
We'll be rolling these changes out next week and we'll be communicating with you along the way. We're extremely excited to share the results of this work with you – our customers! If you have any questions, please let us know.
Your in America: Overnight Twitter sensation teaches grammar and Twitter reach
The latest Twitter account to enchant us all, seemingly overnight, is bringing delight to grammar enthusiasts everywhere: "Your In America Bot" (@YourInAmerica) swoops in on unsuspecting offenders of the English language, who are, entertainingly, mostly trying to shame others for not speaking English.
Created on November 23rd, @YourinAmerica counted just under 15k followers only five days later, with an output of fewer than 100 tweets.
How is that possible? Let's look at the reach of the single tweet above.
Not bad. But let's understand how almost 250,000 accounts were reached, when this account has only a fraction of that number of followers, even at the rate it has grown.
Here's the activity breakdown for the tweet:
So actually 241 separate Twitter accounts contributed to the exposure of this one tweet, mostly by picking it up and retweeting it: 219 retweets, 12 replies, and 18 other tweets were made. On the day this tweet was published, the account had about 8,000 followers, meaning just about 3% of the follower base was able to lead to this much exposure on a single tweet.
And here's where it really gets interesting: looking at who is doing the retweeting. @SarahSpain, ESPN1000 host, has a lot more followers than @YourinAmerica and her retweet of the original tweet is actually what generated the most exposure.
In this way, TweetReach helps you figure out who the major influencer is in the reach of this particular tweet, in way that would be much more difficult and time-consuming to figure out manually.
This gives you an idea of whom to cultivate relationships with on Twitter. If you see that one account with a lot of influence (be that a large audience or simply highly engaged followers) consistently interacts with you and/or retweets your content, you know they like what you have to say and are helping you grow your own audience.
For example, the second most retweeted tweet only had 7 retweets – compared to the original, unaltered tweet's 207- but this is still important to note because it indicates that @alysonfooter has an engaged audience of her own. (Note that these numbers reflect the two messages that were retweeted the most– the original and one with the original message plus commentary. More retweets were also made with different commentary added to the original, which altogether add up to the total number of retweets made: 219.)
Perhaps the most interesting takeaway from @YourInAmerica, however, will be if anyone really does learn a grammar lesson. So far most of the victims seem to have deleted the offending tweet in question after falling victim to @YourInAmerica.
5 essential & easy social media metrics you should be measuring right now
This post by Union Metrics Co-Founder Jenn Deering Davis originally appeared on the KISSmetrics Blog on April 2, 2012.
So your company is now officially participating in social media. You've set up a Twitter account, a Facebook page, even a few Pinterest boards. You respond to customer questions, follow fans, post important news, and thank your advocates for their support.
Beyond that, what are you doing to track and monitor these social interactions? If you're engaging in social media, then you should be measuring those activities. How else will you know how you're doing? The good news is it's easier than you think to measure your social media efforts.
Here are five simple, but oh-so-useful social media metrics you should be measuring right now.
1. Volume
The first – and easiest – social media metric to measure is volume. What is the size of the conversation about your brand or your campaign? Volume is a great initial indicator of interest. People tend to talk about things they either love or hate, but they rarely talk about things they simply don't care about at all.
While volume can seem like a simple counting metric, there's more to it than just counting tweets and wall posts. It's important to measure the number of messages about your brand, as well as the number of people talking about your brand, and track how both of those numbers change over time. For example, Facebook Insights has a useful metric (cleverly called "people talking about this") that measures how many unique people have posted something to their walls about your brand page.
Learn when volume is higher – are there days or times when more people seem to be talking about your brand? You can use this information to focus more of your own posts during these times to get more engagement, which we'll talk about in a minute.
2. Reach
Reach measures the spread of a social media conversation. On its own, reach can help you understand the context for your content. How far is your content disseminating and how big is the audience for your message? Reach is a measure of potential audience size.
And of course, a large audience is good, but reach alone does not tell you everything. Reach becomes very powerful when compared to other engagement metrics. Use reach as the denominator in your social media measurement equations.
Pick important action or engagement numbers like clicks, retweets, or replies (more on this in a second) and divide them by reach to calculate an engagement percentage. Of the possible audience for your campaign, how many people participated? Reach helps contextualize other engagement metrics.
3. Engagement
Speaking of engagement metrics, this is one of the most important areas to measure in social media. How are people participating in the conversation about your brand? What are they doing to spread your content and engage with the topic?
In most social media settings, content can be both shared and replied to. Twitter retweets (RTs) and Facebook shares and posts are helpful to know who is spreading your content, while comments, replies and likes are helpful to see who is replying to your content. Think carefully about your goals with social media. Are you focused more on generating interaction (replies, comments) or on spreading a message (retweets and posts)? Be sure you're using metrics that reflect what's important to your brand right now.
And are there types of content that generate engagement? Start paying attention to what messages generate the most replies and RTs. It might surprise you what people interact with; it's not always what you expect.
4. Influence
Who is talking about your brand and what kind of impact do they have? Influence is probably the most controversial social media metric; there are myriad tools that measure social influence, and they all do it in different ways. But one thing they all agree on is that audience size does not necessarily relate to influence. Just because someone has a lot of friends or followers, that does not mean they can encourage those followers to actually do anything.
Based on past actions, we can make assumptions about how influential someone might be in the future. This type of potential influence is useful to decide who to reach out to when you're preparing for a campaign. Tools like Klout and PeerIndex assign people an influence score. Tools like these measure online social capital and the (potential) ability to influence others.
Kinetic influence, on the other hand, will help you understand who is participating in and driving conversation about your brand and your campaigns, and who gets others to participate in these specific conversations. You can find your brand advocates by focusing on people whose messages are amplified by others, and not just who has the most followers.
5. Share of Voice
Finally, to really understand how well you're doing on social media, you should consider a share of voice metric. How does the conversation about your brand compare to conversations about your competitors? Determine what percentage of the overall conversation about your industry is focused on your brand compared to your main competitors. And learn from your competitors' successes; since so many of these social media conversations are public, you can measure your competitors' impact just as easily as you can measure your own.
Consistency and preparation are essential to effective social media measurement. Pick your favorite metrics and start tracking them now. Use the same formulas and tools to calculate these numbers every week or month. Track your numbers over time and pay attention to how they change. If you see anything that looks higher or lower than what you typically expect, investigate it. By measuring – and paying attention to – these five social media metrics, you'll be able to better understand the impact and effectiveness of your social media activity.
Interested in learning more about TweetReach? Take a look at our website or contact our sales team for more.
TakeFive with TweetReach – Laura Beck
Welcome back to TakeFive with TweetReach, our ongoing interview series with notable members of the social media analytics and measurement community. This week we're delighted to welcome Laura Beck, Founder of stripedshirt.com and a 20-year PR professional, where she has consistently focused her energy on helping create awareness and buzz for early stage technology companies.
TweetReach: Welcome Laura! Let's start with talking about how you got started using social media. Can you describe you first "ah-ha" moment?
Laura Beck: I've been on LinkedIn since mid-2008, and always have and continue to think of that as more my online rolodex; my contacts database. But, I got hooked on Facebook early, and hard, and it's been consistent. I joined a year prior, in mid-2007 more for personal networking, keeping in touch with friends, planning high school and college reunions, seeing regular snapshots of the lives of the people I care about. But, my ah-ha moment on social media, I guess, was CES (the Consumer Electronics Show) in January 2009, when my hand was forced to join Twitter: some press friends were scolding me for not being on yet and threatened to make @fakelaurabeck and tweet away. I had to defend my Twitter turf, get my handle, and start to participate. And, while scary at first, holy cow to a fantastic way to engage with people in quick, direct ways.
TweetReach: How important was measurement in your initial strategy and how has that evolved?
Laura Beck: Initially, Twitter was play time and wasn't about measurement at all. It was a science experiment — to see if you could reach someone, if they'd respond, if people would pass on something you tweeted. That quickly has evolved to Twitter being as critical and legit a communications channel and an information channel as blogs, online publications, even print publications. So along those lines, when you are doing public relations these days — for a client or for yourself — you best know the impact of every hit, every mention. That includes Twitter, blogs, even LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr — IF you could measure all these, and figure out the impact, the reach.
TweetReach: Let's talk about consistency in measurement. Agencies and marketers have had to use a variety of tools and metrics to analyze the performance of their social media efforts, resulting in inconsistent results. How important is the ability to measure and report on social media results in a consistent way to you and your clients?
Laura Beck: Holy cow, it's the holy grail. Even being able to measure and report at all with some sort of metrics, even if inconsistent, not apples to apples. Anything at all is something. We've been talking about this for years — and now it's 20 years later. We've never been able to crack the code, get beyond "ad equivalency" or circulation as a basis for value, for the worth of a hit or a mention. And those approaches have been archaic for print publications for years, let alone online outlets, let alone blogs, let alone a tweet. This is the holy grail, but no one's found the cup yet.
TweetReach: Olivier Blanchard and others have written about the need to look at social media measurement in the context of a broader business measurement strategy. What do you think? Is measuring social media success useful by itself?
Laura Beck: For the past 2-3 years, I've considered all things social media "just another channel." Seriously. My business always, ultimately is PUBLIC relations. Not press. It's about reaching and influencing the publics, a company's targets (whether customers, or partners, investors, employees, etc.) positively, and moving them to action. A blog post, a tweet, a Facebook update, a YouTube video — any of these may do the trick. They are another channel to positively reach a target. Therefore, all things social better be part of the whole marketing mix. And therefore, all things social should be measured, considered, and factored in along with all business measurement. Something social may just directly create a sale, and you can be darn sure all things social indirectly affect sales, awareness, perception of a company, a brand, an individual — positively or negatively.
TweetReach: Traditionally media success has been measured using reach, impressions, exposure. How important are these metrics when looking at social media campaigns? What else to you need to measure?
Laura Beck: I think these measures are just as important in social as in any marketing campaign. But again, holy heck are they hard to measure, quantify, and value. Overall impact is still both a volume and a value game, and hopefully we are getting to a world where it's the value that matters -– reaching the right people, versus thousands of people where you hope something sticks with a few. So while sheer reach and overall exposure are important — blog readership, twitter followers, how many times something was retweeted — again, with social, where you can be laser-precise, I'm hoping we are getting to a place where the measure of success of a marketing campaign could be clearly tracked down to who was reached and what action they took. Literally, really measuring "conversions" versus just impressions. Whereas PR has almost always been air cover for sales, with social, we have the opportunity to be the ground team, too.
TweetReach: Let's talk about the measurement of reach – how do you weigh the importance of the quantity of a campaign's reach – the overall size of the potential audience – vs the quality of that reach? Both are important, but how do you help your clients understand the difference and the impact?
Laura Beck: This is what I'm getting at above, a bit. And my personal theory, at least in Twitter, is that ideally a brand wants to find, mine and engage on an ongoing basis with 100 true fans. Period. If you can find the right people with the right power of influence, and mine them (get to know them, get them to know and care about your brand), and then engage with them on an ongoing basis, have real conversations — boom — you have success. They are brand advocates, they pass on their love for your brand to their networks, and it's genuine, and pure, and "third party." This is what I think the future of social COULD be, and wow, would it be more valuable, time efficient, respectful to all and end a lot of the echo chamber stuff we have flying around right now with just volumes and volumes of information and the same content recycled. But, we have to all work together to prove it out, and have some case studies and examples of it working. THAT will help companies believe and take on this approach as well.
TweetReach: Thanks for your thoughts and time, Laura!
After 18+ years working for PR agencies, Laura Beck is focused on independent marketing and PR consulting as well as running her own commerce business, www.stripedshirt.com. Until May 2010, she ran the Austin Texas office of Porter Novelli for nearly 10 years, opening it at the very end of the dot com bubble in 2000 at 29 years old. Under Laura's leadership, the office grew to staff 16 people and serviced upwards to 25 clients at a time. Laura's focus for the office and personal passion has been largely technology start ups, working with entrepreneurs to bring their dreams to life, gain critical visibility, create positive buzz. That continues now as an independent consultant.
Laura's expertise — and love — lies in client counsel, project management, strategic program development, media relations and staff development. Laura prides herself with being active on the press front lines every day and loves nothing better than successfully placing a good story, which she still does regularly, all the way up the line to New York Times profiles, and Wall Street Journal reviews. In fact, Laura was named one of PR Source's 35 Top Tech Communicators of 2008, as so voted by the media.
Prior to her 10+ years with Porter Novelli in Austin, she was with the Boston office of the agency. Before that, Laura was with Lois Paul & Partners. She began the 18-year agency stretch at Weber Group, now Weber Shandwick. Laura is a decade-long Austin Texas resident now, but her Boston roots will always run deep with love for her Boston College alma mater, and the Red Sox, so much so that one of her two little Texas-born daughters sports the middle name Fenway. You can bet all these Boston colors, and many more, are represented by stripedshirt.
What is reach and why does it matter?
We often get asked about reach. How is reach calculated? Why reach? How can you really know how many people were reached? These are great questions and a big part of our business – we even named our product after it! At TweetReach, we think reach is one of the most important, but also one of the most misunderstood, metrics in social media. Our reach metric calculates the size of the potential audience for a message and this metric is an essential measure for any earned media campaign.
How TweetReach calculates reach
First, let's talk a little bit about what we mean by "reach" and specifically how we calculate reach at TweetReach.
Typically, reach refers to the capacity or range of something. In the case of earned and social media, reach is the size of the potential audience for a message. What is the maximum number of people who could have been exposed to a message? In newspapers and magazines, reach is measured through circulation numbers. In television, we use Nielsen ratings to understand a TV program's reach. For social media, we have TweetReach.
So when you run a TweetReach report, the reach number in your report reflects the size of the Twitter audience for your search query. Our reach number is a count of the unique Twitter accounts that received a tweet about your topic. It's an actual computation of unique Twitter IDs, with duplicate recipients removed. Our reach metric is not an approximation or estimated ballpark figure, nor is it total impressions or exposure; it's the real size of the potential audience.
Why reach matters
So, why go through all the trouble of calculating reach? Why does it matter? Because reach helps you understand the full impact of your tweets. Reach provides context for other engagement metrics. Reach quantifies the size of your message's universe and helps you understand if your campaign is successful.
Think of reach as the denominator in your measurement equations. Use reach with action or engagement numbers like clicks, retweets, or replies to calculate an engagement percentage. Of the possible audience for your campaign, how many people participated? Reach helps contextualize other engagement metrics.
Other reach resources
Obviously, this is something we think about a lot. If you'd like to hear more, we have a few ideas about how you should use reach to contextualize and interpret your campaign's success. We've also written about the relationship between reach and overall impressions. Finally, here's more detail about how we calculate reach, exposure and other metrics. So, what's your TweetReach?
Reach isn't influence. Keep your umbrella handy.
Recently, we read an interesting blog post from Tom Webster about the limits of online influence as he asked for help supporting the people of Christchurch, New Zealand after the terrible earthquake they experienced. (A very worthy cause. Please help him out!)
He makes a lot of great points in this post about the weaknesses of influencer campaigns on social media like Twitter. While TweetReach doesn't calculate influence, a number of people use our tools to help determine influence and influencers, so naturally this post grabbed our attention (and he quoted some TweetReach numbers in the post, so that helps too). In general, we agree with Tom's overall premise – influence is a messy, complicated concept, and far from being fully understood or properly utilized.
Matt Ridings of Techguerilla added this comment to Tom's post:
I think what you *are* exposing is that in a medium like Twitter, simple reach has very little to do with success. And that is a big thing for people to know indeed.
We absolutely agree. Now, of course everyone wants large numbers for reach or exposure, but they have to be put into context along with action metrics like clicks or actual transactions. Our reach metric, which is the number of unique Twitter accounts that tweets about a topic were delivered to, is a measure of the size of your potential audience. A high reach means a large audience, but it doesn't guarantee that members of that audience will actually do what they're asked.
So what is reach good for? We think reach is the universal denominator. It belongs in an equation to normalize other metrics. If reach is the size of your potential audience, how many people actually acted on a tweet? Divide your action metric by that reach. Depending on your goals, that action number could be anything from retweets to clicks to purchases on your website. With reach as a denominator, you can use this number across campaigns and time periods to start to really understand your effectiveness. Without reach to normalize these metrics, you're flying blind. Clicks were up 20% this week? Great! But is your campaign actually improving if your reach increased by 50%?
Where does this leave influence? Right now the familiar influence metrics essentially work by saying that someone has influenced people to do some social activities in the past and therefore could potentially influence people to do them again. This "potential influence" is a little like predicting the weather by assuming it'll do the same thing today that it did yesterday. It's often right, but you frequently end up soaked without an umbrella. The point here is that a message from an "influencer" as part of your campaign is no guarantee that you'll get results. Your message may not resonate with his or her audience, Twitter might be failwhaling, or it might just be a pretty day and everyone's outside.
Successful campaigns are about reaching the right audience with the right message at the right time. Those are all difficult things to do but there are a couple approaches that can help. First, you can't rely solely on algorithms – learn your industry and the true influencers (as humans understand the concept). Develop relationships with them and they'll help you spread the word. Second, measure, measure, measure. This is where reach and other metrics can truly help because they give you a baseline to measure performance over time so you can try new things and learn from your mistakes. In the end combining these ingredients will help you succeed.
Photo credit: Running through the storm by yooperann


text:
Long's basic recipe for when to target big bass is remarkably simple.
Looking for the bass of a lifetime? Try these tips from a man who has more lunkers to his credit than most of us can dream about.
Opens angler Trait Crist talks about her path to professional bass fishing.
This will be a 10-part series in which Mike Long sets out the basic framework of his trophy bass fishing methods. Think of it as the "big picture."
Since we're at the halfway point in the season, I figured I'd break down my year so far and give you some insight to what's gone right and what's gone wrong.
There's more to sight fishing than meets the eye. These tips can take you to the next level.
I never got to fish on my trip to Southern California. My mom and I actually headed to the lake and we weren't allowed to launch because of the quagga and zebra mussel inspections.
Visiting our families in Southern California is something we look forward to every year. Like many families around the world that elect to move away from family to be closer to work, we moved to Alabama to fish for a living.


text:
Highest Rated Titles With Michael Moore
- Job Types
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1. The Simpsons (1989– )
TV-PG | 22 min | Animation, Comedy
The satiric adventures of a working-class family in the misfit city of Springfield.
Creators: James L. Brooks, Sam Simon, Matt Groening | Stars: Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Julie Kavner, Yeardley Smith
Votes: 241,154
2. The Daily Show (1996– )
TV-14 | 30 min | Comedy, News, Talk-Show
America's top fake news show.
Creators: Lizz Winstead, Madeleine Smithberg | Stars: Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Craig Kilborn
Votes: 29,746
3. The Colbert Report (2005–2014)
TV-14 | 30 min | Comedy, News, Talk-Show
Satirical newscaster Stephen Colbert provides humorous commentary on the big issues going on in the United States and the rest of the world, with his larger-than-life ego and overly-patriotic spirit along with him every step of the way.
Stars: Stephen Colbert, Jay Katsir, Jon Stewart, Paul Dinello
Votes: 27,556
4. I Love the '80s (2002– )
TV-14 | 60 min | Documentary, Comedy, History
A humorous, year by year look through the decade that saw hair size become a statement, ratty clothes become cool, and music about breaking up become mainstream. Comprised of segments ... See full summary »
Stars: Andrew Dice Clay, Soleil Moon Frye, Traci Lords, Bret Michaels
Votes: 1,391
5. Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993–2009)
TV-14 | 60 min | Comedy, Music, Talk-Show
Conan O'Brien, a Harvard Lampoon alumnus, hosts this late-night comedy/talk-show which is often silly and whimsical.
Stars: Conan O'Brien, Andy Richter, Joel Godard, Max Weinberg
Votes: 12,796
6. Conan (2010– )
TV-14 | 60 min | Comedy, Music, Talk-Show
Conan O'Brien and his co-host Andy Richter discuss current news topics and interview celebrities and personalities.
Creators: Conan O'Brien, Bruce W. Timm | Stars: Conan O'Brien, Andy Richter, Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band, Jimmy Vivino
Votes: 15,357
7. The Corporation (2003)
Unrated | 145 min | Documentary, History
Documentary that looks at the concept of the corporation throughout recent history up to its present-day dominance.
Creators: Mark Achbar, Joel Bakan, Thomas Shandel | Directors: Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott | Stars: Mikela Jay, Rob Beckwermert, Christopher Gora, Nina Jones
Votes: 17,364
8. The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009–2010)
TV-14 | 62 min | Comedy, Music, Talk-Show
Opening monologues, sketches, celebrity interviews, and musical performances are commonly featured.
Stars: Conan O'Brien, Andy Richter, Jerry Vivino, Jimmy Vivino
Votes: 5,105
9. Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (2001–2010)
60 min | Comedy, Music, Talk-Show
A mix of music, comedy and celebrity chat.
Stars: Jonathan Ross, Stephen de Martin, Ian Parkin, David Wickenden
Votes: 1,889
10. Camp Chapel (2010)
21 min | Short, Comedy
Alex was just your standard teenage ladies man, ready for Spring Break in Mexico, until a mix up lands him in his worst nightmare: church camp. Now he's out to win the heart of a beautiful camper and redeem himself. Or maybe just survive.
Writer: Michael Burke | Director: Bhanu Chundu | Stars: Joey Richter, Quinn Scillian, Kris Reilly, Emily Bozek
Votes: 47
11. Sicko (2007)
PG-13 | 123 min | Documentary, Comedy, Drama
A documentary comparing the highly profitable American health care industry to other nations, and HMO horror stories including shotgun deaths.
Writer: Michael Moore | Director: Michael Moore | Stars: Michael Moore, Tucker Albrizzi, Tony Benn, George W. Bush
Votes: 64,361
12. Space Ghost Coast to Coast (1994–2004)
TV-PG | 15 min | Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Space Ghost in his 40s is no longer a superhero, and now he even goes by his real name Tad Ghostal. However, to remain in the spot-light he has started his own late-night talk show filmed ... See full summary »
Creators: Mike Lazzo, Khaki Jones | Stars: George Lowe, C. Martin Croker, Andy Merrill, Dave Willis
Votes: 3,556
13. Orwell Rolls in His Grave (2003)
Unrated | 84 min | Documentary
A documentary analyzing the role of the modern American media and its effects on democracy.
Writers: Tom Blackburn, Robert Kane Pappas | Director: Robert Kane Pappas | Stars: Charles Lewis, Robert McChesney, Mark Crispin Miller, Bernie Sanders
Votes: 1,056
14. Bowling for Columbine (2002)
R | 120 min | Documentary, Crime, Drama
Filmmaker Michael Moore explores the roots of America's predilection for gun violence.
Writer: Michael Moore | Director: Michael Moore | Stars: Michael Moore, Charlton Heston, Marilyn Manson, Salvador Allende
Votes: 118,719
15. I'm Going to Tell You a Secret (2005)
128 min | Documentary, Music
Chronicles Madonna's 2004 Re-Invention World Tour and "new" Madonna
Directors: Jonas Åkerlund, Dago Gonzales | Stars: Madonna, Stuart Price, Steve Sidelnyk, Monte Pittman
Votes: 1,510
16. Food Matters (2008)
80 min | Documentary
Food Matter examines how the food we eat can help or hurt our health. Nutritionists, naturopaths, doctors, and journalists weigh in on topics organic food, food safety, raw foodism, and nutritional therapy.
Directors: James Colquhoun, Carlo Ledesma | Stars: Vicky Blewitt, Ian Brighthope, Jerome Burne, Phillip Day
Votes: 2,928
17. Charlie Rose (1991– )
60 min | News, Talk-Show
Stars: Charlie Rose, Mark Halperin, Al Hunt, Thomas Friedman
Votes: 541
18. 60 Minutes (1968– )
60 min | Documentary, News
A popular television News magazine in the USA, in which an ever changing team of CBS News correspondents contribute segments ranging from hard news coverage to politics to lifestyle and pop culture.
Creator: Don Hewitt | Stars: Andrew Rooney, Lesley Stahl, Steve Kroft, Scott Pelley
Votes: 1,832
19. Real Time with Bill Maher (2003– )
TV-MA | 60 min | Comedy, News, Talk-Show
Comedian and political satirist Bill Maher discusses topical events with guests from various backgrounds.
Stars: Bill Maher, Arianna Huffington, Andrew Sullivan, Cornel West
Votes: 7,522
20. Finding Vivian Maier (2013)
Not Rated | 83 min | Documentary, Biography, Mystery
A documentary on the late Vivian Maier, a nanny whose previously unknown cache of 100,000 photographs earned her a posthumous reputation as one of the most accomplished street photographers.
Writers: John Maloof, Charlie Siskel | Directors: John Maloof, Charlie Siskel | Stars: Vivian Maier, John Maloof, Daniel Arnaud, Simon Amédé
Votes: 7,241
21. 50 Documentaries to See Before You Die (2011– )
Stars: Morgan Spurlock, Christy Lemire, Michael Renov, Eddie Schmidt
Votes: 82
22. Spin (1995)
57 min | Documentary
Pirated satellite feeds revealing U.S. media personalities' contemptuous plans for their viewers come full circle in Spin. TV out-takes appropriated from network satellite feeds unravel the... See full summary »
Writer: Brian Springer | Director: Brian Springer | Stars: Larry Agran, Jim Bakker, Bill Beutel, Tom Brokaw
Votes: 373
23. Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
R | 122 min | Documentary, Comedy, Drama
Michael Moore's view on what happened to the United States after September 11; and how the Bush Administration allegedly used the tragic event to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Writer: Michael Moore | Director: Michael Moore | Stars: Michael Moore, George W. Bush, Ben Affleck, Stevie Wonder
Votes: 109,404
24. Dirty Wars (2013)
Not Rated | 87 min | Documentary, Crime, Drama
Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill is pulled into an unexpected journey as he chases down the hidden truth behind America's expanding covert wars.
Writers: David Riker, Jeremy Scahill | Director: Rick Rowley | Stars: Jeremy Scahill, Nasser Al Aulaqi, Saleha Al Aulaqi, Muqbal Al Kazemi
Votes: 7,153
25. Roger & Me (1989)
R | 91 min | Documentary
Director Michael Moore pursues GM CEO Roger Smith to confront him about the harm he did to Flint, Michigan with his massive downsizing.
Writer: Michael Moore | Director: Michael Moore | Stars: Michael Moore, Roger B. Smith, Rhonda Britton, Fred Ross
Votes: 22,104
26. Late Night with David Letterman (1982–2013)
60 min | Comedy, Music, Talk-Show
David Letterman hosted this popular late-night comedy/talk-show. Often, Dave would go on location or to the phone lines to play pranks. Some famous features of the show include the "Top Ten... See full summary »
Stars: David Letterman, Paul Shaffer, Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Elliott
Votes: 2,331
27. The Young Turks (2005– )
120 min | Comedy, News, Talk-Show
A daring, funny, and brutally honest show that covers politics, entertainment, movies, sports, and pop culture.
Creator: Cenk Uygur | Stars: Karamo Brown, Kimberley Horcher, Kara Miller, Samantha Schacher
Votes: 566
28. This Divided State (2005)
88 min | Documentary
The film follows Micheal Moore's controversial decision to speak at the Utah Valley State College, where a heated debate between protestors and supporters argue Moore's First Amendment freedom of speech rights.
Director: Steven Greenstreet | Stars: Kay Anderson, Jim Bassi, Sean Vreeland, Michael Nigro
Votes: 696
29. Martial Law 9/11: Rise of the Police State (2005)
Documentary, War
Writer: Alex Jones | Director: Alex Jones | Stars: Osama bin Laden, Wolf Blitzer, George Bush, George W. Bush
Votes: 761
The Colbert Report (2005–2014)
Michael Moore
TV-14 | Comedy, News, Talk-Show
Writers: Opus Moreschi, Scott Sherman, Max Werner | Stars: Stephen Colbert, Michael Moore
Votes: 6
31. Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)
R | 127 min | Documentary
An examination of the social costs of corporate interests pursuing profits at the expense of the public good.
Writer: Michael Moore | Director: Michael Moore | Stars: Michael Moore, Thora Birch, William Black, Jimmy Carter
Votes: 33,198
32. 10%: What Makes a Hero? (2013)
88 min | Documentary, Adventure, Biography
Award-winning director Yoav Shamir (Defamation, Checkpoint) sets out on an entertaining and insightful international quest, exploring the notion of heroism through a multi-faceted lens. ... See full summary »
Writer: Yoav Shamir | Director: Yoav Shamir | Stars: Yoav Shamir, Philip Zimbardo
Votes: 777
33. Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List (2005–2010)
TV-14 | 60 min | Comedy, Reality-TV
With a quick wit and a lot of nerve, comedienne Kathy Griffin sets out on her wacky and shenanigan-filled journey from a D- to A-List celebrity.
Stars: Kathy Griffin, Maggie Griffin, Tiffany Rinehart, Tom Vize
Votes: 1,954
34. The Panama Deception (1992)
91 min | Documentary, History, War
A film about the true reasons for the 1989 US invasion of Panama and big media complicity in these activities.
Writer: David Kasper | Director: Barbara Trent | Stars: Elizabeth Montgomery, Abraham Alvarez, Carlos Cantú, Diviana Ingravallo
Votes: 806
35. The Drugging of Our Children (2005 Video)
104 min | Documentary
Excessive talking, fidgeting, or squirming. Often loses things. Difficulty remaining seated, playing quietly, or sustaining attention. Sound like your child? The American Psychiatric ... See full summary »
Writer: Gary Null | Directors: Manette Loudon, Gary Null | Stars: Neil Bush, Michael Moore, Gary Null
Votes: 50
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009–2010)
Episode #1.77
TV-14 | Comedy, Music, Talk-Show
Director: Allan Kartun | Stars: Conan O'Brien, Michael Moore, Seth MacFarlane, Rodrigo y Gabriela
Votes: 8
Mad About You (1992–1999)
The Birth: Part 2
TV-PG | 28 min | Comedy, Romance
Jamie is in the hospital having contractions. Paul tries to get into the hospital through the crowds of people there for Bruce Willis. The guys meet, and Bruce gives Paul advice. Paul gets to Jamie in time for the delivery. It's a girl.
Creators: Paul Reiser, Danny Jacobson | Director: Gordon Hunt | Stars: Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt, Leila Kenzle, John Pankow
Votes: 38
38. Some Mother's Son (1996)
R | 112 min | Drama, History
Based on the true story of the 1981 hunger strike in a British prison, in which IRA prisoner Bobby Sands led a protest against the treatment of IRA prisoners as criminals rather than as ... See full summary »
Writers: Terry George, Jim Sheridan | Director: Terry George | Stars: Helen Mirren, Fionnula Flanagan, Aidan Gillen, David O'Hara
Votes: 2,066
The Colbert Report (2005–2014)
Episode dated 14 September 2011
TV-14 | Comedy, News, Talk-Show
Writers: Opus Moreschi, Scott Sherman | Stars: Stephen Colbert, Michael Moore
Votes: 7
40. Winnebago Man (2009)
85 min | Documentary, Biography, Comedy
Jack Rebney is the most famous man you've never heard of - after cursing his way through a Winnebago sales video, Rebney's outrageously funny outtakes became an underground sensation and ... See full summary »
Writers: Malcolm Pullinger, Ben Steinbauer, Louisa Hall, Joel Heller, Berndt Mader, Natasha Rosow | Director: Ben Steinbauer | Stars: Jack Rebney, Ben Steinbauer, Keith Gordon, Nick Prueher
Votes: 3,878
41. And the Oscar Goes To... (2014 TV Movie)
87 min | Documentary, History
The history of the Academy Awards.
Writers: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman, Sharon Wood | Directors: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman | Stars: Anjelica Huston, Billy Crystal, Tom Hanks, Cher
Votes: 878
42. A Brief History of the United States of America (2002)
3 min | Animation, Comedy, Short
Writer: Michael Moore | Director: Harold Moss
Votes: 659
Conan (2010– )
Tell My Wife I Love Her, and Tell My Secret Wife I Love Her Even More
TV-14 | Comedy, Music, Talk-Show
Writers: Josh Comers, Dan Cronin, Andres du Bouchet | Stars: Conan O'Brien, Ellie Kemper, Jimmy Vivino, Andy Richter
Votes: 13
44. Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (2009– )
60 min | Comedy, Music, Talk-Show
Comedian Jimmy Fallon hosts a late-night talk show.
Stars: Jimmy Fallon, The Roots, Steve Higgins, Bashir Salahuddin
Votes: 8,296
45. Howard Stern on Demand (2005– )
TV-MA | Comedy, Talk-Show
Stars: Howard Stern, Robin Quivers, Artie Lange, Gary Dell'Abate
Votes: 461
46. The Big One (1997)
PG-13 | 91 min | Documentary, Comedy, Crime
On his book tour, Michael Moore exposes more wrongdoing by greedy big businesses and callous politicians around America.
Writer: Michael Moore | Director: Michael Moore | Stars: Michael Moore, Elaine Bly, Dan Burns, Chip Carter
Votes: 6,853
47. Small Town Gay Bar (2006)
76 min | Documentary
The story of community in the Deep South that is forced to deal with the struggles of ignorance, hypocrisy and oppression.
Writer: Malcolm Ingram | Director: Malcolm Ingram | Stars: Jim Bishop, Terry Capps, Jackie Cox, Bill Curtis
Votes: 998
48. Loose Change: Final Cut (2007 Video)
80 min | Documentary, History, Mystery
Loose Change Final Cut sets out to prove the official story of 9/11 - 'that the impact of two planes flying into two World Trade Center towers and the resulting fires caused three World ... See full synopsis »
Writer: Dylan Avery | Director: Dylan Avery | Stars: Dylan Avery, Mahmoud Ahmad, Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, Hamza Al-Ghamdi
Votes: 2,076
49. Democracy Now! (2001– )
60 min | News, Talk-Show
Stars: Amy Goodman, Juan Gonzalez, Nermeen Shaikh, Sharif Abdel Kouddous
Votes: 132
50. Question Time (1979– )
60 min | News, Talk-Show
Politicians, public office-holders and celebrities face questions on topical issues from a studio audience.
Stars: David Dimbleby, Robin Day, Peter Sissons, Shirley Williams
Votes: 179