The Monthly Retail Social Juice Index Spotlight: Ice.com, Shari's Berries, J&P Cycles

It's not J&P Cycles’ most engaging posts that hold the most interesting insights, however. Instead, we learn more from the brand's low-performing posts. For example, we know its Facebook fans aren't relating to the company's blog, since each time it shared a link to a blog post it struggled to earn even a couple hundred likes. Also failing to break 200 likes was a coupon for a bike-mounted camera.

It was one of the brand's only product-centric posts, and its delivery — strict ad copy like "for a limited time" and "the lowest price" — stuck out like a sore thumb among the rest of its just-us-guys-talking-about-our-rides posts. Another product-centric post was a picture of a Harley-Davidson with the status: "Harley-Davidson released its 2013 lineup today. See anything you like?" This one earned over 2,000 likes, an indication these "bad boy" fans may prefer the softer sell.
Takeaways from this month's RSJI spotlight include the following:

• We've warned before about relying on the same schtick, but what if formulaic posts are working? Look around at your competition. In the case of jewelry brands, for example, most others are using the same formula (i.e., product pics with links) with similar success. What distinguishes your brand? And can you break away from the pack by doing something different?
• We all know that photos boost engagement, but how you use them depends on the nature of your fans. What rallies them? Is it identifying with a community? Is it adding a diamond to a wish list? Is it having fun with quirks and imperfections? Is it showcasing attitude? It's not enough to post photos anymore; they must be interesting, and they must tap into fan energy that's specific to your brand.
• Don't be afraid to look at low-performing posts and dig into why they failed. Not this: "Fans don't like links to our blog, so let's not post anymore of those," but this: "What is it about blog content — or how we're pitching it — that isn't resonating?" Though revealed through Facebook, these kinds of insights are far more valuable than a simple analysis of what fans "like" on the social network. They can impact a brand's broader content marketing strategy.

Carolee Sherwood is the conversation manager at Media Logic. Carolee can be reached at csherwood@mlinc.com.