A case study of how the PayPal UK Facebook page grew 177k fans in 1 month

1. 177k new Facebook fans in 1 month A case study of a recent competition I ran at PayPal UK Jon Bishop

2. About the competition Engaged PayPal customers were invited via emails, banner ads and social media channels to win one of 10 iPad 2’s simply for ‘liking’ our PayPal UK Facebook page. The competition ran from 18 May 2011 to 20 June 2011 2

3. Results - Fan base growth The PayPal UK fan base grew by 177k fan to 195k in total. 1000% Fan base growth during the competition 3

4. Impressions and interactions The competition generated a huge amount of impressions across Facebook and Twitter Large amount of interaction on Twitter and the Facebook page as well 8.3 million Twitter impressions 6.85 million Facebook impressions 4

5. Virality A simple way to measure the effectiveness and virality of a brand message on Facebook is to compare the amount of impressions a post receives with the number of fans on the page. The difference would have definitely* been seen by friends of fans, giving the message greater reach. Impressions per post Number of Fans 5

6. Post competition – long term growth Post competition, the activity on the Facebook page is a lot higher than before the competition and it should stay this way with the large and constantly growing fan base. Post competition Pre-competition 6

7. Post competition drop off There was an expected drop in fan numbers after the competition ended. Less than 2k fans dropped off which is far less than expected and the numbers have already started to grow again. Post competition Competition ends 7

8. Campaign results £41 of value generated for every £1 spent Coverage: How to build an overnight Facebook sensation on the cheap. The cost of Twitter and Facebook advertising Facebook Case Study: How PayPal UK Got 177,000 Fans for Under $5,000 8