Commentary

Google Searches, Facebook Brand Posts Show Two Sides Of Cambridge Analytica Scandal

Searches may reflect intent and what’s on the minds of those looking for information, but when it comes to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, some brands have it all wrong.

Data from iQuanti from March 20, 2018 through March 27, 2018 shows that people are thinking about learning more Cambridge Analytica and ways to protect their privacy on social media -- specifically Facebook.

Search volume for specific keywords reveals interests and concerns about Cambridge Analytica’s abuse of users’ personal Facebook data. In late March the search volume for keywords such as “cambridge analytica” tracked at 18,100; “delete facebook account” at 110,000; and “how to delete facebook account” at 74,000.

Searches show that people seemed less interested in information related to political scandals such as “trump facebook” at 22,200 searches; “cambridge analytica trump” at 1,600; and “cambridge analytica russia” at 390.

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Google Trends data for the past 30 days run by SEMRush represents a spike in search volume that began March 16, 2018 and spiked around March 20. The data is updated daily and averaged over a period of seven days.

Marketers at brands seem to view the scandal a little differently from Facebook users. Some are not giving up.

Ironically, brand activity on Facebook following the Cambridge Analytica news rose, according to data from social media data and analytics company Shareablee.

Despite consumer engagement on Facebook remaining flat to slightly down, the data from Shareablee shows that the average U.S. brand posted 9% more content on Facebook compared with the average day last week than they had on an average day in the previous three months.

Posts from the Education sector rose the most at 29.41%; followed by Telecommunications at 25.53%; Travel & Leisure at 24.83%; and Business Services at 22%.

The growth in daily posts by brands occurred between March 19, 2018 and March 25, and can be compared with the previous 90 days, according to Shareablee.

Some brands took the hint. For instance, Playboy Enterprises Inc. -- the company founded by Hugh Hefner -- is signing off of Facebook, according to The Wall Street Journal.

U.S. Online Media was the only category to fall at minus 0.07%. Sports and Recreation held back, too, at 4.75%; along with Publishing at 5.06%.

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