While Twitter had their #BrandBowl competition looking at conversations surrounding the ads during the Super Bowl, Facebook too was tracking the numbers, though their focus was slightly different.
Facebook has released a report on overall Super Bowl chatter across The Social Network, in which they highlight one major point:
“As in 2017, mobile won over desktop again: Around 90% of Facebook interactions were on mobile.”
Rather than looking at the specific ads, Facebook has used their report to remind advertisers that its users have their mobile devices handy at all times, and that TV ads perform better when accompanied by an online, mobile-focused element (though Facebook do note that the most-viewed video on Facebook was the NFL’s commercial featuring Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. recreating the final dance scene from Dirty Dancing).
In terms of overall discussion, Facebook says that there were more than 270 million Super Bowl-related interactions on their platform this year.
The most Liked Super Bowl related post came from Pink, who thanked fans for their support after she sang the national anthem with the flu.
In other trends, Facebook’s put together listings of the most discussed players, hashtags (note only three, which may say something about the popularity of hashtags on Facebook) and the nations where the Super Bowl discussion was biggest.
In terms of marketing lessons, as noted, Facebook says that the data highlights the importance of using mobile as a support to TV campaigns, while the surrounding conversation shows that while Twitter may be the home of real-time discussion, popular topics and events can still be a great focus for Facebook campaigns – though maybe in a different way. The more private nature of Facebook makes it a little harder to tap into the trending zeitgeist, but with so much related discussion occurring within these groups, it can still be an effective targeting option to boost brand reach.
You can read the full Facebook Super Bowl report, including notes on methodology, here.