Inside LabourStart

Nine days ago I launched a major Facebook ad campaign to promote LabourStart which I am today suspending. Here are the numbers:

• 563 more people liked our Facebook page
• 1,260 clicked on the link
• 198,359 individuals saw the ad
• 138,838 people saw the ad with the names of their friends who like LabourStart
• Total cost: US$ 832.83 (£506.60)

The actual number of people who ‘like’ our FB page has grown from 1,710 to 2,330, a gain of 620 (36%) during this period.

Of these 620 individuals, 563 appear to have come from the ad campaign and another 57 through other means.

When I launched the campaign ten days ago, I showed a list of 50 unions and campaigning organizations and how many FB fans they had; we were 24th on that list. Today — without checking how others are doing — we’re probably 18th. Here’s the revised list (numbers for other groups are not updated):

Global – Avaaz 231,994
USA – Moveon.org 152,151
Global – Human Rights Watch 139,571
Global – Amnesty International 49,171
UK – 38 Degrees 31,002
USA – AFL-CIO 28,918
Australia – GetUp! 18,299
UK – False Economy 10,400
USA/Canada – SEIU 8,989
USA/Canada – USW 5,955
USA – Labor Notes 5,419
Germany – IG Metall 5,258
Germany – ver.di 3,457
USA – Young Trade Unionists 2,769
USA – IWW Starbucks Workers Union 2,624
Global – UNI Global Union 2,511
Israel – Histadrut 2,448
Global – LabourStart 2,330
UK – TUC 2,048
UK – Unite 1,897
UK – UNISON 1,892
Global – ITUC 1,860
Global – Clean Clothes Campaign 1,828
Australia – AWU 1,777
Global – LabourStart 1,710