An informative study puts a price tag on Facebook likes for big business brands.
As a company or business that utilizes Facebook as a tool to connect with our audience and build our professional brand, we are constantly told how important it is to share quality content with the end goal of earning likes and shares from our followers. Some brands do this most successfully through running engaging contests and campaigns, others by sharing content that connects with their audience on a personal level.
However, while we understand how important it is to get fans to like our Facebook page and are constantly researching the different successful methods for doing so, do we actually know how much these Facebook “likes” are worth in the long run? A study by the “social intelligence company” Syncapse conducted an in-depth study that put a value number on Facebook likes once and for all.
What did they find? According to the latest numbers for 2013, Syncapse found that each individual Facebook like for a company or brand is equal to an average of $174.17―up 28% from previous years.
Determining The Value Of A Facebook Like
For this study, Syncapse examined successful Facebook brands such as Coca-Cola, Victoria’s Secret, McDonald’s, BMW and more, and looked at six factors specifically:
- Product spending – The difference in spending habits on each brand within the category.
- Loyalty – The consumer intention to keep purchasing from the brand in the future.
- Propensity to recommend – Probability and propensity for word-of-mouth recommendations that lead to future sales.
- Media value – Efficiencies of earned reach and frequency via the Facebook platform.
- Acquisition cost – Efficiency of fans in enticing others to participate and drive organic membership.
- Brand affinity – The perceived personality or the emotional draw felt by fans towards their brand.
However, it was also noted in the survey that brands which typically sell more expensive products had a higher fan value on average than others with less expensive products. (BMW, for instance, had a fan value of $1,613.11 versus Coca-Cola’s $70.16.) This is not out of the ordinary because if BMW coverts one of their likes, it often results in the sale of an automobile, where as a Coca-Cola conversions typically equal the sale of one of their sodas.
What Does This Mean For Your Marketing Strategy?
An effective social media strategy requires you to fully understand the value of your fans and their actions―in this case, the action of them liking your Facebook page and how it translates to your bottom line. Through this study, Syncapse was able to determine that, on average, fans of a particular brand were found to spend $116 more on the company per year than non fans, as well as 43% more within the brand’s industry. Hopefully knowing the end result of the simple action of a fan “liking” a Facebook post will be the extra push your company needs to put more emphasis on your digital marketing strategy.
However, it is also important to remember that Facebook likes are worth nothing if you do not follow up with high-quality social media content that will keep your audience engaged and coming back for more. If you are looking for help bringing your Facebook strategy to the next level and delivering top-notch content that will get your Facebook fans interacting with your brand, contact The Zen Media Group today to learn more about our Social Media Marketing services.
Research source: Syncapse’s ‘The Value of a Facebook Fan 2013’ report.
