Brands and Facebook: Will “Like” make it love?
by Amy LaniganMonday, April 26th, 2010
You’ve heard the news by now. “Fans” on Facebook are no longer. It’s all about “Likes.” We’ve moved from roaring crowds to the realm of school crushes and ice cream.
Prior to the change we did a survey. We wanted to know the degree to which people were getting involved with brands on Facebook. Are fans in it for the arm candy or are they locked in long-term? Is all of this brand fanning one big booty call?
The results: 35.3% described their relationship with brand pages as Love ‘em and Leave ‘em.
The rest of the results…
29.4% Married: I work for the brand, product or company
17.6% Arm candy: I fan a brand so people will know I’m affiliated with it
11.8% Booty call: I’ll visit every once and a while
5.9% NA: I’ve never fanned a brand, company or product
0% Hot and Heavy: I’m actively involved & engaged with the fan page
The great news? This is changing. Brands are giving fans a reason to return. One of the best reasons to return as I see it? Shopping.
Our FanShop has proven it. And kudos to Levi’s for being the first to bring Facebook’s liking social plug-in to life with gusto. The media implications of this are impressive. When my “like” of 501 Jeans meets my wall meets Vitrue’s estimate of FB page wall click through rates at 6.5% we have another measure of ROI in social media. Boom.
I am a fan of liking content. And of having this liking explode outside of the confines of Facebook. But I miss fans of brands. A “Fan” is clear cut and cheering for you. Is a “liker” really going to paint their face and take a stand on behalf of your brand?
Although our Love ‘em and Leave ‘em fans likely weren’t doing that anyway.
Now we shall all see if “Likes” are enough to get us into a long-term relationship. I’m optimistic about the prospects.
Cheers,
Amy
Please note: Our survey was informal and distributed via social media.
