5 Ways to Create Value for A Facebook Like

 

 

 

 

 

According to Hubspot, customers are

51% more likely to make a purchase after LIKING a brand on Facebook!

WOW! That makes a Facebook Like REALLY valuable, so you should do whatever you can to get as many Likes as possible, right?

WRONG!

Let’s explore what a Facebook LIKE is really worth.

Social Media Strategy 1: Get Facebook Likes

Is this part of your social media strategy playbook? Well, you may be just wasting your money.  Let me explain.

Going back to the  quote from Hubspot earlier, you get the impression that Facebook Likes encourage folks to buy your brand.  If that’s the case, then maximizing the number of Facebook Likes you get will improve your ROI (Return on Investment).

But, it’s not that simple — it’s really a chicken and egg argument. Put another way, do Facebook Likes encourage folks to buy your brand or, do folks like your brand on Facebook because you provide high quality goods and services and are a good corporate citizen? Certainly, there’s a little bit of both going on, but I suspect that most users fall in the latter category — they like you on Facebook for all the great things you do off-line.

If what I suspect is true, driving Facebook Likes has little impact on your bottom line and efforts to achieve Facebook Likes are misguided.

When a Facebook Like might actually hurt you?

Say you’re running a contest — Like our page and get entered to win some prize.  It’s a common social media marketing strategy.  But, it’s dangerously wrong.

1. It discourages sharing – the more people who enter the contest, the lower your odds on winning.  So, you have NO incentive to share the contest with your friends.  Denied access to Friends of Friends, your campaign slugs along, generating too few Likes and too much cost.

2. It attracts the wrong people – folks attracted to your page in hopes of winning a contest are often NOT the right people.  They often aren’t part of your target market.  Thus, you spent money attracting folks who’ll likely NEVER buy your brand.

Another misguided use of the Facebook Like, is forcing folks to Like your page before they comment — especially if they’re unhappy.  Forcing them to Like your Facebook page before they can leave a negative comment only makes them angrier.  And, instead of just stopping by and posting their criticism, they’re now part of your community and can continue poisoning the community.

Creating VALUABLE Facebook Likes

Of course, there are good ways to create Facebook Likes.  Here are some of my favorite examples:

1. Create engagement.  The SINGLE most critical aspect driving consumer purchase decisions is what their friends think.  When you create engagement (sharing, commenting, or liking your posts on Facebook), those endorsements show up on users Facebook profiles and get shared to their friends’ newsfeeds.
2. Make a charitable donation for each Facebook Like.  It makes you look GOOD and encourages sharing.  For example, Pedigree donated a bowl of dog food to a pet shelter for each Facebook Like.
3. Earn Facebook Likes by creating a positive image through both social media and traditional marketing tools including product quality, excellent customer service, innovative products, good corporate citizenship, traditional advertising, product placement that resonates with your target audience and authentic social media marketing strategies.
4. Provide valuable content such as information, discounts, unique access, etc.
5. Pay it forward.  The law of reciprocity says that people feel a strong obligation to return favors.  If you give users something, they’ll often reciprocate by Liking your Facebook Fan Page, since it’s a small effort to repay the obligation.  For instance, Chipotle gives out free burritos to those dressed in costume on Halloween.