The value of Social Media'Likes'

All brands welcome social Likes, but what is their true worth? Let's see the impact of Social Media'Likes' on a company's bottom line and how to incorporate it into your marketing strategy.

There was a time that you could only run Page Like campaigns within Facebook advertising. Brands and advertisers poured tens or hundreds, of thousands of euros collecting Likes, and Facebook had us convinced there was value in doing so. Today, there are various advertising opportunities and objectives, but Social Media'Likes' are still widely considered an indicator of brand loyalty and growth opportunity.

So what is the value of these Likes? This is the million-dollar question, and it’s one that most marketers are accustomed to avoiding it, only going so far as to concede that “there’s gotta be some value there.”

In our opinion, there is value in Social Media'Likes'.

It can certainly be stated that there is relationship between a follower Liking a brand on a social platform and that follower spending more on the brand than non-followers. But is that relationship one of correlation or causation? 

In a comprehensive evaluation of the value of a Like, Harvard Business Review carried out a set of controlled experiments to look at the possible impact of Likes on transactions or behaviors by a user, or people within the user’s social circle. Their findings: The mere act of Liking a brand does not affect a consumer’s behavior or lead to increased purchase volume. Furthermore, among the 18,000 people included in the study, the endorsement of a brand did not produce significant influence on a friend or family member’s likelihood to purchase.

These findings are disheartening but there is light at the end of this tunnel.

Meaningful consumer behavior changes can be made via social media in the form of branded endorsements and paid amplification. To put it simply, advertising plays a significant role in igniting meaningful action via social.

It’s vitally important that a brand invest in amplifying its message and the positive endorsements around its brand via social platforms. 

In one of the HBR-controlled studies, users in one group who Liked a page and were then shown posts and advertisements were more likely to take meaningful action, measured in real business results, than those in a control group. 

We urge all who are reading this to invest in amplification of customer testimonials, Social media Brand Ambassadors / influencers, brand partnerships and positively themed third-party endorsements of your brand. These types of content are referred to as “earned media.” The best social marketers drive measurable results when they embrace a holistic earned, owned and paid approach.

There is also very real value in what I refer to as “social proofing.” This essentially means that Likes, comments and shares provide a sense of legitimacy around your brand. Your credibility goes out the window when you only have a few Likes for your branded Pages and page posts.

We have sat in on multiple customer journey studies, which follow the paths that consumers take when evaluating a purchase. Quite often, one of the first things a consumer will do is look at your social pages.

The various things consumers look for include whether you have a high number of followers; whether your page posts are getting lots of (positive) engagement; whether you have Social media Brand Ambassadors / influencers / evangelists, reviews and so on. When you’re hitting a favorable level of perceived credibility, the psychological “warm and fuzzies” are built up in the form of social proofing.

On several occasions, we have worked for and with brands that just want to get to more followers than their closest competitors. I’ve had many CMOs tell me that this is their No. 1 priority for social media. This tactic in and of itself is not a terribly poor one, in my opinion. There is valuable brand positioning that occurs when you’re the most popular brand in your competitor set.

An exciting announcement made at the recent F8 conference, held annually by Facebook, was that there are now improved ways to track whether Page and post engagements lead to intent-driven behaviors. For example, you can evaluate whether those who commented on a post or Liked your Page take measurable action on your site or app. I encourage you to get learn the analytics enhancements that are rolling out for brands on Facebook.

What I request my clients do is go through an exercise of assigning real dollar values on social-driven actions. Get the buy-in from senior leadership at your organization on actual dollar amounts, and as a brand, you will march together toward social profitability.

A good place to start is traffic to your site or app. Given that “organic” social traffic typically converts at a fraction of more intent-to-purchase traffic sources, factor this into your value assignment. For example, if your euro-per-visit on non-brand search is €1.00, and organic social traffic converts at 1/10th the rate, the social traffic would be valued at €0.10 per visit.

Social media is closely related to public relations and other investments a brand makes to maintain favorable positioning. When determining social value, consider the real costs you encounter when pushing press releases and other materials that solidify a positive reputation. There is likely a euro amount your brand has already set aside for these efforts, or should.

My last piece of advice on measurement is to invest in ways that allow you to truly measure omnichannel impact at all stages of the funnel. 

While Likes as a standalone endorsement do not provide a high return, meaningful dollars can be made when you take a pragmatic and holistic approach. 

We like to say that your social media presence is a direct extension of every single channel and department of your organization. Make it the central hub of your marketing focus, where all earned, owned and paid efforts are combined. Spend your social euros wisely on tactics and strategies that produce real, measurable results for your brand.

An important thing to note is that not all customers take the same journey on their path to purchase. This journey is increasingly complex and unique for all brands, and social offers an opportunity to nurture consumers in a customized way. 

Branding and paid efforts need to do a delicate dance within your organization. Promote positive brand interactions, endorsements and experiences — and consumers will respond more favorably when presented with a direct response message.

When asked “What is the value of Social Media'Likes'?,” we often will respond with “Whatever you’re willing to pay for it.” You need to gain an understanding of the monetizing you can derive from social engagement for your brand.

Check out our social media packages here.

Do you need help with your Influencers / Social Media Brand Ambassadors? Check below