23/09/2016
What happens when consumers ‘like’ a brand on Facebook...
It’s difficult to browse the internet without being inundated with requests to like a company’s page or with contests and offers dependent on doing so.
From the company’s perspective, a like on Facebook offers a chance to stay “top of mind”, a marketing concept that means a consumer thinks of a specific brand first for a certain product or service by having its promotional messages show up in that user’s Facebook newsfeed.
Being liked can also be used as a metric to determine the performance of social media campaigns and other promotional activities. The more a company is liked, the more successful the promotion is thought to be.
But is this really the case? The loyalty of liking
The primary reason that consumers choose to like a brand on Facebook is a sense of existing loyalty or obligation to support a brand.
The consumer “liked” the brand on Facebook because they simply liked (had a positive attitude toward) the brand.
This suggests that generating Facebook likes can indeed have positive outcomes for a company, including having more interaction with its fans.
Are all likes created equal? Well NO...
Just as all brands are not the same, all likes are not equal. It may seem more natural to like a brand that makes an actual product such as a favorite car manufacturer or clothing brand than a service like a plumber, cable provider or pet groomer.
That’s because, due to their intangible nature, services can be much more difficult for consumers to evaluate.
As a result, service companies need to initiate social interactions with their customers in order to communicate value and set appropriate expectations.
Parsing the results... So what does this all mean?
It tells us that simply adding up Facebook likes does not necessarily tell us how engaged a customer is with a company’s brand.
Brand and social media managers should not automatically assume that new Facebook followers are new to the company.
Brand managers should not always assume that their loudest and most active Facebook followers are the only ones getting the message.
Feelings of brand connectedness were a strong outcome of Facebook interaction. Companies should perhaps focus more on personalising their Facebook messages in an attempt to further stimulate and enhance this elevated sense of connectedness.
For product-based brands, although brand connectedness was lower, purchase intention and brand attitude – the positive or negative associations one has with the brand – were higher.
To leverage this, companies should perhaps include more calls to action on Facebook and showcase their latest and greatest product offerings.
So next time you “like” a brand on Facebook, think about what you are telling the company. And whether that’s the message you want to send.
Visit http://www.123internet.com.au/social-media-marketing get a FREE quote on your next social media campaign or marketing, let us do the hard work for you, get engaged with your customers today, thanks for reading...
