‘Liking’ a Company on Facebook Might Not Indicate True Fandom
According to an ExactTarget report titled “The Meaning of Like,” companies that receive “likes” from Facebook users might want to think twice before assuming each of those users is a true fan or advocate. The report also found that 44 percent of Facebook users “like” something posted by a company on Facebook each month.
One of the study’s findings was that 42 percent of active Facebook users agree that marketers should interpret a “like” to mean they’re a fan or advocate of the company. The other 58 percent are either undecided (33 percent) or disagree with this statement (25 percent).
This means the usefulness of a “like” on Facebook will be measured by the quantity and quality of the brand interactions it drives, according to ExactTarget.
The company also found that each month 74 percent of Facebook users “like” something posted by a friend on the site, while 52 percent click a Facebook “Like” button on another site (e.g., news site, blog, brand website, etc.).
Forty-four percent of users “like” something posted by a company on Facebook, while 45 percent “like” a company Facebook page at least once a month.
Meanwhile, 35 percent of users say they never “like” company pages on Facebook, though they may “like” other things, like a friend’s status update.
For Facebook users who’ve “liked” at least one brand, the average number of companies/brands “liked” is 14, according to ExactTarget.
The study highlighted that 58 percent of users who “like” a company on Facebook expect to gain access to exclusive content, events or sales. Meanwhile, 58 percent expect to get discounts or promotions through Facebook.
Forty-seven percent expect to receive updates about the company, person or organization in their News Feed, while 39 percent expect the company to be able to post updates, photos or videos to their News Feed.
Age also influences expectations, as users ages 18-25 have the lowest expectations and see a “like” as a form of public self-expression and brand advocacy. Users ages 27-34 want something more in exchange, while users ages 35-51 have the highest expectations and won’t hesitate to “unlike” a brand if it doesn’t fulfill their expectations.
Another finding is that 39 percent of Facebook users who “like” at least one brand say marketers should never interpret their like as permission to post marketing messages that wouldn’t appear in their News Feed.
“Marketers must walk a fine line with this issue,” according to the report. “Facebook users understand that they’re giving some form of permission with their ‘Like,’ as many of them expect to see brand-related posts in their News Feed. But for some, that’s as far as they intend for the relationship to go. They aren’t looking for highly-targeted, hard sell marketing messages, and they don’t want their ‘Like’ to be taken too seriously. Deals are one thing—since they benefit the consumer without asking anything of them—but heavy-handed marketing tactics are inconsistent with the use of ‘Like’ as a casual expression of general approval.”
In fact, 54 percent of users don’t “like” companies on Facebook because they don’t want to be bombarded with messages or ads, while 45 percent don’t want to give companies access to their profile information.
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