As suggested by Bendror (2014), social networks are the only digital marketplace that allow for two-way communication with audiences. By engaging with users online, firms are able to achieve brand exposure on a local and global scale, generate leads, and improve search rankings (Bendror, 2014).

These are all valuable reasons as to why firms engage in social media. But what Bendror (2014) does not recognise is why consumers engage with firms. What are our motivations to (for example) subscribe to Coca-Cola’s YouTube channel or like Top Shop’s Facebook page?

Become-a-Fan-on-FacebookSuperior Web Marketing (2015)

The value of a Facebook Fan is questioned by LePointe (2012) in an article for the Journal of Advertising Research, in which LePointe (2012) suggests that to appreciate the significance of Fans, organisations must understand what motivates consumers to become a Fan in a first place.

LePointe’s (2012) suggestions as to why Fans may like a Facebook page have been summarised below:

  1. Users may influence ‘friends’ to check out a firms Facebook page by sharing the information on their own account, or specifically sharing the page with a friend, thus prompting new users to like the firms page too, even if only out of social pressure.

A friend has publicly tweeted me before and asked me to follow Tesco’s Customer Service Twitter account because they thought the account was light hearted and displayed a good sense of humour. A fine example of social pressure as I did not want to let the friend down so I followed Tesco on Twitter!

  1. Vouchers or discount codes are rewarded to consumers that become a Fan of a brands Facebook page.

Guilty. Krispy Kreme encouraged consumers to like its Facebook page and in return would provide the new Fan with a free donut voucher. I do not have a Facebook account but went as far as to briefly activate my old one to gain a free doughnut (don’t judge me).

The offer encouraged me to like a page, but am I really a valuable Fan? Are others like me, in the sense that we are not in it for the long run, we won’t call back…Unless another free doughnut is on the cards? LePointe does not consider the wider audience and that Fans are fickle. So although this is important to entice customers, brands must continue to find ways to engage Fans to manage relationships effectively.

  1. Organic search growth occurs as consumers are inspired by communications elsewhere -perhaps a billboard message or magazine advertisement- which led them to search online for more information about the specific brand, with its Facebook page appearing in the search results.

An example of this can be seen in Figure 1. As I ‘Googled’ for information on Evian water, the brands Facebook page can be seen on the search results.

Figure 1- ‘Evian’ Search Ranking on Google

Audio Facebook
Source: Compiled by author, adapted from Google Search.

As a result of useful keywords, well-structured website and valued inbound links (amongst many other factors) Evian’s website falls first in the Google search results, with the Facebook page scoring high in the ranking too. In the article ‘How You Can Optimize Your Facebook Page for SEO’, Beese (2014) highlights a number of ways in which brands can align search engine optimisation (SEO) principles to their social media strategy. It is very likely that Evian, and other firms, are using social media pages in a comparable way to a website- offering customer support/contacts, local information and promotions. Hence when an organisation’s Facebook page ranks well in a Google search, Beese (2014) suggests that the firm is practicing good SEO. Bredror (2014) and LePointe (2012) confirm that the benefit of this is social sharing and organic search growth.

  1. Fans may like a page because of good old-fashioned word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM). Somebody told them to look up a brand on Facebook which influenced the user to become a Fan.

In her article for Forbes, Whitler (2014) recognises this as the original social platform and stresses that firms should not underestimate the power of WOMM. It is apparent that the most trustworthy recommendations and reviews are the ones that come from our friends or family, and so Whitler (2014) suggests that more marketers should focus on connecting consumers instead of just collecting followers.

As recommended by LePointe (2012) organisations must acknowledge that Fans are not equal and are influenced by different factors, and so to succeed in aligning social media strategies to consumer needs, organisations must consider what motivates users’ to become Fans.

This is interesting to note, however LePointe (2012) does not discuss the fact that Fans are likely to be motivated by a mixture of factors, including brand loyalty, as Taylor (2012) suggests that 49% of customers become a Fan on Facebook because they are loyal to the firm.  It could be argued that the motivations behind a user becoming a Fan of a Facebook page are not isolated. A selection of the above factors are likely to encourage Fans towards a Facebook page and across other digital mediums.

Take my Krispy Kreme example. I became a Fan of its Facebook page because I was motivated by a free doughnut voucher, which I was told about by a friend (WOMM), but since then have signed up to the brands email campaign to explore further offers and new products. And so although I do not have an active Facebook account, the initial incentives led me to join the mailing list and so Krispy Kreme are able to market the brand and attract my custom via this initiative instead.

Nonetheless, LePointe (2012) is specifically looking at the value of Facebook Fans, and suggests that it is essential to consider the above motivations in relation to the overall consumer-decision journey to find a correlation between Fan engagement and why they liked a Facebook page. Utilising this information effectively will allow marketers to further understand and meet the needs of the consumer, both online and offline, which helps to convey the true value of Fans on Facebook.

 

Aisha Merrick

#BBSDIGMARKET

 

 

Beese, J. (2014) ‘How You Can Optimize Your Facebook Page for SEO’ Sprout Social, 23rd March 2014 [Online] <http://sproutsocial.com/insights/can-optimize-facebook-page-seo/> [accessed 30 February 2015]

Bendror, Y. (2014) ‘Why Social Media Is So Important for Your Business in 2014’ Business 2 Community, 10th February 2014 [Online] <www.business2community.com/social-media/social-media-important-business-2014-0773321> [accessed 29 February 2015]

LePonte, P. (2012) Measuring Facebook’s Impact on Marketing: The Proverbial Hits the Fan. Journal of Advertising Research. Vol. 52, No. 3, p.286-287

Superior Web Marketing (2015) Facebook Fan Page Set Up [Online] <http://superiorwebmarketing.com.au/facebook-fan-page-set-up/> [accessed 2 March 2015]

Taylor, J. (2012) ‘Do Facebook ‘Likes’ Mean Loyal Customers?’ Our Social Times, 4th May 2012 [Online] <http://oursocialtimes.com/do-facebook-likes-mean-loyal-customers-infographic/> [accessed 09 February 2015]

Whitley, K (2014) ‘Why Word of Mouth is The Most Important Social Media’ Forbes, 17th July 2014 [Online] <http://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberlywhitler/2014/07/17/why-word-of-mouth-marketing-is-the-most-important-social-media/> [accessed 2 March 2015]