How much is a new fan or Facebook share worth for your brand?

Let's face it—social media, like any other type of marketing, comes down to results. Everyday people are asking about better ways to properly assess the value of social media.  I'll be honest; it's hard to track direct and immediate sales, because social media is more of a discovery tool that creates a need to buy when the time is right, unlike the immediacy of searching for something on Google in which you already have a need in mind before you begin the search. However, now there is a way you can directly correlate the commercial value of metrics that were once trivial at best.

First things first, let's assess the value of a new fan for your Facebook community. According to a recent report, A Facebook friend is worth about $174—a 28% increase over last year and we expect this worth to increase exponentially. The research conducted by Syncapse weighted factors such as brand affinity, loyalty, propensity to recommend, and product spending to determine this real world value. It comes as no surprise that somebody allowing a brand into their personal space on Facebook will be more likely to recommend a product to friends—the #1 most trusted form of advertisement according to Forrester Research. Wouldn’t you consider a brand suggested by a friend over one advertised in a magazine? Now, if you can imagine, you have a fan base worth even more—they are called mavens, the type of people who love to share with friends more so than the average fan. You might notice them engaging with you more than others and constantly retweeting you on Twitter. Now, let's talk about the value of activating these users to share and how you can do it. 

As I mentioned before, the mavens have much more value than the typical Facebook fan and obviously much more so than the non-fans. Here at brandbuddee, we help mavens connect and cultivate relationships with other mavens, expanding their reach. We know the value is in activating your fan base to create the highest amount of mutual value between your brand and its fans. After activating this special segment of your fan base, you'll find a tremendous amount of commercial value in them.

A recent study by Eventbrite measured the amount of ticket sales generated from social media users sharing an event with friends, demonstrating the increasing importance of how recommendations in online and social communities influence purchase decisions. They found that every social media share, in general, generated about $1.78 in ticket sales. Facebook shares came in with the highest value at $2.52, followed by email at $2.34, and lastly Twitter at .043. Therefore, as you can see, the real value in social media users is not only in acquiring new ones, but it is in activating those users once they're in your community.

So why are buddees (fans on brandbuddee), brand advocates across all networks, and Facebook superfans so important? They are much more active on social media and are vocal about what they like and don't like—they naturally attract more passive internet users and friends who look to them for their opinions and recommendations. These super users like to share about their brand experiences, break news first, and enjoy promotions and discounts from the brand—the perks of being "in the know". The reason for this is because people would rather depend on reliable information from friends who they see as "in the know" or to have some experience with a particular interest category in the past. People want to eliminate the distance from point A to B to save time and avoid potential negative outcomes of choosing the wrong products. That's why they rely on their super user friends (mavens) for this type of information. Now, how is your brand going to take advantage of the opportunity to grow a relationship with these super users? Next time you are managing your community over social media, notice the people that consistently like your posts or ask questions, that'll give you a start in the right direction. Your immediate network will provide the base for acquiring a larger base and getting the word out about your brand—treat them well and listen to their needs!