A study by social media agency Syncapse (PDF) puts the value of a Facebook fan for a consumer brand at a really high $136! The study calculates the additional dollars that can be expected to be attributed to a Facebook fan in comparison to a Facebook user who is not a fan.
Syncapse arrived at this number by putting a dollar value to five aspects of fan behavior using data from 4000 panelists in North America who were fans of the top 20 consumer brands on Facebook –
1) Product Spending: Fans spend an additional $72 than non-fans ($157 versus $85).
2) Brand Loyalty: Fans are 28% more likely to continue using the brand than non-fans (75% versus 47%).
3) Propensity to Recommend: Fans are 40% more likely to recommend a product to their friends than non-fans (68% versus 28%).
4) Brand Affinity: Fans are 42% more likely to feel a connection with the brand than non-fans (81% versus 39%).
5) Earned Media Value: Fan interactions on the Facebook page resulted in free or earned brand impressions to their friends.
Syncapse attributed a value of $72 for product spending, $44 for brand loyalty, $13 for propensity to recommendations, and $7 to earned media value, totaling to $136.
In another study, Vitrue calculated a Facebook fan value of $3.6 for the earned media part.
I like Syncapse’s approach even though it mixes cause and effect. More loyal consumers are more likely to become a fan, but a fan acquired through a marketing campaign may or may not become a more loyal consumer.
Still, it will be interesting to use the approach to calculate Facebook fan value for a brand using real behavioral data and not reported survey data. I am eagerly waiting for the Facebook Social CRM toolkit to evolve enough to enable that.
I build and nurture online communities as CEO of 2020 Social. Read my bio, interview me for a media story, invite me to speak at a conference or ask me how we can help you. E-mail me at gauravonomics@gmail.com, call me at +91-9999856940, or connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, or Slideshare.
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