Most brand marketers agree – social media is here to stay. When social first appeared on the scene, many professionals and executives were skeptical of the lasting impact of this technology trend. Many believed it would be a passing fad and not worth while. Why invest in social marketing strategies when it won’t last?
Well, time has passed and now there is concrete evidence about the value of social media marketing. According to a new report from Syncapse, the average value of a brand fan on Facebook in key consumer categories increased to $174 in 2012 – up from $136 in 2010.
The experts at Marketing Profs believe the 28 percent increase was driven by the tendency for Facebook fans to be super consumers. The survey found that average Facebook brand fans spend 43 percent more than non-fans in the categories measured. The values associated with fans and non-fans were determined by a complex formula that measured: spending, media value, acquisition cost, loyalty and the propensity to recommend a brand to others.
The study found that brands with lower retail values, like Coca-Cola and Skittles had smaller fan values at $70 and $76, respectively. In contrast, brands with high retail values had higher fan values, like Target at $618 and BMW AT $1,613.
It’s important for marketers using social media as a key branding device to determine the value of their own fans. It could play a crucial role in the development of a social strategy.
“Marketers should define the value of a fan based on how it impacts the key criteria that determines the success or failure of their business,” Max Kalehoff, vice president of product marketing at Syncapse, told Mashable. “[Marketers] really need to bring it down to a cost equation. No one else can say what a fan is worth except the brand itself, and then it has to decide what to spend to acquire fans, and what it costs to communicate with them once a day or week to remind them to buy throughout the year.”
The monetary worth of a fan on Facebook could help a marketer better determine how much time and resources should be used in developing a brand’s presence in the social sphere. In addition, the final number could be used to explain to executives, outside the marketing and creative departments, why social is such a crucial component to any brand’s modern marking strategy.
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