WILL FACEBOOK PLACES DEVALUE FACEBOOK "LIKES"?

The value of Facebook "Likes" is supposed to be clear:  My friend likes something, and that is valuable and persuasive information for me. This is idea behind Bing launching social search --if my friends have liked something for which I'm searching, that will be more relevant and helpful information than just another one-size-fits-all search engine results page. It's also the idea behind Facebook' Open Graph--if you visit a site and see that a friend has "Liked" it, you are more likely to pay attention, spend time and complete a transaction.

But as we all know, a "Like" (with quotations) does not necessarily signify a like (without quotations).  An interesting ExactTarget study demonstrated that people may "Like" a brand for a wide range of reasons: To learn about discounts, to earn freebies, for entertainment, to gain access to exclusive content, and--of course--to show support for the company to others.  Just look at the list of companies you follow on Facebook--do you like them all equally?  Are there any you've followed even though you really aren't a true fan of the organization or its products?  The disconnection between “Like” and like will only grow greater in the coming year, as brands looking to expand their pool of Facebook friends reward new fans and followers (an activity I compared to the “black hat” tactic of buying links in the early days of search engine optimization.) 

So if "Likes" are not a true signal of an individual's actual affinity, what is?  Facebook (and other location-based services’) check-ins seem poised to become the new standard for indicating true affinity.  A brand may reward me for liking them on Facebook; they might even get me to drive to a store and check in once by offering free product; but what they cannot afford to buy from me is repeated real-world visits.  Consumer check-ins are not (yet) available for every brand—I can’t check in to a can of peas in the grocery store aisles or an online-only retailer—but for real world businesses, consumer check-ins will become the new gold standard for broadcasting social affinity.

I’m not suggesting “Likes” and real-world visits are unrelated; for example, Einstein Bros. Bagels’ strategy of rewarding new Facebook followers can pay off if they convert those new followers into frequent customers who repeatedly check in.  But a year or two from now, which will mean more to a consumer—that a friend “Liked” Einstein Bros. Bagels or that they visited Einstein Bros. Bagels’ stores twenty times? 

Button click aren’t good representations of affinity and advocacy; actual actions are.  This is a lesson learned by Delaware’s Christine O'Donnell who couldn’t turn her massive advantage in Facebook friends into a massive advantage at the ballot box.  What do you think this might mean for “Likes” and check-ins in the future?  Will “Likes” be as important two years from now as they are today? 

COMMENTARY:  This article makes excellent point concerning Facebook's Places location-based check-in service and "Likes" feature.  It remains to be seen whether individuals that click the "Likes" button are doing so out of brand loyalty or the satisfaction of a short-term gain from a free gift or discount coupon.  If you can get a free pair of GAPS jeans, will you then become a future buyer of their jeans?   By the way, on November 5, the GAP had a very successful "10,000 free pairs of jeans" promotion using Facebook's check-in service.  It was a sell out, but we have yet to determine how this translated into incremental sales of GAP merchandise.  

The original idea behind Facebook Likes was so that advertisers could use this information to target Facebook users that expressed a "like" for a brands products, deal offer, Wall comment or even an ad.  What is a mystery is just how many Facebook members actually went out and visited the store and/or bought that brand's products and actually mentioned their "likes" to their friends.  That's probably a metric that will be difficult to measure unless the brand directly engages with a fan through direct email, SMS text or bulk email.  You can't create store or web traffic strictly from Wall comments or promotions.  There is just too much social media "noise" to overcome especially very active Facebook users.  The offer has to be relevant and more personalized.    

I am afraid that the brand loyalty versus like argument is bound to continue and more studies need to be conducted over several years, before we draw any firm conclusions.

Social media and location-based check-in are both relatively new media channels, and there is still a lot of skepticism by businesses concerning the value of both.  The bigger question that needs to be addressed is why only 4% of web consumers are using location-based check-in services and why only 11% of  Facebook members that subscribed to Places are actually using it.   Please check my blog concerning these issues, including my "11 good reasons why people aren't using location-based check-in services".

Whether Facebook Places will devalue Facebook "Likes" remains to be seen.  You can still like something, but not go out of your way to respond to the offer.  I would like to know who is clicking the "Likes" buttons.  Are they same individuals using Facebook Places?  How much incremental purchases are they making?  It's a cause-and-effect issue.  One event may not correlate with the other. 

Courtesy of an article dated November 10, 2010 appearing in Augie Ray's blog

Comments

[Tommy]

Facebook Places was finally ended by Zuck. What a joke that was.

[Seattle IT Consulting]

Hmmm.. interesting thoughts and ideas you've shared. Please keep on sharing! I'll be back to see and read some of your post soon. :)

[Managed Service Seattle]

I think it consider the like status.

[IT Consulting Firms Chicago]

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