A study conducted by social marketing research company Syncapse revealed that 78 percent of Facebook Fans for a brand were actually existing customers. These Fans had already utilized products or services of that particular brand before turning into Facebook Fans.
Syncapse’s report states that marketers needed to give importance to investments for acquiring Fans on conversion of existing clients since categories such as consumer goods usually required a Fan to be a user of that brand in the first place. This would increase the quality of the Fan base over time for higher and lower-cost consumer brands as well as lower the cost of acquisition as well as conversion friction.
However, the study also revealed that 49 percent of people became Fans to get coupons or discounts while 31 percent wished to share their good experience with others. 15 percent became Fans because of someone recommending them to fan that brand.
However, Synscape states that acquiring Fans by way of discounts or other promotional offers can only lead to low quality Fans that are only driven by such specific deals and this would ultimately end up lowering the value of the brand.
The study has also revealed that the total value of a Facebook Fan has increased by 28 percent to currently 174 US Dollars, which is a 28 percent rise as compared to figures from 2010. On the other hand, Syncapse cautions that an increased fan base merely at the back of discounts, contests, and special offers will bring in fans that do not possess significant staying power. As per Syncapse, the true motivation behind any member turning into a brand Fan should be measured.
The research firm argued that marketers must comprehend the actual reasons as to why consumers turn into Fans of a particular brand before indulging in heavy investments or deploying hard tactics to turn them into Fans. There may just be far more efficient strategies that produce better results to acquire a higher-quality Fan base.