By Bob and Janette Speyer, Web Success Team —

How important is a Facebook “like”, really? As social media marketing becomes more mainstream brands still put a very high value on “likes” and “follows” as a measure of an agency’s performance. But is this a benchmark for a campaign’s success? Therein lies the question.

Take for example a branded page with 3,000 likes that has almost all its followers engaging in conversations, sharing, participating and building a buzz around your brand as opposed to 15,000 likes with minimal interaction. Which one would you prefer? Engagement is optimum because it creates brand loyalty and evangelists that will promote your brand. The more the merrier. Brands do like “big” numbers that equate to popularity. There is a perception in the marketplace that numbers beget more numbers or followers.

Our conditioning. We are use to reacting to numbers since we are children. Tests results, sports performance, are all numerical. We calculate success by summing up totals. Even in business we measure sales and count connections. So isn’t it logical to add up your page likes? We are all guilty of pursuing popularity via likes and follows but will this push a shopper into a store?

Now we need to think outside the box and see if a good quality conversation will sell more than quantity.

Changing the paradigm. There is always a discussion in social media circles on how to change that paradigm and push our clients to measure engagement and monitor conversations.

What is the REAL objective here? SALES! That’s right! This is how it works in social media and it’s a hard concept to grasp. It’s the neighborhood and the yenta that tells you what’s great and new. Who is buying what, who is sharing and who is recommending. Your measurement should be all about who is engaging and sharing your Facebook page and your posts. So if we have to count anything let it be the amount of chatter.

Engagement and conversations are the driving force behind online marketing today. Social media is fast becoming the sales clerk at the store or that valued friend that “tells it like it is!”

The controversy about quality vs quantity will not go away. Ultimately the brand must engage their consumers and offer value for “likes”. That’s marketing 101. The more value and engagement, the more viral traffic and the more the numbers add up.

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