Yesterday Geoffrey A. Fowler wrote a story in The Wall Street Journal describing why Facebook fans are worth $1.07.
This is a tragically low valuation.
I’m not carrying water for Facebook here, but come on, if you run a for profit business then fans are worth far more than a buck. Never before have we been able to advertise based on interests and demographics in a social environment where opinions and influence are shared 24/7.
Furthermore, a ‘fan’ isn’t a one time ad impression, it represents the ability to hold a conversation with someone and stay top of mind whenever a fan considers making a purchase.
Let’s examine three airtight reasons Facebook fans are worth more than $1.07…even $3.07…
Fans Give Your Brand Exponential Reach Thanks To The Home Feed
There’s a social media measurement firm called Syncapse that estimated each Facebook fan ranges from $0 to $136.38 in value to businesses.
I’m not sure how accurate the measurement is (read the story for yourself), but I do know that every time one of my friends ‘likes’ something, posts and update or comments on a photo — it hits my home feed (also called the ‘news’ feed).
That means each additional fan I gain is in a position to share my brand message with all of their friends, whether that number is 10 or 10,000.
Serving up an advertisement in a newspaper lasts one day. AdWords advertising is far more effective and last as long as you keep an active budget. But social advertising can provide value and new fans even after the ad investment is completed.
Social Advertising Inches Closer To Predicting Intent
Even the best paid search advertisement reaches people who aren’t the business owners ideal target market, but Facebook ads have a nifty solution.
You can choose who sees your ad based on their interests, like ‘iPhone’ or ‘Gatorade’. The coolest part is that these interests are opt-in (People have to type in their interest on their profiles, Facebook doesn’t just guess).
That’s one of the reasons it’s humorous more people haven’t written about what a coup Facebook is for corporations, being that it sells access to users based on personal information — but that’s another post entirely.
Facebook Ads Are Freakin’ CHEAP!
We’re all going to look back fondly on the days when you could buy 1,000 ad impressions on the world’s most populous social network for $0.47.
Hell, most local newspapers sell space to hometown advertisers for $8 or more per 1,000 impressions, and this is for basic banner ads that get little preference with respect to the section they appear in or time of day they run (I know, I used to sell these ads and manage the reporting).
Sure, not all ad campaigns are a smart investment, especially if you don’t know how to convert viewers into fans, but it’s a different story for people with hooks. If you can write a compelling ad message, find a visually enticing image and design an intelligent landing page — you’re in business.
In the meantime, don’t forget to review Facebook Advertising Guidelines…