Facebook Users Like Brands for "stuff"...

Facebook Users Like Brands for Discounts, Social Badging : MarketingProfs


This report makes some great points about how limited today's "Like" function is in Facebook.  It's a limited, crass, "poor man's" way to comment on Brands and experiences, though it serves well to do a virtual "back slap" on your buddies funny or agreeable comment when he posts something you "Like".

There is no doubt that in a consumer-driven culture, part of our persona is brand affiliation.  It's simply honest to affiliate ourselves with preferred brands, and a great way to confer with them.  We are what we do, what we eat, what we Like.  As Chris Brogan says in his book "Trust Agents", be transparent!

Also, as a former Brand Manager, nothing is more important than understanding what customers think and prefer.  That's how we can make better decisions on behalf of our customers.  Frankly, it's worth paying for.

This small survey scope is clearly missing the broader dataset possible through social media.  It's a gap emerging companies are striving to provide in complementary ways.

Two specific companies in Austin, TX are very focused on helping consumers advocate and provide feedback to brands in ways that leverage today's social media technologies, which is encouraging.

Socialsmack.com does this through Props and Drops, using a social gaming metaphor - kind of a "Yelp meets MyTown", focused on Brands instead of real estate/businesses.  It's free to consumers, to affiliate with Brands as well as peers and their Brands.  I understand it will be featured at Demo 2010 this year.

Of course, the leader in the space is Bazaarvoice.com.  It is the engine that helps almost every Brand leader you can think of help us (as consumers) indicate our "rating" of the product or service on the sites of those manufacturers and retailers.  Impressive first-mover advantage and expertise that is setting them apart, as they extend into other verticals.  Given how pervasive they are, you already use them...

Props to MarketingProfs for pushing us to think and evolve the psychology behind "Like"s.  Now let's all get the data behind our analysis so we can get better Brand experiences, and managers can make better decisions to make that happen.