Facebook has risen to be an important advertising channel for reasons
that include: a huge user base, an extraordinary amount of available
data about users, and an impressive (
and growing)
set of targeting options. Facebook ads can lead to conversions as well
as more likes, which can give you a more long-term relationship with
potential customers – a direct line to their News Feed.
What’s more valuable to you: a like or a click? Let us know in the comments.
SocialCode has released some research data showing a trend in age and gender for likes and clickthrough rates for Facebook advertising.
SocialCode GM Laura O’Shaughnessy tells WebProNews, “Younger users
grew up on the web, and are comfortable with the ins and outs of social
networking. Therefore, I think they are more inclined to click the Like
button. They know what the button means and know exactly what it does,
so they are likely to click it, whether it’s in an ad or elsewhere.”
“We find that older users are very likely to interact with ads on
Facebook, but they are inclined to click through and learn more about
the offer before clicking the Like button,” she adds. “We also assume
that because older users are also the newest subset to join the social
network, they may not have high friend numbers so ads may be less likely
to have social context in advertisements.”
Here are some highlights from the research:
- 50+ year-old users, the oldest segment in the study, are 28.2
percent more likely to click through and 9 percent less likely to ‘Like’
than 18-29 year-old users, the youngest group observed
- Versus the rest of the younger population on Facebook, 50+ users see a 22.6 percent higher CTR and 8.4 percent lower ‘Like’ rate
- Overall, women are 11 percent more likely to click on an ad
- ‘Like’ rates are almost even for men and women; men are actually 2.2 percent more likely to ‘Like’ an ad than women
- For women, CTR is 31.2 percent higher for the 50+ age group versus
18-29 year olds, men only see a 16.2 percent difference between the age
groups
- Versus all age groups, 50+ women’s CTR is 22 percent higher versus a 16.4 percent difference for males
- The oldest male segment has an 11.7 percent lower ‘Like’ rate than
the youngest segment, and 9.5 percent lower ‘Like’ rate versus all age
groups. Women only see a 7.2 percent and 7.9 percent difference
respectively
So what’s more valuable: a click or a like?
We ran across an interesting
post
from the National Healthcare Decisions Day site from earlier this year,
in which the organization talks about the value of a Facebook “like”.
It seems worth sharing with regards to this conversation.
“Lots of brands and organizations may ask you to ‘like’ them on
Facebook,” says Christian Sinclair. “It really is a sign of the times.
In fact we are asking you to do the same thing. But our aim may be
somewhat different. We are not in it for the numbers, we are doing this
for the engagement. A superficial click to like can make executives
happy when they show more followers and more fans, but what really
counts is what you do after the click.”
“Don’t get us wrong, we do want your click, but we will ask a little
more from you,” Sinclair continues in the post. ”After you click ‘like’
make sure you stick around a while, leave a comment, send us a tip about
advance care planning in the news, share what you read here with your
friends.
Get people excited about what you really like. Then your
click on the ‘like’ button becomes much more valuable.”
The like means continued engagement. That is simply going to provide
more value for the long term. However, if you are looking for quick
gratification and hopefully a quick conversion, the click is certainly
valuable, and enough clicks over likes can make a significant impact.
“Both clicks and Likes can be valuable; it really depends on what
kind of results you are trying to achieve with your campaign,” says
O’Shaughnessy. “For example, Likes are much more important to a campaign
that is working to create a targeted fan base; in campaigns where a
brand is trying to drive people to take a specific action either on a
specific landing pages or on a Facebook tab, clicks are important. For
example on a campaign promoting new products or events, clicks would be
more valuable because they are driving the action that is valuable to
the brand.”
“The age and gender research we conducted is an example of how
SocialCode’s advanced knowledge of the Facebook platform will give
brands the best insight into which types of campaigns are more likely to
drive actions within specific age groups and genders,” she says.
So, the short answer to which is more valuable is: it depends.
Establish the goals you are hoping to achieve with your campaign, and
place your efforts accordingly. If a click is your primary goal,
consider test different ad copy and landing pages (which luckily could
help you improve your likes anyway).
Source :
http://www.webpronews.com/facebook-ads-likes-clicks-2011-09#comments
