4 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
4 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Facebook fans used as perceived social value

by pewpewpewmonkeys
3 replies
Whenever I visit a blog or website and see that little widget that shows X-amount of fans I always wonder how much THAT helps convert sales *on that website*.

I don't care about fans on my FB Page. At all. Sure, I'll make a few regular posts so that the page doesn't look like a ghost town, but the ONLY reason I want a FB Page is simply so that when people go to my *REAL* website (and are being sent there from various sources, not directly from facebook) they see "5,000 people Like this Company." Sure, I'll tinker around with promoting on my FB Page, but I'm not using it to directly engage customers/gain customers.

My question can be phrased in two ways:
1. Does having a Facebook Page Fans widget in the sidebar of a website help tremendously to convert sales?It can't hurt (unless you have zero fans), but does it help enough to even bother starting, managing, and maintaining a FB Page?

2. Does having tons of facebook fans act as having a "perceived social value"? As in, when a visitor comes to a site and is looking at products, etc and sees that thousands of people "like" the company do they naturally think "Well if so many people like this, then it must be legit/good/valuable/worthy"?




(Note: In case it matters, the website is ecommerce - selling various products)
#facebook #facebook fans #fans #perceived #perceived social value #social
  • Profile picture of the author IvoryPulse
    This is actually a pure basic psychology.

    People will decide to buy the product easier if they trust the seller. Since we are talking about virtual shop where is no human to human contact, you need ways to gain that trust quickly before they leave the page. One way of getting that trust are reviews and comments - those are making buyers feel more secure about the purchase. And another way are likes. People trust people more than they trust the seller and when something is popular, even if that popularity is shown only through likes, it is automatically trustable and it affects the decision if shoppers will make a purchase or not.

    A lot of surveys were made on this topic and one of the interesting results say that something like 50% of shoppers have made a purchase based on the recommendation through a social media.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8419985].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author pewpewpewmonkeys
    I understand the "basic psychology" of it. However, I am asking if it makes a significant difference - enough to create and maintain a FB page.

    A lot of surveys were made on this topic and one of the interesting results say that something like 50% of shoppers have made a purchase based on the recommendation through a social media.
    Although this is a great statistic, it doesn't really have much to do with the exact topic. "Recommendation through social media" could mean various things. For this purpose I'm strictly talking about a visitor to a site who sees a sidebar widget indicating X amount of people like the shop/business.
    Signature
    Some cause-oriented hackers recently hacked one of my websites. So I researched what they're about and then donated a large sum of money to the entity they hate the most.

    The next time they hack one of my websites I'm going to donate DOUBLE.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8420741].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author jasondinner
      Originally Posted by pewpewpewmonkeys View Post

      I understand the "basic psychology" of it. However, I am asking if it makes a significant difference - enough to create and maintain a FB page.
      Only way to know for sure is to test your offer with and without that particular social proof element visible on your page.
      Signature

      "Human thoughts have the tendency to transform themselves into their physical equivalent." Earl Nightingale

      Super Affiliates Hang Out Here

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8420831].message }}

Trending Topics