Comments on: The 5 basic rules of calculating fan (or follower) value

By: Olivier Blanchard

Olivier Blanchard — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 23:13:02 +0000

Absolutely. It’s the same principle. The platform is irrelevant. The fan’s value is pretty much always calculated (or estimated) in the same few ways.

By: Melody (@SbuxMel)

Melody (@SbuxMel) — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 01:29:29 +0000

I admit. I especially like the photos that go with this blog article. There is not one perfect number to describe the value of a facebook fan! Olivier, wouldn’t your above article apply perfectly to trying the describe the value of a twitter follower to a brand too?

By: Megan

Megan — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 17:28:50 +0000

I definitely think the retention of current fans is almost as important as the acquiring of new fans. I am personally guilty of liking a page for a certain promotion and unliking it once that promotion is over.

By: Chris - Designer

Chris - Designer — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 10:14:23 +0000

In the words of Number Six ‘I am not a number, I am a free man’. (ref The Prisoner – 1960′s)

By: A quick guide to measuring social media | spreading jam

A quick guide to measuring social media | spreading jam — Tue, 15 May 2012 11:27:04 +0000

[...] The only way to do this is to read voraciously. Read the mega posts from the experts who pour over every pixel, data point and new argument. A good start would be Avinash Kaushik and Olivier Blanchard. [...]

By: Are We On The Brink Of The Great Social Media Bubble?

Are We On The Brink Of The Great Social Media Bubble? — Thu, 10 May 2012 17:12:29 +0000

[...] his Brand Builder blog, Olivier Blanchard is using an essay of complex formulas to ask how to calculate the value of an individual Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest [...]

By: Olivier Blanchard

Olivier Blanchard — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:41:48 +0000

Both, obviously. You want to focus on 3 things:
- Acquisition (new custs.)
- Development (moving existing custs from basic to premium products, or from occasional purchases to regular purchases)
- Retention (keeping existing custs from eroding away)

Here’s another bit of insight: It costs up to 6x more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain one. So dollar for dollar, you’re served best by working on development and retention (loyalty) rather than on focusing 80% of your marketing dollars chasing new customers.

By: Vanessa E Chase

Vanessa E Chase — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:13:36 +0000

Your point on indirect value of a fan is fantastic! One question that that brought up for me is, is it better for an organization spend time/dollars acquiring more fans, or is it best to cultivate the ones you currently have to turn them into the ultimate champions of your product/service?

By: dagood

dagood — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:42:36 +0000

As others have pointed out, I think it is wrong to attribute all the value to the Facebook fans in this way.

Their monthly purchases are affected by so many things: from the product, to the competition, to pricing, to the economy, to in-store visibility, to traditional ad spend, etc etc.

Seems rather obvious to point this out.

It sure makes attributing ROI very difficult in the real world where no factors stay constant for long…

Cheers!

By: Marketing Gal

Marketing Gal — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 21:25:22 +0000

This is definitely a different way to look at facebook. Interesting points. Thanks for sharing!