Identifying the value of a brand - it's not about the "likes"

What is the value of a Facebook “like” for a brand? Does it actually translate into buying behavior? In this article, courtesy of Olson Zaltman's Joe Plummer, the author argues that Facebook “likes” do not increase likelihood of purchasing at all. Thus marketing campaigns that aim to drive the number of “likes” are unlikely to drive the number of product purchases, a critical insight for marketing managers to grasp. Consumers’ brand beliefs are the actual drivers of purchasing behavior, Hotchkiss explains:

“We use beliefs as a heuristic short cut allowing us to operate efficiently in our world. We form beliefs so we don’t have to endlessly think through every single decision. Beliefs form based on our own experience, but they are also formed based on what we’re exposed to. All this input gets synthesized into a reasonably coherent and remarkably resilient belief. Once in place, this belief guides our action.”

Understanding that consumer belief, then, is critical to the success of the brand as it rolls forward.