What’s worth a “Like” on Facebook? Does it tell us something about engagement, about the true relationship between brands and fans? About conversations, listening culture? A Like tells a thousand stories, probably. And numbers…. wel they don’t always tell a lot. But hey, there’s a difference between 10 fans and 30.000. Paypal, the online payment method, managed to get 30.000 fans in just a few days by doing an iPad 2 marketing campaign on Facebook. Derk Wagelaar, the director Benelux of PayPal, was interviewed at Dutch marketingblog Frankwatching.
To win an iPad, you have to Like PayPal on Facebook. That’s, in short, how PayPal managed to get so many brandfans on their page. In the interview, Wagelaar is very hopeful about the future interactions with the fans, he talks about a longterm-effect and strategy of the campaign and he also talks about ‘loyal customers’. Not about people who just want an iPad and don’t even know what PayPal is all about as a company.
I just received a comment on my Facebook wall by a friend. It stated: “In hunt of an iPad, or do you really like this?” I’m wondering how many of the 30k fans received a comment like this by their friend 
.
In the comments at Frankwatching, Martin Kloos poses an important question: Is an iPad fan the same as a PayPal fan? You choose!
I have chosen. These people want a free iPad. Me too. They are not fans, they are coupon licking sheep. This is a failure disguised as a success. No way this will turn out be beneficiary in the long run!
What’s wrong with creating “awareness” among potential customers? Marketing begins with attract and interest. Have you never stood in the line for a free sample of a new soda or crisps? İ am a customer of paypal since 2006 and i think it is more convenient than a credit card for online transactions.
@Remco: in the interview, Wagelaar states that the iPad really suits THE profile of THE paypal user.
@ahmet: yes. But you could say that a like doesn’t mean anything this way. Everybody wants a free iPad!
I’ve also some doubts about the value of these fans. Let’s just take a look at the interaction on their page within a couple of months and we’ll see.
@Peter Minkjan: Also very interesting in my opinion: how many people will “dislike” paypal after they have not won the iPad. Will they be notified about that, or will this be a silent, inactive mass.
Do you know how many people “dislike” something after they have “liked”. Is there research done there?
I don’t know any research on the percentage of users dislike. There’s research on the reasons why people dislike.
Only a small percentage of the Facebook users dislike a page, most of the time the updates just won’t get noticed due to the low EdgeRank. Consistent interaction is crucial for Facebook succes and giving away an Ipad doesn’t seem the best way to reach that.
In Germany we did 5 months ago a similar campaign. This resulted in 110.000 likes. Over the 1st month we lost 10.000 of them. However today we have more than 220.000 likes in Germany. What did I learn from this………….
Yes you lose part of the new acquired likes. Yes part of the people only like because they would like to win an iPad. But what you keep is enough to get the social effect of a Facebook Company started, and it’s enough to start investing more to in your Facebook strategy. You need some critical mass.
See the campaign just as a fire starter for you long term engagement strategy. However in the end it’s all about a long term commitment.
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