Study Finds Facebook 'Fan' Pages Actually Can Be an Effective Marketing Tool

HOUSTON-Companies that use Facebook and its "fan" page module to market themselves to customers can increase sales, word-of-mouth marketing and customer loyalty significantly among a subset of their customers, according to new research from Rice University's Jones Graduate School of Business.

The study, titled "How Effective is Facebook Marketing?" is featured in the March issue of the Harvard Business Review. Researchers surveyed customers of Dessert Gallery (DG), a popular Houston-based cafe chain. Prior to the study, DG was not on Facebook. The study found that comared with typical DG customers, the comapny's Facebook fans:

• Made 36% more visits to DG's stores each month.

• Spent 45% more of their eating-out dollars at DG.

• Spent 33% more at DG's stores.

• Had 14% higher emotional attachment to the brand.

• Had 41% greater psychological loyalty toward DG.

The researchers suggested the results indicate that Facebook fan pages offer an effective and low-cost way of social-media marketing, but cautioned that only 5% of DG's customers became "fans" during the three months of the study.