Toys R Us and Value of Facebook Fans (Likes)

Yesterday morning Toys R Us announced their “Be R Fan Sweepstakes” Facebook campaign. Essentially, they’re looking to increase their Facebook fan-base (now more frequently known as “Likes”) from about 1.25 million to 1.5 million.

The company’s email read:

Like Toys”R”Us on Facebook

Enter now on Facebook for a chance to win up to $1,500!

Tell your friends… and increase the stakes!

Here’s also a screenshot of the main part of that email message:

So, Toys R Us is looking to expand their Facebook “Likes” by some 250,000. They are willing to pay $4,500 for this (i.e. two $250 gift cards, two $500 ones, and two $1,500 ones).

So: $4,500 / 250,000 = $0.018 per fan

My first reaction was: “Unbelievably cheap!” (when a fan is really worth at least $3.60 annually and that’s 200 times more than $0.018). However, it looks like it’s working for Toys R Us, regardless. They are already at some 1,313,500 “Likes” (i.e. about 63,500 up since yesterday morning), some 150 of which were added as I was writing up this post.

What do you think about it all?

9 thoughts on “Toys R Us and Value of Facebook Fans (Likes)”

  1. It’s bound to prove a successful campaign with already over 1 million likes to market to – Do you feel it would be as successful if trying this sweepstake campaign approach with a relatively new Facebook page? I’m not so sure…

    Always helps with being a high street retailer and a globally recognised brand of course. Heh.

    1. Don’t know if starting a cheap campaign (like that) for a brand new Facebook page would work the same way, Geoff. Maybe it would also depend on the brand… Funny how it is though: the 1+ mln fans add credibility, but don’t seem to be eligible for any of the prizes (at least the email doesn’t specify).

  2. It is interesting how this can be achieved for relatively so little but I guess it’s much easier to grow from 1.250.000 than it is from 1.250, eh? We’ve been looking into how to achieve real social media growth for our business but yet we’re ambiguous about this, whether social media power means real retail business, at least in our part of the world. Our competition grows on selected days by 10.000 and 20.000 a day which makes us think they’re buying rather than engaging. Having worked with social media right from the beginning, I can tell this is getting all the more difficult from year to year, not that you need super powers to know this but in the field, it’s really a challenge.

  3. Oh MY! Where do I begin! Toys are one of those categories that transcends the classes. The scope and range this type of marketing opportunity presents is astounding. Direct posting in a customer feed of deals, events, sales, promotions, and PR campaigns is incredible. Just by looking at my own notices MOST of my friends are online in a week, if not multiple times a day. The rare few (aka Grandma) are not.

    As you stated a customer is worth $3.60 a year, and I think it almost rude that only 4 people have the opportunity win out of a possible 1.5 MILLION. Your odds of being struck by lightning are the same.

    I think that having smaller amounts, say $100 – $250, and an increased amount of them, possibly 20. I don’t know of that many toys worth over a few hundred dollars. You want to drive them into the store, NOT spoil their kids, get them to still pay a minor amount to help them feel like it was a great deal that they participated in getting for their kids, AND not disenchant the other One Million Four hundred and ninety nine thousand Nine hundred and Ninety six people. we all can’t be winners, but you’re audience is worth more than .018 each.

  4. @David: Yes, that thought crossed my mind too, but since I have no way of calculating the final amount (less their profit margin) I just went with the simple division.

    @zweerver212: Exactly. Geoff also referred to this above, and I’m positive it is much easier to add 250k on top of your existing 1.25 mln than go, say, from zero to 250k… But then again, “it depends” — if you’re Charlie Sheen getting to/past that 250k fan/followers mark is nothing.

    @Jared: I think it’s actually 6 people that will win the cards, but that doesn’t change the situation. I can’t help but love your “odds of being struck by lightning” parallel, J. I agree, smaller amounts (from $50 to $200 would probably even work better) would definitely be a much better way to go.

  5. Awesome post and case study. You know these are valuable “likes” because the majority of them are probably parents that are already ToysRUS shoppers and not teens/20 years old without money to spend.

  6. @Kevin: You’re right on the money there. I doubt that a lesser known brand would’ve been able to pull something like this.

    @Zac: They are definitely very valuable “likes” for them. But I’m with Jared on the suggestion that more of smaller value gift cards would’ve been better than so few larger value ones. This thing would’ve gone viral.

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