What Are Likes Worth? A Facebook Page Field Experiment
Abstract
Despite the tremendous resources devoted to marketing on Facebook, little is known about its actual effect on customers. Specifically, can Facebook page likes affect offline customer behavior, and if so, how? To answer these questions, the authors conduct a field experiment on acquired Facebook page likes and find them to have a positive causal effect on offline customer behavior. Importantly, these likes are found to be most effective when the Facebook page is used as a platform for firm-initiated promotional communications. No effect of acquired page likes is found when customers interact organically with the firm's page, but a significant effect is found when the firm pays to boost its page posts and thus uses its Facebook page as a platform for paid advertising. These results demonstrate the value of likes beyond Facebook activity itself and highlight the conditions under which acquiring likes is most valuable for firms.
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Acquiring "likes" on social media might have no effect on consumers' attitudes or behaviors.
“academic research shows that acquiring “likes” on social media might have no effect on consumers’ attitudes or behaviors (John et al. 2017; Mochon et al. 2017).”
From The future of social media in marketing (2020) · cites this paper as Mochon et al. 2017
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The Impact of Social Media Activity on Nonprofit Donations in China
Tian, F., Labban, A., Shearer, R., & Gai, Q. (2019) · VOLUNTAS International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations · doi:10.1007/s11266-019-00168-7 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
The Role of Humor in Management Response to Positive Consumer Reviews
Liao, J., Li, C., & Filieri, R. (2022) · Journal of Interactive Marketing · doi:10.1177/10949968221083095 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
“More importantly, due to some doubts about whether social media content engagements lead to purchase behaviors (Mochon et al. 2017), we formally examined the effect of humorous MR on purchase intention.”
BackgroundThe Value of Followers on Social Media
Kim, R. Y. (2020) · IEEE Engineering Management Review · doi:10.1109/emr.2020.2979973 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
“The number of likes on Facebook tends to be positively associated with brand equity and brand sales [14], [15].”
BackgroundSeptianto, F., & Mathmann, F. (2023) · Journal of Advertising · doi:10.1080/00913367.2023.2250830 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
“However, while previous literature supports the important consequences of social media engagement on behaviors such as purchases (Mochon et al. 2017), the meat alternative context warrants an investigation in terms of actual consumption.”
BackgroundKronrod, A., Grinstein, A., & Shuval, K. (2021) · Psychology and Health · doi:10.1080/08870446.2021.1942876 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
“in the second study percentages of responses to messaging could be perceived as low, however, the numbers reflect average expected response rates in field conditions (Gordon et al., 2019; Mochon et al., 2017).”
BackgroundWhat’s not to like? Negations in brand messages increase consumer engagement
Pezzuti, T., & Leonhardt, J. M. (2022) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/s11747-022-00894-3 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
“By engaging consumers, firms can enhance customer loyalty and generate brand referrals, revenue, and shareholder value (Beckers et al., 2018; Bijmolt et al., 2010; Li et al., 2021; Mochon et al., 2017; Nambisan & Baron, 2007; Santini et al., 2020).”
BackgroundIntentional vs. unintentional influences of social media friends
Sicilia, M., Palazón, M., & López, M. (2020) · Electronic Commerce Research and Applications · doi:10.1016/j.elerap.2020.100979 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Community building as an effective user engagement strategy: A case study in academic libraries
Gruss, R. J., Abrahams, A. S., Song, Y., Berry, D., & Al-Daihani, S. M. (2019) · Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology · doi:10.1002/asi.24218 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
“Accumulated likes on Facebook have a positive effect on of fl ine purchasing behavior (Mochon, Johnson, Schwartz, & Ariely, 2017).”
BackgroundThe group matters: examining the effect of group characteristics in online brand communities
Liao, J., Wang, L., Huang, M., Yang, D., & Wei, H. (2020) · Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics · doi:10.1108/apjml-06-2019-0377 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
How construal–regulatory mode fit increases social media sharing
Pham, T. N., Septianto, F., Mathmann, F., Jin, H. S., & Higgins, E. T. (2023) · Journal of Consumer Psychology · doi:10.1002/jcpy.1375 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Instagram celebrities and positive user responses. The mediating role of user “like”
Ahmadi, A., Fakhimi, S., & Ahmadi, Y. (2022) · Journal of Contemporary Marketing Science · doi:10.1108/jcmars-01-2021-0002 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Do "Likes" in a Brand Community Always Make You Buy More?
Liang, C., Wu, J., & Li, X. (2023) · Information systems research · doi:10.1287/isre.2022.0008 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Enhancing social media engagement: Speech act strategies across influencer types
Fang, X., Shin, S. K., & Huang, X. (2025) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104258 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Cobarro, P. D. H. S., Molina‐Castillo, F., & Alcazar-Caceres, C. (2020) · Journal of theoretical and applied electronic commerce research · doi:10.3390/jtaer16030031 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Web of Lies: Drivers and Consequences of Social Media (In)Authenticity
Alhouti, S., & Johnson, C. M. (2021) · Journal of Promotion Management · doi:10.1080/10496491.2021.1955077 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
“This could explain why a company’s Facebook and Twitter pages perform better when used as a channel for product communications (Araujo et al., 2015; Mochon et al., 2017).”
BackgroundOuyang, P., Liu, J., & Zhang, X. (2023) · Aslib Journal of Information Management · doi:10.1108/ajim-09-2022-0410 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Navigating livestream commerce: A dual-lens framework of influencers’ impact on product sales
Zhang, S. K., Tang, T., & Krallman, A. (2024) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114919 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Retailer Differentiation in Social Media: An Investigation of Firm-Generated Content on Twitter
Lysyakov, M., Kannan, P. K., Viswanathan, S., & Zhang, K. (2024) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1177/00222429241298654 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
“We label these categories consistently with prior literature to ensure their validity (Borah et al. 2020; Lee, Hosanagar, and Nair 2018; Meire et al. 2019; Mochon et al. 2017; Parsons 2013).”
I am Not What I Like: Endorsing Brands on Social Media Negatively Affects Consumers’ Self-Evaluation
Bernritter, S. F., Loermans, A. C., Eigenraam, A. W., & Verlegh, P. W. J. (2022) · Journal of Interactive Marketing · doi:10.1177/10949968221075993 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
“…that shows how online brand engagement may not have the assumed or intended positive downstream consequences for brands (Grewal, Stephen, and Coleman 2019; John et al. 2017; Mochon et al. 2017) and may, in fact, have a negative effect on consumers (Bower 2001; Richins 1991; Strahan et al. 2006).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialSocial media content, customer engagement and brand equity: US versus Korea
Lee, J., & Park, C. H. (2022) · Management Decision · doi:10.1108/md-12-2020-1595 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Using Facebook in Recruiting Kidney Transplant Recipients for a REDCap Study
Chung, S.-Y., Hacker, E. D., Rawl, S. M., Ellis, R., Bakas, T., Jones, J., & Welch, J. L. (2019) · Western Journal of Nursing Research · doi:10.1177/0193945919832600 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Nepomuceno, M. V., Visconti, L. M., & Cenesizoglu, T. (2020) · Journal of Marketing Management · doi:10.1080/0267257x.2020.1825112 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Cuevas-Molano, E., Sánchez-Cid, M., & Gordo-Molina, V. (2022) · Communication & Society · doi:10.15581/003.35.2.71-87 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
“Social media scheduling has not been systematically addressed in academic literature, which makes it urgent to understand the drivers of effective social media scheduling to justify a return on social media investments (Mochon et al., 2017).”
BackgroundSocial media and nonprofit fundraising: the influence of Facebook likes
Haruvy, E. E., & Leszczyc, P. T. L. P. (2023) · European Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1108/ejm-05-2022-0364 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Prominent or subtle: The impact of brand prominence on social media advertisement engagement
Xiao, T., Wei, H., & Chen, S. (2024) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.103897 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Areni, C. S. (2021) · Journal of Product & Brand Management · doi:10.1108/jpbm-01-2021-3341 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Schwartz, J. A. (2017) · Consumer Psychology Review · doi:10.1002/arcp.1008 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Self-citationCustomer comeback: Empirical insights into the drivers and value of returning customers
Meire, M. (2021) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.01.017 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Mathmann, F., Chrysochou, P., Tiganis, A., & Martin, B. A. S. (2024) · Psychology and Marketing · doi:10.1002/mar.22114 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Oueslati, W., Mejri, S., Al-Otaibi, S. T., & Ayouni, S. (2023) · IEEE Access · doi:10.1109/access.2023.3329049 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Owned Social Media Advertising: Cannibalization and Competition
Zheng, H., & Huang, L. (2022) · Journal of Interactive Marketing · doi:10.1177/10949968221095555 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Dang, C., Kwan, C. M. C., Jia, J. S., & Shi, Y. (2025) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.1177/00222437251373042 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
“Consequently, nuances in the visual design and information content of MGC have become important managerial decisions, with implications for sales and brand perception that go beyond merely creating awareness or buzz (Liadeli, Sotgiu, and Verlegh 2023; Mochon et al. 2017).”
Hervet, G., & Guitart, I. A. (2022) · Journal of business research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.08.052 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Zhu, J., Jiang, L., Dou, W., Wang, V. L., & Zhou, L. (2024) · Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing · doi:10.1108/jrim-04-2024-0190 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Predictive modeling to study lifestyle politics with Facebook likes
Praet, S., Aelst, P. V., van Erkel, P. F. A., der Veeken, S. V., & Martens, D. (2021) · EPJ Data Science · doi:10.1140/epjds/s13688-021-00305-7 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Using Natural Language Processing to Identify Effective Influencers
Fang, X., & Wang, T. (2022) · International Journal of Market Research · doi:10.1177/14707853221101565 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
“Some research shows that acquiring social media engagement, such as likes, might not affect consumer attitudes or behaviors (Mochon et al., 2017).”
BackgroundHow do likes influence revenue? A randomized controlled field experiment
Grahl, J., Hinz, O. F., Rothlauf, F., Abdel-Karim, B. M., & Mihale-Wilson, C. (2023) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.114133 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
The Impact of Mass Media Entrepreneurship Education on Entrepreneurial Mindset and Intentions
Seoke, S. Y., Mamabolo, A., & Mtotywa, M. M. (2023) · Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy · doi:10.1177/25151274231217951 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
“Bias was towards the platforms with the highest proven penetration and engagement in South Africa, such as Facebook and LinkedIn (Mochon et al., 2017).”
Jones, N. B., Miles, P., & Beaulieu, T. Y. (2021) · Journal of Small Business Strategy · doi:10.53703/001c.29478 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
“Research seems to agree that the value comes from making consumers aware of a brand and gathering information from consumers’ engagement in social media (Bendle & Bagga, 2016; John et al., 2017; Mochon et al., 2017).”
BackgroundCommunication during pandemic: who should tweet about COVID and how?
Yao, A. (2022) · Journal of Strategic Marketing · doi:10.1080/0965254x.2022.2113911 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
“Twitter retweets are a crucial metric of consumer engagement and an essential driver of offline purchase behavior (Lee et al., 2018; Mochon et al., 2017).”
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The Influence of Social Media on Charitable FundraisingPreprint
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Vargas, V. C., Vieira, V. A., Moura, L. R. C., & Filho, C. G. (2023) · The Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice · doi:10.1080/10696679.2023.2273560 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“Customers can generate word of mouth by interacting with each other and the firm on the firm’s Facebook page, as well as by commenting, liking, and sharing brand-related content” (Mochon et al., 2017, p. 307).”
The Effect of YouTube Reviews on Video Game Sales
Adıgüzel, F. (2021) · Journal of Business Research - Turk · doi:10.20491/isarder.2021.1249 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Do Social Media Likes Affect Food Consumption?
Mamalikou, M., Gkatzionis, K., & Παναγιώτου, Μ. (2024) · Businesses · doi:10.3390/businesses4040037 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“The effortless act of clicking the like button might indicate changes in consumers’ attitudes and behaviors regarding products and brands [17,18].”
Rainbows and laughter: How humor boosts e‐Word‐of‐Mouth for LGBT+ brands on social media
O’Rourke, A.-M., Belli, A., Mathmann, F., & Septianto, F. (2024) · Psychology and Marketing · doi:10.1002/mar.22131 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
- Authors
- Mochon, D., Johnson, K., Schwartz, J., & Ariely, D.
- Affiliations
- A.B. Freeman School of Business, Tulane University
- University of the Witwatersrand (ZA)
- Tulane University (US)
- Duke University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Johnson, Karen
- Schwartz, Janet
- Ariely, Dan
- Venue
- Journal of Marketing Research
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2017-04
- Volume
- 54
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 306-317
- ISSN
- 0022-2437 (ISSN-L)
- 1547-7193
- OpenAlex
- W2417728493
- Cited by
- 162
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 5
- FWCI
- 32.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Marketing Research (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Marketing and Social Media
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Marketing and Advertising Strategies
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Consumer Market Behavior and Pricing
- Keywords
- social media marketing, promotional communication, field experiments
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