Are most Facebook fans and ‘likes’ worthless?

Writing this week at Inc.com, blogger Erik Sherman says those figures prove that customers aren’t as willing to interact with brands on social media as many may think. But he also contends that the statistics shouldn’t discourage brands from being on social media.

“Design the program right, and a company makes money,” he wrote. “However, be realistic about the potential returns so you don’t act out of disappointment.”

Shel Holtz of Holtz Communications + Technology says a “like” is “fundamentally worthless.”

“Let’s say I hear about the ‘New Yorker’ offering access to a new article by Jonathan Franzen, but I have to ‘like’ the ‘New Yorker’ page first,” he says. “I do, read the article, then never go back. What’s that ‘like’ worth to the magazine, since I’m never going to interact with them again, and their updates aren’t going to appear in my news feed?”