Hiding content behind a “Like-wall” is killing the value of a Facebook Like. In pursuit of accumulating as many Likes as possible, many brands (including big names like Oreo, Red Bull, and Angry Birds) are making it compulsory to click the blue thumbs-up in order to access content. In doing so, these brands are eroding the value of the Like and damaging their own social presence.

Likes are valuable as a measurable demonstration of consumer interest – no matter how superficial, imperfect, or imprecise that measure might be. Proposed as campaign goals and reported by social media monitors, many see Likes as a form of brand equity, created by the connections between brands and their fans. Likes are public proclamations of affinity that, in volume, boost the public reputation of brands, so it makes sense that a higher number might correlate to greater brand value. Read more

The Facebook S-1 filing provided the first detailed look into the finances and workings of the social networking giant. Estimates about the forthcoming IPO suggest the company will be valued somewhere in the vicinity of $75 Billion dollars. Undercurrent Strategist Joanna Beltowska took a look at what that sort of money could buy you, and put together the neat chart below.

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