When a company takes a look at its social media strategy, one of the first questions that tends to come up is: “What is the value? What will the return look like on my social media investment?”

To demonstrate this value, let’s take the largest social media site on the web today: Facebook. There’s good reason why all content created and posted should, in part, be aimed at acquiring new fans. Because the value each and every time someone clicks the “Like” button at the top of your page is immense, and we’ll tell you why.

One dirty little secret of the world’s largest social media network – a secret that most casual users are blissfully unaware of – is that there is a wealth of information buried inside Facebook …yes, even if users are convinced that their profile is fully “locked-down.” Analytics applications to extract personal information, such as Wisdom from MicroStrategy, are relatively common and frequently utilized.

Whether a profile is directly viewable or not, once the user takes the first step of opting-in to your page, nearly all public and private information can then be accessed and stored by the owners of that page (including email address, age, employer, schools attended, interests, other page likes, and so on). While this can certainly be a disconcerting fact to users, a Facebook page “like” is almost invaluable for businesses, and many are willing to pay a hefty chunk of change to acquire that insight.

With user information extracted from Facebook profiles, an individual or company can refine strategies to better target their focused audience. And in many ways, leveraging this data will allow that company to deliver greater value back to the customer. Knowing the target audience without having to spend money on surveys and polls even gives brands the flexibility to invest that money elsewhere.

Still unsure about the ROI of social media? OPUSfidelis takes it one step further with our value-per-engagement approach to social media management, providing our customers with a comprehensive view of the success of their online properties and engagement on individual posts and content. This puts a concrete dollar amount on your social media numbers, and shows the tremendous value of what you receive for your investment in social communication.

Based on the exposure, interaction, and most importantly, the acquisition of a entire database of potential customers, it’s important for brands to recognize the true value of a Facebook “like” when it comes to their social media strategy.