The most recent valuation of $136.38 per fan was calculated by Syncapse, a Canadian outfit that bills itself as a social technology partner. Their study examined the five leading contributors to Facebook fan value:

(1) Product Spending
(2) Brand Loyalty
(3) Propensity to Recommend
(4) Brand Affinity
(5) Earned Media Value

To provide an example, fans of McDonald’s spent, on average, more than $300 on the company’s products, while non-fans spent just half that amount.

• On average, fans spend an extra $71.84 they would not otherwise spend on products they describe themselves as fans of, compared to those who are not fans.
• Fans are 28 percent more likely than non-fans to continue using a specific brand.
• Fans are 41 percent more likely than non-fans to recommend a product to their friends.

I’m no statistician or measurement guru but I do pay attention to these valuation numbers. In layman’s terms: if someone has indicated by the now familiar “thumbs up” of Facebook that they “like” a page, it’s an endorsement. Further, if someone has decided to endorse your company fan page, they must be nurtured, entertained, interacted with, communicated to, answered and thought of in every post. Why? They are potential (if not actual) clients – and they are potential “evangelists” of your brand.

Here’s the conclusion of Syncapse’s 18-page report:

“Facebook fans represent a significant opportunity to drive revenue enhancement, brand, and loyalty … Facebook strategies allow for a discernable ROI that is not allowed by most other approaches.”

That doesn’t necessarily mean go out and get as many fans as you can for the sake of fan numbers.

However, if a company values each fan –whether you have 15 or 1500 fans – by virtue of how that company interacts with those fans, our hunch is that you’ll have a quality page – and a slew of brand ambassadors! You can’t put a price on that – or can you?