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We all know about Likes and despite what some have published, a Like is somewhat worthless.

Consider your own online behaviors. Have you ever Liked someone's new job? Or a comment? Or a post? Or picture?

Now consider how momentarily moved you had to be to click on that Like. And that's probably for someone you knew!

Now consider how many times you've Liked something and then just moved on to something else. Not much of a commitment there.

Have you ever Liked something because you were asked to?

The important piece for businesses to recognize is that a Like signifies a momentary emotional response at best, much like a quick smile at a witticism. It gave you a chuckle for a second and then it was forgotten.

But the real question is "How often does your Like turn into $$$?"

And you do know that some companies sell Likes or pay people to Like products and services, correct?

The truth is, Likes rarely turn into $$$ and when they do the return is more often ¢ than $$$. Most people, mid-2013, understand that Likes have little predictive value in digital marketing because broad use of the term has devalued its meaning between brands and consumers.

But what about Love? Love deals with deep ego-identification and emotional commitment from consumers towards a brand and is a real indicator of consumer financial commitment. A 2011 three month study in six major US cities demonstrated that 9 out of 10 people who claimed to "Love" a brand acted on that emotion, continued to act on that emotion and proselytised for the brand with family, friends and neighbors.

Love marketing could better be called "socio-emotional" marketing because it's purpose is to engage the social and emotional brain regions so highly that cognitive-rational processing becomes unimportant, and whatever it's called, the money question is "Can brands get consumers to Love them?"

The answer is yes, and here's how to do it.

Total Time - 2m33s