What Are The Most Well "Liked" Boston Companies On Facebook?

BOSTON (CBS) - If Facebook "likes" translate into sales for businesses, as a recent study suggests, some Boston-area companies have an embarrassment of riches, in the social media world anyway.

One thing is clear, most companies are on Facebook, and they want to be liked.

That's because last summer Facebook hit the milestone of 500 million users, and reports now say the company will soon hit 750 million. One billion can't be too far in the future.

Although the dollar amounts vary, executives at many companies agree that Facebook "likes" will eventually translate into sales.

A survey event registration site Eventbrite released in March reports that one Tweet about an event yielded 43 cents in ticket sales, while one Facebook "share" yielded $2.50.

Lisa van der Pool of the Boston Business Journal reports

Putting an even finer point on it, a survey last year from New York-based eMarketer stated that Facebook fans were worth $136.38 each for large corporate brands like McDonald's and Starbucks.

That money represents what fans eventually spend on the company's products, with "additional dollars coming from customer loyalty, recommendations and earned media," per eMarketer.

Note that it's not just large firms that can gather thousands of Facebook likes.

Kickass Cupcakes, a small but popular cupcake bakery in Somerville, has nearly 5,000 likes on Facebook - more than Massachusetts General Hospital.