WHY do 4,000 people "Like" a shoe brand on Facebook? WHY?

I spoke with a friend last night about a shoe brand he works on who quickly got 4,000 "Like"s after setting up the Facebook site. 


It amazes me how a shoe can get 4,000 "Like"s. Why do people "Like" brands on Facebook - what is the point? I guess they can win something, so they get in there in order to get freebies. A lot of people will simply like a brand, hence "Like" it - but then I wonder how they manage all those meaningless updates all brands send out? They block my news feed and I tend to "Unlike" brands as soon as they ask me "hey dear, how was your day?" Perhaps I´m an old hag who just can´t see it... 


Of course I will demand every brand I work on to rush to FB if they are not already there, and to have a careful strategy on how to connect and chat with people. If brands are not where people are, how can they make an impact and influence. But I still find it fascinating! Clever videos going viral - yes. Compelling competitions - yes. Following the huge lovemarks like Apple or Nike - yes. But a simple shoe brand getting 4,000 people to click "Like" and accept and embrace the brand to interfere in their Facebook. Amazing! 


According to this, it´s the answers "special offers/deals" (36.9%) or "current customer" (32.9%) that get the highest scores. But it doesn´t explain why you need to "Like" a brand just because you are a customer? How very odd. The data is of course presented without information on number or nationalities of respondents, but I believe it is from 2011. Probably from the Us? It gives us a hint, but not the real answer. I want to dig deeper. Has anyone done that? Are there qualitative studies made on why people interact with brands in social media? I search through google but only get sales messages from companies dying to help me set up a brand presence online. 

ExactTarget did some research into what motivates (American) users to Like companies on Facebook. The results: 

• 40% to receive discounts and promotions
• 39% to show my support for the company to others
• 36% to get a “freebie”
• 34% to stay informed about the activities of the company
• 33% to get updates on future products
• 30% to get updates on upcoming sales
• 29% for fun or entertainment
• 25% to get access to exclusive content
• 22% someone recommended it to me
• 21% to learn more about the company
• 13% for education about company topics
• 13% to interact

Research conducted by Chadwick Martin Bailey in January 2011 (in the Us of course) about how consumers are using Facebook to interact with brands on Facebook showed that 78% follow less than ten brands. Why? Because:

I am a customer of the company 58%

To receive discounts and promotions 57%

To show others that I like/support this brand 41%

To be the first to know information about the brand 31%

Gain access to exclusive content 31%

I still believe it´s a complete mystery that 4,000 people want to receive updates from a shoe brand, but each to their own :) 

Who is going to do a proper study on this, differentiating ages, genders and asking qual questions? There is some data, saying the average "Liker" is 31 years old, 20% are students, 17% unemployed, but that doesn´t say much. Give me more, please!