Nearly nine in ten Facebook users (87%) say they "like" brands on Facebook, and among them fully one-half (50%) say a brand's Facebook page is more useful than its website, according to a survey from Lab42.

Moreover, among those who like brands on Facebook...

• 82% say Facebook is a good place to interact with brands.
• 75% say they feel more connected to brands.
• 69% say they have liked a brand because a friend has done so.

However, not all fans are convinced that brands are listening to them: Among those 82% who say Facebook is a good place to interact with brands, only one-third (35%) say they believe brands listen to them on Facebook.

Below, additional findings from Lab42.

When liking brands on Facebook, most people want something in return: 34% cite promos and discounts as a key motivator for giving a thumbs up, and 21% cite free giveaways.

Some 14% of social media users who like brand pages say they do so out of loyalty to the brand.

Clearly, brands are responding to consumers' desires: 77% of social media users who have liked a brand on Facebook say they've saved money after doing so, with 66% saving $20 or more in the previous year and 17% saving $100 or more.

Interestingly, nearly one-half (46%) of social media users have liked a brand without ever having intentions to buy from them. Among those 46%, more than one-half (52%) say they were motivated to like the brand by a freebie, and 46% simply wanted to associate with the brand, even though they couldn't afford the brand's products.

However, brand relationships on Facebook don't always last: 73% of social media users have unliked a brand, citing a high frequency of brand posts, no longer liking the brand, or a bad customer experience as reasons for doing so:

Among those social media users who don't like brands on Facebook, 47% cite newsfeed clutter as a key reason, 36% don't want to be contacted by brands, and 30% say they avoid liking brands because of privacy concerns:

About the data: Findings are based on a survey of 1,000 social media users in the third quarter of 2012.