Anyone who understands the basics of a
good social marketing strategy understands that it impossible to envision
social media without Facebook. One of the ways that people measure popularity
on Facebook is by counting ‘Likes’. Especially if you are starting a new
campaign it may seem appealing to buy these Likes, you have probably seen many
of those offers come by already. Companies promise to get your business or
event 10,000 Likes for a small fee, and as a result your company or event seems
popular.
The problem is that recent research
shows that a little more than two thirds of all Facebook Likes are fraudulent,
given by non-existing profiles or malware. As you can probably imagine, if the
‘like’ you pay for is not tied to an actual person but just generated because
of fraud, it is worth absolutely nothing.
In light of these recent results,
Facebook has decided to crack down on these fake ‘Likes’. The company announced
today that it would remove fraudulent Likes through the use of automated tools.
Facebook Likes to point out that any attempt to buy, sell, or artificially
generate "Like" activity is illegal because it violates Facebook’s terms
and conditions. However, until this recent news, they did not seem overly
worried about stopping the behavior.
Nonetheless, the underlying problem is
that many marketing professionals are trying to take the easy way out. Instead
of paying people to become fans of your product or service, why not give them
an actual reason to do so? That might cost time and money, but it certainly an
investment that is worth it.
