So, you started your company’s initial social media efforts, created your Facebook fan page, and started working on maximizing your fan page, but you noticed—you aren’t getting a lot of “likes”. Unfortunately for majority of companies, you will not see results overnight. This process happens gradually through various marketing efforts.
You may have seen marketing agencies and other companies advertise they can help you gain hundreds or even thousands of fans in just days. Beware! The majority of these “fans” provide little to no interaction on your fan page and can drive away your current fanbase. I do not advocate buying fans (especially for smaller companies) for the following reasons:
Quantity Vs. Quality:
As mentioned in past posts, the main purpose of Facebook and social media is to engage, communicate and listen to what your consumers have to say. That being said, why would you want a ton of fans that don’t do any of these? Initially visiting a page with a ton of “likes” may make your company seem credible, but if there is no wall activity, it may seem odd. So, I recommend to put your marketing efforts towards growing a fan base of quality fans who enjoy your product or service and will give you genuine feedback and interaction—even if it longer, it is more beneficial in the end.
Loyal Fans:
Your existing fans may be turned off when they notice a sudden increase in fans on your site or may be suspicious if they see 498 fans with little to no posts and/or comments on your page. This many lead them to second-guess their fan-ship to your page and their interaction. It may also make your company appear desperate.
“Real” Fans
Most Facebook fan selling websites are middlemen companies that send your fan orders to companies outside of the U.S who use hacker/spam techniques to produce your fans. Even though these Facebook profiles are “real”, majority of these profile names are constructed oddly with stock profile images. Also, none of these fan-selling sites ever guarantee 100% real and/or targeted fans. Many of these sites also will “de-fan” or “un-like” your page after a certain time period.
Grow An Organic Fan-dom
All in all, as stated in the “quantity vs. quality” section, I find the organic fans are the most valuable to your Facebook fan page and company. Before you consider buying fans, think twice about your company’s reputation and/or social media presence that you have worked hard to develop positively thus far.
