Social Media News - The Dangers of Purchasing Fake Followers and Likes
When setting up a business, social media is a crucial component upon planning a marketing strategy, but it can be very tough to create the desired attention through the Internet. Many businesses will try and get ahead of the competition by purchasing followers and Likes in order to boost numbers, and whilst this is an affordable option and may look better on firm profiles, ultimately it can be very damaging to business in the long term.
The source of fake likes and followers can vary between Facebook and Twitter. Followers on Twitter are usually from fake accounts created by spammers. They then distribute spam links, and sell followers, earning a nice amount of money whilst giving zero help back to willing businesses.
Fake Facebook likes tend to be more sinister, as they come from real accounts. These accounts are usually hacked, so the account holder has no knowledge that they have ‘liked’ a page, therefore the user has no control over what pages their profile is connected to.
Seeing as fake likes and followers are used to boost numbers, there will be no improvement for the business in terms of customer engagement. This means that company money will be spent on people who don’t care or even more demoralising don’t exist.
It can be a great feeling to see 'followers' and 'likes' progressively get better, but ultimately social media isn’t just a numbers game. The business will benefit far more from engaging with real life customers who take a genuine interest in the products and services that the company offers. Due to the nature of the followers (being fake) they will not engage or promote any of the products being sold. The effect of this is that these followers will not bring any new sales, and there is a possibility that the business account will be suspended for delving in such activity.
Fake followers may put off potential customers, especially if the numbers rise very suddenly. This is an indication that the company has resorted in buying fake publicity, plus the customers could check who the followers are. Fake accounts are usually obvious to identify, as simply checking previous Tweets can be a giveaway. This can have a massive impact on money coming in because if the real followers suspect fake accounts then any trust that was built up in customer relations will be lost.
If the company purchases fake followers, it will be difficult to keep tabs on what is making the real customers tick. This is because it will be difficult to keep track of the genuine metrics; therefore it will be difficult to know what is right to post on the company page in order to attract new customers.
Solution
Building a strong customer following should be a natural process because the more people who genuinely invest, the more people they will tell about the business, and therefore more buying customers will appear. This can be achieved by encouraging existing customers to follow any accounts the business has, or advertising social profiles to potential customers through the company website, or in the shop, for example.
The money that will be spent on fake likes can be used in a different way on Facebook. Using the money to advertise on Facebook can have a positive impact, as more people will see the business. A daily budget can be set, and getting likes this way will lead to more legitimate customer engagement.
It is crucial to gain a good following online if looking to set up a prosperous business, but it is also crucial to make sure that using transparent methods does this. The opposed method of purchasing fake followers and likes will damage the business to the extent where it makes it very difficult to come back. A whole host of trust will be lost just for the sake of a better-looking exterior. It is better to take more time to build customer relations, and through this hard work and clever strategising, the business will prosper.
Alex is an English Literature and Sociology undergraduate whose love for written word has led him to write about some obscure topics in his time. Currently a content writer at Social Media Frontiers, be sure to follow him @AlexSatSMF.
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Social Media News - The Dangers of Purchasing Fake Followers and Likes
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Tuesday, March 04, 2014
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Reviewed by Unknown
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Tuesday, March 04, 2014
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