Geez, it’s been a while and I have been working on this post for months. I was originally gong to title this “the Facebook Fan Fallacy” but the wizards over in Palo Alto changed it up on me so this will have to do. And, since my schedule has been crazy busy these days, I have decided to make my posts a lot shorter and more direct. Hopefully you will still find value.
My point with this post is to blatantly say that buying fans/followers is not a very effective strategy. I have been bought before by a few brands but a quick glance at the list reminds me that I have NEVER gone back to any of these pages, ever!
I do understand the need to spend money in Facebook or wherever to drive people to a particular domain. How else will the masses even know you exist? The problem arises when brands make this the core focus of their outreach strategy.
Organic growth via real time engagement is what works. Having dedicated employees managing Facebook “like white on rice” is where the true value is. Statistics show by multiple data sources that consumers want to engage with brands; AND according to the Edelman Trust Barometer, consumers TRUST employees of a company. Truth is, people relate to other people, not logos or corporate entities. It’s the core of our DNA.
There will always be a place to buy media and develop applications in Facebook; but unless you have a team of people ready to engage “real time” with the community, it’s a complete waste of time. Unless of course, fan numbers is your only metric.
Quick Tip:
- If you really want to grow your fan base on Facebook, consider integrating the “like box” or any of the other social plugins on all of your pages of the .com site.
- Do I really have to say that having “compelling content” on the page is a must. Consider content that isn’t readily available anywhere else.
- Integrate your Facebook URL with any paid media in market
