If you run a social media account for your business, you will inevitably have had a message along the lines of, “Hey, just reaching out, I can help you build your Instagram/Facebook/Twitter following really easily”, slide into your DMs. For anyone just starting out and attempting to build a social media following for their business, the idea of simply buying likes and followers can be attractive. After all, overnight, you could go from a couple of hundred followers to thousands. It would make your business look more successful to passing visitors; what’s not to love? Allow us to explain why buying likes and followers is never a good idea.
Questionable ethics
If you regularly read our blogs, you’ll have probably noticed that we’re all about corporate social responsibility, and we think that every business should do similar. So, we’re going to start off with the ethics behind buying likes and followers.
The first thing to consider is who the followers are and where the clicks are coming from. Well, they come from something called click farms, where hundreds if not thousands of poorly paid workers work on a ‘pay to click’; think of them as digital sweatshops. So, if you are the kind of person who likes to buy free-range eggs and is concerned about fast fashion, the ethical working practices of the people you’re paying to boost your follower count aren’t going to match up.
Questionable follower quality
The next thing to consider is the quality of the followers and likes that you’re buying. If you buy lots of likes and followers, but those accounts have no connection to your business or even your country, how are you going to get any return of interest on the money you’ve spent? Take a local mobile beautician based in Oxfordshire as an example. How will followers based in Thailand make any positive impact on their business? The short answer is that they won’t.
One of the best parts about marketing on social media is when genuine followers interact with and share content. All their friends see it; it’s almost like a personal recommendation. So, for the mobile beautician, they’ll get more return of interest from people in Oxfordshire sharing and liking their content.
Platforms know when you’re being spammy
It goes without saying that each of the major social media platforms is pretty attuned to noticing when a business page is buying followers and likes. It also goes without saying that none of the social media platforms like it. In the last few years, social media platforms have consistently worked towards keeping themselves secure and authentic. This means that if they see an account behaving suspiciously (for example, suddenly receiving masses of clicks and likes), they’ll suspend it or possibly permanently delete it. Which inevitably defeats the object of spending money on new followers in the first place.
It will affect your reputation
And here’s the big one, buying fake likes and follows will inevitably affect the reputation of your business. In the same way that a fake handbag will always be fake, a fake follower will be too.
Building a credible and authentic social media account is time-consuming; it’s about sharing content that people want to engage with, and there aren’t any shortcuts. That’s why having a team of marketing experts at your side, doing the work for you, is worth its weight in gold (or at least a handbag that isn’t a knockoff).
If you’re concerned that your social media posts are missing the mark or that you just aren’t getting the return of interest from what you’re putting out there, get in touch with us for a chat.
