I’ve been going back and forth on this for a while as I see a growing number of businesses essentially “buying” their Facebook followers.
Today, Mashable ran this article about the promotion the “America’s Next Great Restaurant” Facebook page ran for new likes — buy one, get one free Chipotle burritos. Of course, I liked the page. Would I have liked the page without the bait? No. But I like Chipotle. So I liked the page.
Although I’m not thrilled by the idea of my “like” being pimped, my ethical values are not strong enough to resist free Chipotle. I’m not alone. At 10 a.m. today, the page had 6,555 likes. Now it’s up to 89,700. And it’s still growing!
So it does seem to work. Or does it?
How many of those “likes” are truly valuable? How many will go back and “unlike” or “hide” the page? How many will actually watch the show? I am quite sure most just wanted the free burrito.
I think organic “likes” are a lot more valuable. Those people actually chose to like you, on their own free will. But I also see the value in just getting a large following from the get go:
- It makes you look more credible, and could convince people, who are on the fence about whether or not to “like” you, to push that button
- It gets the word out about something timely going on in your business (for example, the new series “America’s Next Great Restaurant” begins airing March 6)
- People who just “like” you for the freebie might actually convert into fans after following you
So this is where I’ve decided I stand: I think it’s OK to pimp your “likes.” As long as you provide valuable content to earn their sustained attention.
If you continuously run free offers on your page, you will probably get a lot of new followers. But is that really helping you? Where does your brand come in? Do they care about your brand, or even know what it is? After you’ve essentially purchased a base of fans, you need to treat them well to keep them and convert them into true brand advocates. You can take a girl on dates and buy her pretty jewelry, but you’re going to have to be a good guy to truly win her over.
So go ahead, buy some “likes” if you have the connections and resources to make it happen. But don’t leave those new followers hangin’ — give them quality content!
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
As of 1 a.m. CST, the total number of likes for the “America’s Next Great Restaurant” Fan Page reached 116,314, which means the page grew by nearly 110,000 fans in less than 24 hours.
{ 1 trackback }