Should You Buy Facebook Likes?

Tempted by offers to buy Facebook Likes after seeing deals advertise10,000 Likes for $40?

Before you do, let’s step back for a moment. Why do you want Facebook Likes?

If you just want a vanity number of Likes to look “Big” or “Popular” then go for it. But if you really want to derive ANY business value from your Facebook page, then STOP RIGHT NOW and do not buy Facebook Likes!

This article will dive into how buying Facebook likes works, why we recommend against it, and then give you some awesome strategies to generate real social media Likes that work for your business and maximize your Facebook ROI.

Let me explain exactly why not to buy Facebook Likes, and why to consider other social media marketing strategies…

How Can You Buy Likes on Facebook?

If you’re new to this idea, you’re probably asking “can you buy Likes on Facebook?” or “How do you even achieve such a thing?”. Well, yes, you certainly can buy your Likes and followers on this social media platform. This type of social media service is pretty popular, even though it can have negative effects on your business (more about that later).

There are a number of websites that offer to sell Facebook Likes and followers. Just search “Buy Facebook Likes and followers” on Google and you’ll find a long list. Before writing this, I did some research on the top websites where you can buy Facebook Likes.

Basically, the premise with these sites is that you pay them a fee and they add a number of Likes to your Facebook Page or website. I’m not sure how or where these Likes come from, but I’m skeptical, to say the least.

Where Do “Bought” Facebook Likes Come From? Who Are These Users?

One of the best sites to buy Facebook Likes, Boost Likes, puts a lot of emphasis on their Facebook Likes being “Real”, although I’m unsure what they mean by that.

“Real” as in the Facebook page exists? Even if they are real people, there is no way to choose ones who will actually be interested in your business or industry. It’s just a generic mixed bag.

And who knows what country they live in or what language they speak. In reality, there will be a very low likelihood that any “real” accounts that Like your Facebook page will have any interest in buying from you in the future.

When you buy Facebook Likes, forget about the idea that these are genuinely interested people. Even if sites advertise “high-quality Facebook Likes”, they are still not going to boost your Facebook page with genuine followers.

Still think that it’s a good idea to buy Facebook Likes? Let’s break it down in a bit more detail.

3 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Buy Facebook Likes

Low Engagement is bad for the algorithm
Causes you to alienate real Likes
Purchased Likes won’t become your customers

Low Engagement is Bad for the Algorithm

Having 10,000 Facebook page Likes doesn’t mean much if they aren’t engaging with your social media platform. Bought fans don’t engage because most of them aren’t real people. Even if they are real people, they aren’t going to be interested in what you have to say. So when you buy Facebook Likes packages, you dont actually get genuine Facebook engagement from your audience.

Facebook’s machine learning algorithm determines which posts go into users’ news feeds. It’s difficult enough to get your posts into the news feeds of your Facebook fans as it is, but when your Facebook page has little or no engagement (especially with a large number of Likes or a big audience), the algorithm will detect this and no one will see your posts.

This includes your real Facebook Likes and followers. So when you buy Facebook page Likes packages, you are actually harming your algorithm ranking and pushing away real Facebook followers. This is not doing your social networking sites a service.

For future reference, here are four factors that can affect your page’s ranking:

If a fan interacted with your posts before: If they Like every post by your Page that Facebook shows them, it will show them more from your Page. Real Likes on Facebook help to guide relevant content for more meaningful social networking.
Other people’s reactions to a specific post: If everyone on Facebook that’s shown a post ignores it or complains, it’s less likely to show anyone that post. Likes on Facebook help to determine the quality of that post. If you buy Likes, the algorithm will be able to detect this.
Your fans’ interaction with posts of the same type in the past: If your fans always Like photos, there’s a better chance they’ll see a photo posted by your Page. Post Likes offer long-term value in this sense. If you buy Likes, you’re actually detracting from this value.

If a specific Facebook post has received complaints from other users who have seen it, or your Facebook Page has received lots of complaints in the past, your fans will be less likely to see that Facebook post.

It Can Cause You to Alienate Real Fans

OK, let’s say that the unthinkable happens and these bought Facebook Likes or follower packages do engage with your social media platform. This will be good for your overall algorithm ranking, but not with the Likes that actually matter to your business. It will basically create a red flag in your Facebook insights.

Although you’ll see a lot of engagement, it won’t be coming from the people who are really interested in your business. If you buy Facebook Likes, you just buy Likes – not customers.

So where will this lead?

If you start to consistently post things that your “fake fans” are engaging with but your real fans are not, then all of your efforts will be for nothing.

After a lot of testing, you may find that you’re getting the most engagement with posts that include funny cat photos. What’s the point of Facebook page likes if they aren’t doing anything for your business? Each post should add real value to your social networking sites.

Unfortunately, if you sell, for example, exercise equipment, you won’t actually be posting something that is relevant to your fans who are interested in exercise and will potentially buy from you. This will cause these real Likes on Facebook to lose interest in your page, and they’ll stop seeing any of your posts in their news feed.

So if you buy Facebook Likes, you could very well be taking your content away from your actual customers. When you buy Facebook Likes, you are choosing fake fans over real ones.

Purchased Likes Won’t Become Your Customers

Facebook Pages, like any marketing channel, are meant to help generate more sales for your business. If you’re just engaging with people on the platform who have no interest in the products or services you sell, then it’s a futile activity. When you buy Facebook Likes, you defeat the purpose of using your Facebook page as a marketing tool for real customers.

As I mentioned above, you may be able to engage these Likes with certain posts that they are interested in, like pictures of cats, but your chances of engaging them with posts in your industry niche and converting them are zero. So when you buy Facebook Likes, you dont increase your customer base.

Alternatives to Buying Facebook Likes

So now that we know the reasons NOT to buy Facebook Likes, how do we go about increasing Facebook Likes and followers? Here are the four best techniques we’ve found to grow your social media, FAST:

Facebook Contest “Like” Popups
Coupon “Like” Popups
Facebook Ads
Create Shareable Content

Facebook Contest “Like” Popups

Facebook contests are still the fastest way to engage users, and although like-gating is now a thing of the past, they can still generate plenty of Facebook page Likes.

If a participant enjoys your contest idea and wants access to similar social contests and promotions in the future, simply asking them to “Like” your page can result in new loyal fans. This can be taken even further with referral contests. Organic Facebook Likes through an approach such as this is far more effective than if you buy Facebook Likes, because you attract interested customers.

How Does a Facebook Contest Get Users to Like My Page?

Many people think that without the Facebook Like-gating feature, contests are no longer useful in generating Facebook Likes, but that’s not true. A contest still engages users, educates them on your brand, and makes them want to gain access to win more valuable prizes down the road.

The Facebook Likes and followers brought on by a social media promotion are targeted directly to people interested in your brand. When you buy Facebook page Likes, you dont get any genuine customers.

The fact that a user is on your page shows they are interested in your brand. If they are willing to go through the effort of filling out a form, they’re someone you’re going to want to build a relationship with.

You now have the option to include a “Like” popup on your contest tab to capture users and connect with more current and potential customers. By politely asking for a “Like” at this point in time, users are more likely to feel inclined to say yes.

These new Facebook followers are starting their journey with your brand engaged and interested in what you offer – a vast difference to when you buy Facebook likes and followers.

The popup is just one more way to grab those who are already interested in you at the right moment. You can also use this tactic to gather lead information for further marketing strategies down the line, such as email marketing.

A perfect example of a “Like” popup can be seen below from Adventure Canada.

Coupon “Like” Popups

After contests, coupons are the best and fastest way to get new Facebook Likes. Studies have shown that 57% of social media users follow a brand for access to competitions and free stuff. This means your Facebook followers are just waiting for a coupon. Even something small like a 25% off coupon to your store will do the trick.

Using a Facebook coupon app like Wishpond’s makes it easy to create a tab on your Facebook business page where people can download a coupon. And just like with the Facebook contest app mentioned in the previous section, you can add a “Like” popup to your coupon. This gets you more likes on Facebook, and you sell products.

Another way to generate Facebook Likes from a coupon is to feature it on your website. Visitors to your website are obviously interested in purchasing from you, so a free coupon will be very enticing to them. And as they’re already showing interest in your business, they are perfect people to have Like your Page and engage with your social media.

Facebook Ads

Why should you pay to advertise on Facebook? Because it’s extremely effective. Facebook’s targeting options make it easy to target a precise audience of people who are highly interested in your products. Targeted likes and followers attract your perfect target audience.

Not only that, but Facebook offers a budgeting option specifically for the goal of generating Facebook Likes called Cost-Per-Like. By effectively testing and targeting Facebook Ads, we’ve been able to drop our Cost-Per-Like. Learn how to A/B Test your Ads to get the lowest Cost-Per-Like.

The best way to use Ads to get new Likes is to use them in conjunction with a Facebook contest or coupon. Just make the click destination for your Ad be the contest or coupon Tab on your Page.

There’s no need to buy Facebook page Likes if you can rather pay a minimal price to attract genuine customers. When you promote Ads, you gain genuine Likes on Facebook. When you buy Facebook page Likes though, you’re just paying for a meaningless social media number.

Your business page is there for customers, not to just gather Facebook post likes. Remember, Facebook marketing is only relevant if it targets the right customer. This is where Ads are useful.

Create Shareable Content

If you want to increase your number of followers (with real likes and followers), then you should focus on shareable content.

The concept is really simple. You post something that your followers like, and they share it with their followers, who share it with their followers, and so on. The snowball effect increases your reach dramatically – resulting in Facebook posts that reach a maximum amount of Facebook users and potential customers.

Shareable content gets you far more views and followers than you would get from just your feed alone. Before you purchase Facebook Likes, think about how you can spread shareable content to wider audiences instead.

A good way of enhancing this is by running social promotions with a referral feature. This way, contest entrants will share your Facebook account to gain more entries, resulting in a far wider number of followers seeing your contest and brand.

Conclusion

Buying Facebook Likes is a pointless process. If you buy Facebook followers, you aren’t actually growing your business or social media platforms in a way that matters. At the end of the day, your Facebook profile is there to attract customers and grow your business. Buying Facebook Likes does nothing to add to this.

Instead of buying Facebook Likes, you need to focus on targeting the right people and gaining real engagement from them. Social media marketing platforms are more effective for your business with just 10 followers if they are actual customers, compared to 10,000 fake customers. Aim for real Facebook growth and your business will benefit. Buying Facebook likes will only hold you back.

If you’d like to get real Facebook Likes without buying them, here are a few free resources for you to check out:

Have you or anyone you know tried buying Facebook Likes? How’d it go? Let me know in the comment section below!

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