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Fake Facebook Likes
- Thread starter OTBass
- Start date
Well I tell you, my wife and I have a small side business going on and I created a FB page a while ago but never promoted it in any way. I was given a free $100 credit with my hosting account to advertise on FB so I figured I would put together a quick ad and see what happens. We went from 1 like, to now getting close to 200 in just over a week. Yes most are not our geographic target audience but its nice when prospective clients check us out.
Buying likes is cluttering the internet and what is wrong with it and the music business. Lame in my book. If that's what you need to make it these days more proof why I don't listen to the newer mainstream popular bands or artists... You can only imagine who the next "star" will be if he/she buys 10million youtube views or fb likes.
Hahaha! Here is Hollywood, there is a new band in town. They are hot stuff and looking for a bass player. I checked into their Facebook Page, and they have 48,000 likes! I though wow....I have a chance to be in a band ready to make it. But looking at their gig activity..."low"....and the real responses from fans...."almost none".......I get the definite truth that they are posers! Same old stuff. Bunch of dreamers with not much going for them, but more importantly....liars....
Paid Facebook advertising does work. I did it a couple of times with my band page through Reverbnations ad service and our Likes definitely went up. When I figured it out, you were paying around $1 per Like average. And you could make it look for folks who had also liked similar local bands or venues you want to play, so it kept your Likes within your demographic. But overall, not worth the money. Our gig attendance did not grow because of it.
DwaynieAD said:
It helped us gather real fans. People are impressionable. And a few of the "fake fans" turned into real fans as well.
When you look at it that way, how can you not market to a new customer base?
That is, if everything else was in order. I spent 40+ hours a week working on the band, and only half of that was practice with an instrument.
To me the original poster is a part of the same system most of the people in this thread (including him) condemn?
He judged the band by the amount of Facebook "Likes" and thought: "They've got 6000 likes, so they must be popular - I really want to be in a popular band, let me audition for them".
At least that's what I get from his original post.
The mindset he's shown is exactly what caused other people to go and fake "Likes".
If he had liked the band for any other reason than their amount of Facebook "Likes" - quality of music, characters of the band members, etc. - I doubt he would have quit after finding out it was all fake.
Wanting to be in a band just because they're popular and judging that by the amount of Facebook "Likes" is just as lame as faking those "Likes", in my opinion.
He judged the band by the amount of Facebook "Likes" and thought: "They've got 6000 likes, so they must be popular - I really want to be in a popular band, let me audition for them".
At least that's what I get from his original post.
The mindset he's shown is exactly what caused other people to go and fake "Likes".
If he had liked the band for any other reason than their amount of Facebook "Likes" - quality of music, characters of the band members, etc. - I doubt he would have quit after finding out it was all fake.
Wanting to be in a band just because they're popular and judging that by the amount of Facebook "Likes" is just as lame as faking those "Likes", in my opinion.
OP here.
I admit it was lame of me to want to join a band based on FB likes. For my part all I can say is that when you're a free agent on the hunt for a band, cruising CL ads wears you down. Most ads are for startups where you'd really have to be into the idea/music to want to do it, or just as often they are for pre-existing bands that suck.
When I saw that there was a decent band with what appeared to be a big following looking for a bass player, I abandoned all my principles and jumped at it. Why? Because it looked like an easy ticket to some small degree of success. Any small crumb of success I've ever had have been hard-earned and short-lived... so yeah I was willing to compromise.
Anyway, my thought on fake FB likes is that they are lame but unfortunately people (including myself) will be impressed by them and think you're something you aren't. So yeah you can be honest and not do it but you are certainly foregoing an advantage in doing so.
if I was Bill Gates I would buy likes for all my posts on facebook, just to freak out my friends.
how cool would it be to make some lame post about being tired and having your coffee and getting 5000 likes?
how cool would it be to make some lame post about being tired and having your coffee and getting 5000 likes?
Been kickin asphalt the past couple of weeks, and I've had time to talk to a few promoters, club managers, and the like...
It's pretty well agreed...
If they take a chance on a local w/ no large internet presence, and the band shows up with 5 fans..."hey, better luck next time"
If the band has this "we're huge on the internet!" presence, and show up with 5 fans...It's fairly well ascertained that they're not going to waste anymore time...
It's pretty well agreed...
If they take a chance on a local w/ no large internet presence, and the band shows up with 5 fans..."hey, better luck next time"
If the band has this "we're huge on the internet!" presence, and show up with 5 fans...It's fairly well ascertained that they're not going to waste anymore time...
I find complaining about it lame. It's what people do, now. Perception is everything. Adapt or be old and lame. IMO, it's a hell of a lot less shameful than auto tune or having most of your live show being on a backing track.
OTBass,
thanks for the honest and mature reply to my post, which (reading it now) might also have warranted a lot more defensive reaction.
thanks for the honest and mature reply to my post, which (reading it now) might also have warranted a lot more defensive reaction.
so, what's next? Should I vote for your band (not yours, personally) to get a spot on that really big show coming up?
Should I applaud the band with fake friends for feeling compelled to buy up their own tickets, rather than sell tickets to their fans?
Just because it's common practice, to you (again, not you, personally) does not make it right. And not getting behind such a sad practice is not lame...
Plenty of bands are working with backing tracks all the time now. That's getting a lil old.
But it's the wave of the future...wave of the future...wave of the future...sorry, my leonardo dicaprio as howard hughes tic is coming back...show me all the blueprints...
I can see both sides of this argument. And while I wouldn't say that "everyone's doing it", I lump buying likes in with other types of SEO. Well, okay, it's like a slightly more deceptive version of other types of SEO.
The thing is, yeah, if you have more "likes" on FB you have more visibility. BUT, all likes are not created equal! A random "like" from some fake account in Grenada where nobody will ever hear your music does MUCH LESS to increase your visibility than a "like" from someone who has friends that will dig your music, or who has friends who have already liked your page, etc.
So your time and money is better invested in building a REAL, LASTING web presence than the "quick fix" that fake Facebook likes provide. Trust me on this one - I get paid to do this kind of thing every day.
EDIT: My band doesn't buy likes. I guess I would compare it to adding your website to an "autosurfing" ring so it seems more popular than it is. Well, my band doesn't do that either. Our web presence works well for us because I created a tailored solution that effectively communicates with our fan base. I can't see us needing to buy likes in the future. I'm too good at the Internet for that.
The thing is, yeah, if you have more "likes" on FB you have more visibility. BUT, all likes are not created equal! A random "like" from some fake account in Grenada where nobody will ever hear your music does MUCH LESS to increase your visibility than a "like" from someone who has friends that will dig your music, or who has friends who have already liked your page, etc.
So your time and money is better invested in building a REAL, LASTING web presence than the "quick fix" that fake Facebook likes provide. Trust me on this one - I get paid to do this kind of thing every day.
EDIT: My band doesn't buy likes. I guess I would compare it to adding your website to an "autosurfing" ring so it seems more popular than it is. Well, my band doesn't do that either. Our web presence works well for us because I created a tailored solution that effectively communicates with our fan base. I can't see us needing to buy likes in the future. I'm too good at the Internet for that.
I've been trying make sense of all this stuff for some time. I run a number of websites and trying to get them to rank is a real art.
The problem is that companies such as facebook setup systems like 'liking' someone to create legitimate interest. But then there's always somebody that wants to beat the system and they find fraudulent ways to trick the system. Then the guys that create the system need to find ways to prevent tricking the system. Facebook has created something called an edgerank, that tries to deal with this. Here's an article from my partner...
Don't "Like" me unless you LOVE me.
What people don't realize is that this will almost always backfire on them. Facebook has at its discretion to cancel your account and they can and will. I know of people that have been too good and working the system (even legitimately) and they get shutdown.
Terri
The problem is that companies such as facebook setup systems like 'liking' someone to create legitimate interest. But then there's always somebody that wants to beat the system and they find fraudulent ways to trick the system. Then the guys that create the system need to find ways to prevent tricking the system. Facebook has created something called an edgerank, that tries to deal with this. Here's an article from my partner...
Don't "Like" me unless you LOVE me.
What people don't realize is that this will almost always backfire on them. Facebook has at its discretion to cancel your account and they can and will. I know of people that have been too good and working the system (even legitimately) and they get shutdown.
Terri
