Desperately need to get more facebook likes!

[Steve Sellers]

I don't know why I just do. It's bound to bring in business right?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18813237


Just to confirm what I already knew to be true. Roll on a load of web designers saying how important social media is.....

 

[zaidy88]

You can buy facebook likes if it is really that important to you. But these tend to be people from different countries etc so probably no use to you.
There are firms out there who can sell you a package of x number of likes for x £'s.
Best way is to probably do a facebook advert, I set a budget of £10 per day, ran for 5 days and got over 300 likes these were from genuine people who are actually interested in the service too

 

[RCHumphrey]

OP is being sarcastic. There are always going to be opposing views, the article below gives a less biased overview of the impact of FB advertising. End of the day the BBC article is a glorified opinion column.

www[DOT]ft[DOT]com/cms/s/0/1949f508-a4f4-11e1-9a94-00144feabdc0html#axzz20nFBpqol

Hope this interests you^^^

 

[WilliamsData]

"5% - 6% are fake profiles"...

hmmm the figure I heard is more like 25%

 

[zaidy88]

the bbc review does show that facebook advertising is not effective and it is mainly teens who 'like' these pages.
Luckily for me, my advert was targeted at teens and students and I set it to target the UK population.
Same with any advertising, if you target the right audience, then you could get the right returns.
One thing to remember, it is mainly teens and students who use facebook '24/7' literally. My younger brother (15) is never off the thing, mobile and laptop all you see is him on facebook, so it is obvious that they will like more pages than other people like you and I

 

[Steve Sellers]

For me Facebook advertising is money down the drain. There is not an atmosphere of buying on Facebook (to quote a book I have just read). The number of fake profiles is ridiculous. I would say 25% is more like it.

I'm not on a total downer of getting business through facebook, just not how most so called social media marketing experts say how. Having a fan page doesn't get you more business, having something people want to be a fan of counts as a thumbs up by that customer for your business. If other potential customers see that then it will help sell, but are other potential customers really looking up your facebook page with a view yo buying?

 

[VSpy1]

why would you want to pay someone for 'likes'? How does it benefit you if they aren't genuine?

 

[ukbdf]

why would you want to pay someone for 'likes'? How does it benefit you if they aren't genuine?

Simple - fake businesses need fake customers.

 

[internetspaceships]

The only "likes" that matter are the number of "likes" on the bottom line of your accounts

 

[Esk247]

fake likes are completely worthless but a buzzing facebook page can be quite useful. Getting customer to interact is the difficult part, i've spent all day on it today and got sod all.

We do make sales through facebook and we do get customer feedback and questions, it works as both Social Media and Customer Services.

Would i buy likes or facebook ads? no. I've tried ads and have another thread on it, doesn't really work and the control panel is nowhere near ready for business users.

 

[RCHumphrey]

For me Facebook advertising is money down the drain. There is not an atmosphere of buying on Facebook (to quote a book I have just read). The number of fake profiles is ridiculous. I would say 25% is more like it.

I'm not on a total downer of getting business through facebook, just not how most so called social media marketing experts say how. Having a fan page doesn't get you more business, having something people want to be a fan of counts as a thumbs up by that customer for your business. If other potential customers see that then it will help sell, but are other potential customers really looking up your facebook page with a view yo buying?

It definitely can do

The fact is there are so many variables with regards to advertising in general and Facebook is no different. It all depends on the advertising campaign in my opinion and who its targeted to.... but there can be no doubt that a Facebook fan page does bring in more business. Even through its existence it reminds previous or current customers that they can go back. Its a much simpler and more effective means of communicating in this day and age.

 

[internetspaceships]

It definitely can do

but there can be no doubt that a Facebook fan page does bring in more business.

Doesn't this really depend on what kind of business you're in?

 

[ukbdf]

Doesn't this really depend on what kind of business you're in?

Not if your in marketing, seo or web design.

 

[internetspaceships]

Not if your in marketing, seo or web design.

Please enlighten me because I just don't see the link (no pun intended)

 

[ukbdf]

Please enlighten me because I just don't see the link (no pun intended)

Marketing, seo and webdesign will tell and sell you the "fact" you have to use social media

 

[Steve Sellers]

Marketing, seo and webdesign will tell and sell you the "fact" you have to use social media

That was my point. I never hear about business owners saying how much money they have made from facebook. I only ever hear web designers and marketers saying it.

I have made a small amount of money from facebook but that was through my other half being a member of a facebook group where 100% of the members are are prime for buying one of my services. I have no doubt if I advertised through facebook directly to those people I would have achieved 0 sales. The fact my other half is a trusted member of that group is what achieved the sales.

You say there is no doubt RC, but there is a doubt hence me starting the thread. If you throw enough money at any form of advertising it will no doubt generate a sale or two, but I fail to see the ROI through facebook.

It's no wonder that some marketers are peddling the myth of how you can make a million through social media. As an example, someone I know very well works for an unnamed publicly funded entity. Her employers paid about a grand to a web marketing company to increase the number of "likes" their facebook page had. Exactly 80 more likes. Why? What was the purpose? Shocking waste of money.

 

[mhall]

I am getting quite anal about Facebook advertising after running a campaign and my "research" tells me that it doesn't work.

My "research" is very crude, everytime I see someone on facebook I cover the right hand side of the screen and ask the person what the ads are. I have done this over a hundred times and NO-ONE has been able to tell me.

 

[Steve Sellers]

My "research" is very crude, everytime I see someone on facebook I cover the right hand side of the screen and ask the person what the ads are. I have done this over a hundred times and NO-ONE has been able to tell me.

I'm confused? As in you ask people whether they remember what the advert was for?

 

[RCHumphrey]

Just to clarify I'm not a marketer, in SEO or any form of webdesign, just in case that was being suggested. There are countless examples of companies not in these industries using FB ads successfully, as I posted in the article earlier (check first post I make), Unilever one of the biggest FMCG companies in the world has had a very good ROI. Some start-up/small businesses too have hit Facebook ads hard and done well as a result, for example 'ShiteShirts'. Pretty much all businesses can benefit from social media outlets no matter the size because for one thing they are free, so we can't effectively use the term ROI (unless we're relating time to financial value and in this case its still a good ROI, the time to get new clients through social media can be a lot quicker than other methods).


The fact remains that a well thought out, free FB fanpage is clearly an asset, ask any company who has a large fanpage. Ultimately the problem in my opinion of companies that complain that their fanpage is 'not working' often (not always) lies on getting the right type of fans in the first place... www[dot]socialmediaexaminer[dot]com had a few interesting articles that I read a while back on the topic of organic fan growth to drive sales of whatever product or service.

 

[mhall]

I'm confused? As in you ask people whether they remember what the advert was for?

I have yet to find anyone who can even tell me what is on the right hand side of the screen, whether it be an advert or not, leading me to believe that it is just not an area that people look at. Those that answer just say "adverts" but can't tell me what for.

I think the only way for adverts on facebook to work is if they put them actually in the timeline, and how long before we just ignore themas well as I assume they will have to label them as adverts?

They have to make money now so it won't be long.

 

[Steve Sellers]

Just to clarify I'm not a marketer, in SEO or any form of webdesign, just in case that was being suggested. There are countless examples of companies not in these industries using FB ads successfully, as I posted in the article earlier (check first post I make), Unilever one of the biggest FMCG companies in the world has had a very good ROI. Some start-up/small businesses too have hit Facebook ads hard and done well as a result, for example 'ShiteShirts'. Pretty much all businesses can benefit from social media outlets no matter the size because for one thing they are free, so we can't effectively use the term ROI (unless we're relating time to financial value and in this case its still a good ROI, the time to get new clients through social media can be a lot quicker than other methods).


The fact remains that a well thought out, free FB fanpage is clearly an asset, ask any company who has a large fanpage. Ultimately the problem in my opinion of companies that complain that their fanpage is 'not working' often (not always) lies on getting the right type of fans in the first place... www[dot]socialmediaexaminer[dot]com had a few interesting articles that I read a while back on the topic of organic fan growth to drive sales of whatever product or service.

Thanks for your reply RC. I still disagree though, particularly in regards to time and ROI.

You can buy more advertising space, more leaflets, more on radio, more on anything you like. However the one thing you can't buy more of is time. Like oi say, im sure sales can be made through social media marketing, but saying using your own time is free is wrong for 2 reasons:

1. While I'm wasting my time on facebook(which I learnt the hard way - but quickly) I'm not actually building my business;
2. Im no marketing fb expert so I wouldn't expect to get much out of it anyway.

So the only way to get anything out of it is to pay an "expert". All of a sudden that ROI has jus dropped because FB is no longer "free". I don't deny that there are some companies that have done well. But these companies are nothing more than "poster boys" for those that pedal the myth that making money through FB is easy and the norm. It's neither of those two in my honest opinion.

I have yet to find anyone who can even tell me what is on the right hand side of the screen, whether it be an advert or not, leading me to believe that it is just not an area that people look at. Those that answer just say "adverts" but can't tell me what for.

Chat and ads? Although I try to avoid using fb, I really hate people that live their lives through facebook - "take a breakers" as I call them.

 

[puresilva]

Facebook must be in a quandry about fake accounts. They say it's not a problem - does that mean they simply can't tell fake from real? And if they CAN identify fake accounts, why don't they remove them then (clearly they don't)? Could it be that it would drastically lower their membership count from 900M+ to 700-800M and burst the bubble on their preceived growth? Then again, fake accounts are clearly hurting their advertisers....

 

[S_JB]

Do you post much content?

Keep it updated 24/7, and always post frequently. Keep your brand present on all of the timelines of people who have liked your page.

 

[RCHumphrey]

Thanks for your reply RC. I still disagree though, particularly in regards to time and ROI.

You can buy more advertising space, more leaflets, more on radio, more on anything you like. However the one thing you can't buy more of is time. Like oi say, im sure sales can be made through social media marketing, but saying using your own time is free is wrong for 2 reasons:

1. While I'm wasting my time on facebook(which I learnt the hard way - but quickly) I'm not actually building my business;
2. Im no marketing fb expert so I wouldn't expect to get much out of it anyway.

So the only way to get anything out of it is to pay an "expert". All of a sudden that ROI has jus dropped because FB is no longer "free". I don't deny that there are some companies that have done well. But these companies are nothing more than "poster boys" for those that pedal the myth that making money through FB is easy and the norm.

I would agree that paying an 'expert' isn't a valid solution to the problem but I think there are points that we would fundamentally agree with:

1) Facebook and other Social Media platforms can be used successfully to generate more custom for the majority of businesses regardless of price. 2) The ROI is difficult to estimate on Facebook adverts but in certain cases an excellent return and in others a very bad return.

What I am saying is that a Facebook fan page, and free accounts like non-corporate Twitter accounts are always worthwhile, which is where we may disagree.

You've cited time being a problem, but after the initial set-up of a Facebook fan page (sticking to this example for simplicity), you only need to upload GFX in a relatively routine way to it to make it pretty much complete. After that how long does it take to post a promotion or status update? If you include links to it on your newsletters/website and share it, it should build up.
The original point is the more likes the better which is a no-brainer as it will convert to sales/easy market research.

 

[maxine]

The article doesn't refer simply to facebook advertising but facebook likes in general.

I wrote about this in a blog article in Jan 2011 when a Social Media Expert shared their top tip of using fake profiles (in case anyone interested in the comments from others on the article).

There is a real difference between social media marketing and advertising in general. For small businesses it's very powerful as brand awareness but expectations seem to be a bit high in terms of ROI for advertising. People assume that likes = £ on the bottom line but that's not normally the expectation when talking about brand awareness.

There are quite a few articles about that refer to know-like-trust (just google the term) and I think this is great to bear in mind with any facebook or social media marketing.

Constantly spamming doesn't work. We don't like it on UKBF and we won't like it anywhere else no matter how targeted it is by demographic information.

 

[Esk247]

Do you post much content?

Keep it updated 24/7, and always post frequently. Keep your brand present on all of the timelines of people who have liked your page.

But post too frequently and you can lose people. People on Facebook are not shopping, they're browsing social content and gossip, they don't want to see your adverts for half price USB pens all the time.

I've found it a strange platform, you can easily waste a whole day on twitter and facebook and not make any progress, some days you make a little progress and some sales.

The problem is ROI, paying a member of staff to sit there all day tweeting, blogging and facebooking can often be a complete waste of money.

 

[S_JB]

But post too frequently and you can lose people. People on Facebook are not shopping, they're browsing social content and gossip, they don't want to see your adverts for half price USB pens all the time.

I've found it a strange platform, you can easily waste a whole day on twitter and facebook and not make any progress, some days you make a little progress and some sales.

The problem is ROI, paying a member of staff to sit there all day tweeting, blogging and facebooking can often be a complete waste of money.

Actually I will second you on that one. Countless times have I been annoyed at my Twitter/Facebook newsfeed due to the constant conjestion that is spam from businesses. Could create the opposite effect.

 

[EddyP]

I've posted this on another thread here, http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=252228&page=3, but the fundamentals of social media (be it Facebook or anything else) are;

Strategy - yes, even the 'wild west' of social media needs a strategy

Hygiene - checking the fundamentals and acquiring the 'real estate'

Listening - finding out who is saying what and where

Curating - building content by assembling existing online assets

Content - creating compelling unique content

Conversations - engaging with the communities and individuals that matter

Conversion - turning the targets on to your brand


Whether you're trying to get more 'Likes', desperately or otherwise, and Twitter followers - these principles are the same on any kind of social media. There's some more detailed info here, where I got the points - http://www.babelpr.com/social-media2/ The thing is it's just so difficult to make the time to do all this - you really need to be able to commit. Some companies have huge divisions dedicated to managing their social media presence.

Remember o2's fiasco with their network last week, the had some really engaging tweets that are a great example of how to manage negative associations with your brand. It went viral, and the Telegraph called it a 'social media masterclass'. See the below image;

There are better ones related to the fiasco, I tried to post an image of another one but it contained profanity so I received an infraction.

You want more likes? You've got get yourself out there and engage, engage, engage - people take a lot of convincing. So you need to dedicate a lot of time and energy to your SM presence.

 

[puresilva]

The thing is it's just so difficult to make the time to do all this - you really need to be able to commit

So true. It's hard for any small-to-medium size business to really justify the time investment. The people who get the most out of Twitter for example are big brands and celebrities - it's a chance for them to right wrongs or just be seen as being "real" by engaging directly with other users. For SMEs there's not really that kind of following so they typically resort to blasting out marketing messages to an audience who are largely made up of other SMEs doing the same - not much traction there. Same with LinkedIn - check out any of the LinkedIn groups to see how that works out

I can't help but think a small business would spend their limited time improving and honing the content on their company website than spread themselves thin over all these social platforms - LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ etc. Quality, not quantity. It's hard to be remarkable when you're so preoccupied with marketing.

 

[a1anm]

We've ran ads on Facebook and found we didn't get a good ROI. I've heard people say that they are better for building brand awareness rather than getting sales.

We have quite a lot of facebook fans (who generally find us from our website) and find that we get a nice spike of traffic when we post anything there. The good think is that if someone likes one of your Facebook posts then this shows up on their wall so their friends see it and possibly click through. Some of this leads to sales for us so I guess these real 'likes' can be beneficial. However, I don't think any return would make it worthwhile spending money trying to gain more likes.

 

[Steve Sellers]

I can't help but think a small business would spend their limited time improving and honing the content on their company website than spread themselves thin over all these social platforms - LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ etc. Quality, not quantity. It's hard to be remarkable when you're so preoccupied with marketing.

Spot on, couldn't agree more.