In 2021, Facebook reported advertising revenue of close to $115 billion. Hundreds of millions of businesses use Facebook now to promote their brands and market their products. Social media has allowed brands to interact with their consumer base in a way that has never been possible.
A brand can post quality content online and expand its audience through organic means, but many individuals and firms cut corners and buy likes and followers for quicker growth. This has led to the platform fighting back, and in the last quarter of 2020, Facebook closed 1.3 billion accounts that it deemed were fake.
Nevertheless, automated growth services to increase audience numbers, views, likes, and such, are operating now, and there is a market for this. But, what damage will buying likes do to your business, if any?
What does buying Facebook likes entail?
A quick search on Google will reveal numerous services offering to sell likes on social media. Not only that, but you can purchase followers for Instagram, retweets for Twitter, and plays for SoundCloud. Live streams can be boosted by buying views quickly too.
Depending on the service, you may have to give some details, including your Facebook profile URL, and select the package you want. Then depending on your purchase, you will see activity on your page suddenly increasing.
For instance, if you bought 1,000 Facebook status likes, you could expect to see your profile suddenly being liked by this number of users. One problem is that if you pay for automated service, you will likely use bots, not real people.
Another risk with some growth services is that they require your login details. The internet is full of scams, and if you are involved with what is potentially black hat activity, you could hand your sensitive data to the wrong people.
Can it harm your business to buy likes?
Potentially buying likes could harm your business, and further down, you can see in what way.
Engagement is king on social media, and posting engaging content can help you to reach an audience that is genuinely interested in your brand. Building rapport can help a small business grow; when that happens, trust and loyalty come too.
You can potentially add fake accounts to your followers or receive likes from bots by buying likes. There will be no interaction or engagement. One way that you could harm your business is by the likes being fake. For example, you have 2,000 friends on your Facebook page, but one of your posts has been liked 5,000 times because you paid for likes. This should arouse suspicion and could harm your brand.
What damage will buying likes do to your business?
Reputation and trust are vital to eCommerce, and engaging with your consumers helps to build this. Even bad reviews can be turned around on the net with the correct responses instead of ignoring them.
If you respond to good and bad reviews, consumers will spend 50% more with you. While buying likes is unlikely to affect your product reviews, it could still damage trust, and consumers could feel slightly tricked into buying into your brand and its products.
Buying likes from bot services can harm trust, loyalty, and credibility. If you add 10,000 likes to your posts that come from fake accounts, then there is every chance you will see them removed at some point. When fake accounts are closed, any engagement that is associated with them will be deleted.
Your advertising campaigns can be adversely affected by buying fake likes. If your reputation is harmed, you will find it hard to retarget consumers who have lost faith in your brand. Consumers will be 155% more likely to search for your brand after seeing display ads, but if you’ve lost the trust, you need, your ads will be less effective.
Are there any positives to buying Facebook likes?
Digital advertising can improve brand lift by 31%, and social media is where many businesses are putting their marketing budgets now. This helps to promote brand awareness and can increase followers and likes organically.
But, social proof shows that people follow other people’s actions. Buying Facebook likes will make your brand seem to be the one to follow. Customer loyalty is in decline in 2022, so carrying out any activity that could see a loss of reputation may not seem wise. However, there are benefits to buying likes if you are just starting to engage in social media or are a small business or influencer.
Your page will see instant growth if you add followers or likes from a paid service. This can then lead to genuine people following and liking you. But, to avoid the pitfalls of bots, you must use a service with genuine people behind the accounts so they don’t get removed.
Summary
Buying likes will risk your brand if they come from fake accounts and bots. These accounts are easy to spot and will offer no real engagement. If you have 1,000 likes but no comments it will look suspicious, and you could lose the trust of your genuine followers.
However, to boost a Facebook post or page, buying likes could be a short-term strategy as long as bot services are ignored in favor of more reputable companies.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to buy likes on Facebook?
This will depend on your service, but you can expect to pay around $5 for 1,000 likes.
Are there any risks to my business if I buy likes?
The main risk is to your reputation if people spot that you have a lot of fake likes. This could damage trust and make people less likely to engage with your brand.
Can I get banned from Facebook for buying likes?
No, but your posts could be removed if they are associated with fake accounts.
Is it worth buying likes on Facebook?
This will depend on your goals. It could be a short-term strategy if you just want to boost your page or post’s reach. But, if you are looking for long-term engagement, buying likes is not advisable.
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