This is probably the most common social media “cheat” out there that many have already (incorrectly) made use of.  The market for buying fake followers has exploded in the past few years, and is now a multi-million dollar industry. And unfortunately, there is a real-world use case for fakes. I personally was contacted by an agency not that far from Cambridge, offering me a guaranteed 1000 (!!!!) likes and follows per month for 12 months. When I asked if they would be local and genuine users..I never got a response back.

There are many different opinions as to the importance of likes but let’s be honest.. the number of followers and Likes a page or person has does make a perceptive difference. I am a strong believer in genuine likes (hence potential clients and advocates of your brand) and I will explain why further below.

The problem is that buying fakes can hurt your brand a lot more than you actually can imagine. So let’s have a look at 4 important reasons why you should not engage in acquiring “fake likes” for your brand or company.

• Illegality

First off, it’s against the Facebook platform practices which means that if you were caught (which you would eventually) your end up being completely banned and deleted from the platform which can have a much more serious effect on your business.

• Insight and Analysis

Second, but equally importantly, if you are seeking to get genuine results from your social media marketing, it will make your tracking and insights very difficult to monitor. If your audience is full of fake profiles, then your data is effectively worthless, negating your efforts completely.

• Cleaning up the mess

Very very hard indeed! Facebook does not have a mechanism to remove your followers in bulk, so the only way to do so is individually..yes, you read right..One by one.  Which would be a nightmare for you if you have already accumulated a few thousand likes.

• Getting caught out

Finally if someone really did want to find out whether what you are “presenting” is true, it is becoming incredibly easier to do so today with tools such as Twitter Counter, Fanpage Karma or SocialBlade which can highlight odd fluctuations and activity, pointing to suspicious methods. You probably think no one would ever do that but the reality is why take the risk (Also always consider what rival companies may do).

CFM Group will give you an overview of any Instagram account’s follower/following growth

These are not necessarily tools that everyone uses in the industry but nonetheless it only takes one to call you out and ruin your reputation so as to not be caught out trying to mislead your fans and followers.

In most cases, it’s fairly obvious who’s legit and who’s not, and users are growing more wary of such tactics. It might seem like a good way to go, but I’d definitely advise against it. As social media becomes a more important element in modern business process, the value of your social presence is also increasing in-step. It’s simply not worth risking for the sake of vanity metrics.

If you have any thoughts or additional tips, join in the conversation in the comments section, subscribe to our blog for free, or simply click here to arrange a FREE Consultancy meeting, send me an email at [email protected] or Follow me below on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram