Money can’t buy you love – but it can buy you Facebook fans and Twitter followers!

Unless you’ve been living underground for the last few years, you’ll know that using Social Media networks has become an integral part of marketing, helping businesses to have online conversations, instead of traditional ‘one-way’ advertising channels. So much so, that Pepsi recently abandoned their Super Bowl commercials in favour of a $20m Social Media campaign.

If you’re going to spend that sort of money on a campaign, you need return on investment (ROI) – and to measure ROI you need numbers! If a campaign has generated tens of thousands of Facebook fans and Twitter followers than it’s been a success, right? Well – not necessarily…

If you’ve ever set up a Twitter or Facebook account or a Fan Page, you’ll be familiar with that initial gut-renching feeling of “I’ve got no Fans” or “oh God… ZERO followers!” But fear not – there are plenty of places out there you can go to BUY FRIENDS!

Yep – that’s right – why bother coming up with useful and engaging content for your customers when you can just buy 10,000 Facebook Fans for $1167.30 (about £720). That’s the service being offered by online marketing firm uSocial (among others), and at just 7p per friend that’s a bargain isn’t it?

Well no – in our opinion, frankly, it isn’t.

Buying friends or fans completely misses the point of what Social Media is all about. The Fans and Friends that you buy from these firms aren’t going to be interested in your products, provide you with feedback or share your content with others – they’re just there to, well… make up the numbers!

Like with all Social Media, the best way to gain friends and influence people online is to be GENUINE. Have conversations with your customers, and try to come up with really creative, useful and entertaining content that people will want to read, share and engage with. If you’re not getting fans and followers naturally – you’re doing it wrong.

Our advice – steer well clear of any organisation that offers guaranteed numbers of followers in exchange for cash!

Aside from anything else – the number of Twitter followers or Facebook Fans you have only tells part of the story. There’s a whole range of analytics that will help you understand your influence and how you’re interacting with your flock! Check out our BIG list of Social Media tools in our Free Resources section.

If you would like to learn more about how to use Social Media creatively to engage with your customers and win more business online, Silicon Beach Training offers a comprehensive 1-day Social Media course that will get you started.

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