EVE General Discussion

"Read around the internet..." the bastion of facts. It is clear you are assuming a lot of things here, so let me help you out.

I've been working in advertising and business development for over 20 years and have been involved in social media since before it was social media. I can tell you without doubt, just becuse a client thinks that they wan't 10,000 likes, they can't exactly tell you exactly why or what it means for thier bottom line. All they know is its something new and shiney and they want to be a part of it and try it out. They think of a false ROI, based on the assumption is it's "free" (though its not) and that eveyone else (on the internet) is concerned about it for some reason. That is the extent of their interest in it. They have NO IDEA how it translates directly into sales numbers, still don't... mostly because it DOES NOT.

With that being said, FB like are not irrelevant at all, at the very least they offer an avenue for those who liked you to be exposed to the information and promotions you are providing, but it is a FAR cry from a direct conversion to sales or predictive analysis of any kind. The only time you see an increase in sales from social media is when you offer content and discounts relevant to the customer, but that is based on good promotions, not likes in and of themselves, it could just as well be a printed campaign or newsletter.

Just think of how many facebook pages or posts you have liked. Now how many of them are you already patronizing as a customer (aka no change). Now how many do you not patronize, but give still don't money to just because you like it (aka no change). It is easy to hit a like button on a website for something you think is a good idea or have already experienced. That is how most likes are achieved. It's much harder to actually DO something in real ife.

As to "fake likes..." Likes are also acheived by promising something in return. As in, "LIKE us to be entered for a chance to win $1,000,000." WAAAAA - You mean, for a chance to win a million bucks all I need to is hit this little interutube button!?! People who hit the like in that case are, in essence, being bought (aka fake, with little cost). It does not necessarily mean they are going to run out and buy your product or become a customer. They just want a million bucks. Though, it does give you a window to promote things to them (until they unlike you) it guarantees nothing. And business that try to predict revenue via facebook likes inevitably either quickly see the folly or go out of business for looking a the wrong numbers.

As such, FB likes ARE NOT a predictive indicator of how something will do in the marketplace. PERIOD

Facebook should DIAF tbh. It's a horrid place.

Nope - It makes it's money on advertising and selling aggregated data to people like me and governments. The first 5 years it was about connecting people to people, and using those connections to sell ads and the info from its users. JUST NOW it is getting into P2B and B2B, but that model has not taken off yet.

Exaggerating the point to try and make your point....