I see a disturbing trend happening in dealership Facebook Pages and I’ve got to call it out.  I’m watching these pages acquire 100′s of Likes in a matter of a few days. In the name of all that is sacred, please stop buying likes!  I know the temptation is there and our culture supports those that get the most of anything, but please, it’s a waste of time and money. Ultimately, it harms your business.

There are plenty of “like pimps” on the Web.  You only have to Google it and all those pretty ladies will promise you 100′s of likes for a few hundred dollars (or more).  I’m sure those of you that have purchased them had a little voice inside sounding a lot like your mother, warning you it was wrong.

Our culture promotes winning at all cost and, to many Social Media newbies, I’m sure a lot of Facebook fans looks like success.  My friend, Cindy Morrison blogged about this subject recently in the Washington Post.  With any marketing campaign, the end goal is to sell something.  Developing fans through successful content and Facebook advertising campaigns is how you grow your fan base and that’s the only way to reach your goal of selling something.

You must resist the temptation to buy fake fans.  Here are 4 momentous reasons why:

1. Fake Likes NEVER Buy From You. Have you seen where these likes come from? Malaysia, Egypt, Ukraine, Sudan, Iraq, Iran and my personal favorite, Tunisia.  I’m pretty sure you’re never going to deliver a car to any of these places.  I doubly sure you won’t see any of them in your Service Drive.

2. You Get ZERO Engagement.  Sure, they’ve promised to like your page for the .0006 cents they’re paid to do it but it’s a whole other story getting them to engage with you.  Let me be crystal clear on this: You’ll never hear from them again.  Further, you’ll get no love from Facebook’s EdgeRank, the algorithm Facebook uses to filter each user’s news feed.  In other words, your content goes into the ether.

3. Your REAL Customers Will Notice.  It’s just plain weird to visit a store’s Facebook page that has 5,000+ fans and see nobody taking the time to like, comment or interact.  When you do something that’s artificial, at some point you get caught.  Do you really want to be known as the store that bought Facebook fans?

4. You Can’t BUY Relationships.  Haven’t we already proven this fact with the “race to the bottom” on pricing?  Absent of trust, all someone has left is price.  You become unremarkable and the transaction (if you’re able to close it) is an empty experience–for both sides.  Building a quality community on Social Media takes time, effort and there is no magic bullet.  It’s always that way with anything worthwhile.  The effort you put in, shows in the results.

Social Media is an awesome platform to connect with your true customer.  Create a multi-pronged Social Media marketing strategy that uses a variety of means to attract prospects, and relies on steady, relevant content to keep them. That’s always best done from the inside, by an employee dedicated to keeping your store connected to customers and prospects via Social Media.

Buying fake fans will get you a false sense of success.  A win with a big *.  Wouldn’t you rather win the authentic way?

Tagged as: automotive, dealership, facebook, marketing, social media, training