The difference between asking for Likes and Like-Farming
We explain the distinct differences between asking for Facebook Likes and the notorious practice of like-farming.
If you’re not sure what Facebook “like-farming” is, you can visit our article on it here. In a nutshell, it is the practice of accumulating likes (followers) to a Facebook page by manipulation, exploitation or deception. Facebook pages with lots of likes are a valuable online commodity. They can be used for marketing purposes or to spread scams.
You may see posts that ask you to type amen for an injured child, or claim that Facebook will donate money to a sick child when you click share. Or posts that ask you to like their stuff to win some type of prize (that doesn’t exist). These are all common like-farming examples.
Whenever we discuss like-farming, we generally ask our readers to like our Facebook page or follow our Twitter feed or Pinterest Page. at the end of the article (like we do with most articles on our website) so they can spot our future content. This tends to raise a very specific question from a minority of our readers – aren’t we just engaging in like-farming too?
We are, after all, trying to get followers to our own page. Isn’t that just a type of like-farming?
The answer is no. And the people who ask the question are likely to be a little hazy on what like-farming actually is. So we’ll briefly explain the difference…
Like-farming is not simply defined as asking people to follow (like) your Facebook page. Of course, most brands – including ours – want followers. It gives us the ability to reach more people, so we can have our content seen by as many as possible.
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Merely asking for people to like our Facebook page can be best described as relatively basic social media marketing. Most brands or services need to do it. After all, there is no point writing lots of original content or offering an awesome service if you can’t reach anyone with it.
Like-farming, on the other hand, is not just asking for ‘likes’. It is the practice of accumulating ‘likes’ through some type of exploitation or deception. Essentially, you are trying to trick people into liking your page.
Let’s look at an example…
If we ask people to follow our page (which we often do) so they can spot more of our content, that’s social media marketing. We haven’t lied. We haven’t exploited. It is true that by following our Facebook page, you can get easier access to our content, providing Facebook don’t filter it out, of course.
However, if we asked people to like our page to win a free Range Rover, and in reality that Range Rover didn’t exist – nor did we have any intention of giving one away – that IS like-farming. We lied to get likes.
Or, if we stole some picture of an injured child from the Internet and implored Facebook users to type ‘Amen’ in the comments section, that is emotional exploitation. We’ve exploited Facebook users to help our page. Thus, that too is a version of like-farming.
Don’t get the two confused. Asking people to like your page is a perfectly acceptable way of gaining new followers that most brands need to do. But deception or exploitation isn’t the way to go about getting new followers. That’s like-farming.
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