Increasingly I’m noticing that businesses are soliciting Facebook Likes with “quid pro quos” such as discounts. For example I received this deal email from LivingSocial yesterday:
As the bottom was this incentive:
The logic of the new social media world dictates that businesses collect as many likes as possible. I don’t blame businesses for doing this; it’s smart.
But what I’m wondering is: when this practice becomes universal does it deprive “Likes” of much of their meaning? Does it turn Likes into the equivalent of check-ins, which reflect popularity but don’t count as an endorsement?
What do you think? Will Like data be infiltrated by a kind of spam going forward?
January 6th, 2011 at 3:37 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Greg Sterling. Greg Sterling said: Will Solicited FB ‘Likes’ Ruin the System? http://tinyurl.com/3xmppyj [...]
January 6th, 2011 at 5:42 pm
I agree, to the individual who has already purchased the product it’s more of a popularity thing rather than and endorsement, especially in this case when the buyer has not yet experienced the product or service. The momentum however of generating more likes can potentially motivate more organic likes and be good for PR. That said, good luck measuring the effectiveness of a “like”
January 6th, 2011 at 6:17 pm
Absolutely. This type of incentivized Like is akin to paid links in Google’s vernacular. It pollutes the value and signal that a Like is supposed to convey.
An already hazy indicator (what does ‘like’ really mean to people) becomes even more murky with this type of activity. But I suppose some of it depends on how Facebook will ultimately leverage Likes and the Open Graph.
January 6th, 2011 at 6:21 pm
I’m not sure how one would “police” Likes and separate “legitimate” ones from those that were solicited. It’s much easier to do this with reviews.
January 6th, 2011 at 6:53 pm
Agreed, policing would be difficult. I think you’d have to look at acceleration – spikes in Like volume. Amazon does this well in looking for fraud among third-party sellers. Google seems relatively savvy in finding ‘unnatural’ linking patterns.
Also, it’s unclear whether people will unLike after receiving the incentive – but the rate of unLiking could also be tracked and used as a potential signal. It’s interesting food for thought.
January 6th, 2011 at 8:23 pm
Ultimately the person clicking like has to be accountable to what they share with their friends which helps prevent spammy likes. Likes have become a currency and both brands and Facebook want them. Every like creates another targeted advertising opportunity for Facebook and they control how prominent likes are communicated to friends. That’s probably why likes are one of the only actions that brands are allowed to incentivize for.
January 6th, 2011 at 8:30 pm
George:
I’m not clear on whether people fully understand the implications of Liking something. Those that do may guard their “reputations.” Those who are less thoughtful or more casual (the majority) may not think about it.
The analogy is perhaps to all the people who a year or two ago put up photos and comments that made them look “questionable” in the minds of employers. That behavior went on for several years until people started considering the implications of doing so.
January 6th, 2011 at 10:13 pm
[...] Will Solicited FB ‘Likes’ Ruin the System?, http://www.screenwerk.com [...]
January 18th, 2011 at 3:44 pm
[...] These sorts of top lists are very valuable. This is how I see the “Like” data playing out in many local contexts also, assuming it doesn’t get polluted or “gamed” over time. [...]
January 28th, 2011 at 4:08 am
I agree with Greg Sterling and AJ Kohn.. I am against solicited Likes and also don’t like how companies can buy likes for there FB pages as well. It seems shady to me.
January 31st, 2011 at 6:01 am
[...] if you look at what brands (and even smaller advertisers) are doing, it is pretty clear that the “signal” in social isn’t much of a [...]
January 31st, 2011 at 3:03 pm
[...] if you look at what brands (and even smaller advertisers) are doing, it is pretty clear that the “signal” in social isn’t much of a [...]
February 23rd, 2011 at 1:08 am
[...] if you look at what brands (and even smaller advertisers) are doing, it is pretty clear that the “signal” in social isn’t much of a [...]