Fake Facebook Likes Causing Problems For Bands That Didn’t Buy Them
A new and perhaps more important perspective on the fake Followers and Likes issue was raised this week by Heavy Blog Is Heavy. Fake Facebook Like services appear to be liking bands similar to the ones that have purchased fake Likes and causing problems which I had not considered. For example, given that Facebook charges you to reach more of your fans based on how many fans you have, bands are encountering yet another twist on Facebook's throttling of their band page posts.
JR at Heavy Blog Is Heavy (via Buzzsonic) gathered statements from multiple bands regarding the unrequested fake Facebook follower crisis that's further undermining Facebook's usefulness for band promotion. The post includes the following video from Petey Graves of Red Seas Fire who clearly explains what's happening, Facebook's lack of response to their queries, various problems emerging due to the phenomenon and some possible solutions.
Red Seas Fire | Bands buying fake Facebook likes and how it appears to be affecting us.
Problems mentioned in the video and blog post include:
The false impression that some bands are buying Likes and fans when they're not, a bigger issue now that more people are discussing it and looking for it.
Fewer responses from fans on Facebook even as follower counts rose likely due to Facebook only showing a percentage of followers posts from band pages. Some of that percentage is now likely going to fake followers rather than real fans.
Higher costs of reaching fans on Facebook by paying Facebook due to costs being based on percentage of follower counts which are now inflated by fake followers.
The potential for promoters booking bands based on inaccurate follower counts leading to shows with disappointing audiences resulting in a bad rep for those bands in promoter and venue networks.
As noted in the post, part of the problem would be solved by Facebook sending all notices for bands one has Liked to fans who've Liked the page. Eliot Van Buskirk pointed out that many people Like things on Facebook for which they may not be true fans but wouldn't people start unliking those pages if they got all the notices?
In any case, Facebook benefits from this situation so they're not going to fix it though they are likely to continue to find automated ways to attempt to crack down on fake Likes however ineffective.
Solutions bands are exploring or considering:
Blocking access to pages from countries that seem to be the source of most fake Likes. Clearly a problematic solution for any band.
Shutting down one's Facebook page. Another problematic solution.
Encouraging fans to Like and share more posts, to add bands to interest lists and to visit the page directly on a periodic basis. That would help but requiring extra effort from fans is always a struggle.
In the above video, Graves mentions that they're thinking of starting a mailing list.
The fact they don't have one surprised me but I've been encountering more artists of late who I think do work that deserves a larger audience but don't have active mailing lists and focus their promotional efforts, including announcing shows, almost entirely on Facebook.
This situation reinforces the fact that musicians need to build their own home on the web and need to build their own mailing lists.
It's also a reminder to me that, despite the fact that such points are raised in somewhat of a repetitive manner on sites like Hypebot, a lot of musicians just aren't tuning in and just don't get it. On a positive note, that means musicians that are in the know have an extra leg up in the game.
Ultimately a shift away from Facebook needs to occur. I see more and more people both in and outside of music discussing alternatives.
Musicians might consider working with related acts to create networks, since it's tough to build one's own unless you've got a big act like Lady Gaga, or to collectively focus efforts on music services with social features.
It's a tough situation and Facebook is not going to solve it for musicians or for their fans. Good luck everybody!
[Thumbnail image: cover of Fake Vol. 3]
More:
- Musicians' Tune-up: Establish Your Web Presence With Authority
- Instead Of Building A Fake Following On Twitter, Why Not Build A Fanbase?
Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (@fluxresearch/@crowdfundingm) also blogs at Flux Research and Crowdfunding For Musicians. To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.
i thought facebook just went in and got rid of most of the fake pages.
Oh, Facebook.
Great post Clyde, and I (obviously) love your conclusion.
This is hitting so close to home – my band is in the same situation. Our Facebook likes have tripled in the past 3 weeks and our best guess is that a band in our genre purchased likes. We’ve reported the issue to Facebook, but they’re not going to find a way to help anytime soon it seems. Luckily we have a mailing list in place and we’re working on building it out, but our subscription numbers were nowhere near our original FB #s.
Stands to reason!
Getting rid of a bunch of fake pages and “most of the fake pages” is two very different things.
It’s a tough situation.
It’s not unlike what some websites have faced from Google after multiple shady sites linked to them. Being downgraded cause of links you didn’t ask for is a bad thing.
Nothing fair about this but it is what we can continue to expect from major platforms driven by algorithmic tools.
I think all musicians and as well as business owners should buy facebook likes when they’re just started to build their brands. Because the amount of facebook fans give credibility to attain more real fans.
I think that to balance it all out, we need to start having some hating going on. That’s right, thumbs-down. As in I Hate this band! And we need Dislike. And what about Love? Can we have some Loves? We need to have four different kinds of thumbs. And what about Meh? Can we have an I Don’t Care? If we had all of these things, the fake likes would not be an issue. Because all the likers would be too confused about the choices to be fake. You’d need a real person to figure it out.
I hear you, Clyde!
I agree with Merve, for the beginning days, get the fake likes which, definitely attract more fans!
I agree.
Buying likes when starting out can give a real boost – and you’ll look more popular. Real people will be more likely to ‘like’ you if you have a good amount of likes to start with.
Just my 2 cents
Fahim – owner of http://buy-social-media.com
U guys need to earn those likes. This is another hit on the music industry and it doesn’t help when other musicians are buying into the problem. Having more Facebook likes doesn’t help any more as people become aware that they could be fake. What makes a difference is legit numbers like people posting on your page, merch sales, song downloads/CD sales, ticket pre sales. Buying fake likes will ultimately make it harder for yourselves and other bands to do any of these things.
There is a local band in town with 80000 likes been around for 4 or 5 years and they can’t sell as many tickets as my band who just started playing shows 4 months ago with 200 likes… How stupid do they look to promoters.