Science reporter Derek Muller posted a video on YouTube recently making a strong case that even running a legitimate Like acquisition campaign on Facebook can result in a lot of fake likes. The video is definitely worth a watch:

In this video Derek methodically shows how he created a brand new Facebook page which was clearly fake, ran a Like acquisition campaign targeting only US users and yet ended up with a lot fake likes in a short time.

Without geo-targeting, the results are even worse. How else would you explain that Dhaka, Bangladesh is driving the most number of Likes for Apple and even for Facebook Developer page?

Facebook has taken some steps to clean out fake profiles but clearly the problem is far from over. These fake likes are creating a double whammy for businesses – not only are they spending money for fake likes, they are also subsequently getting penalized for the lack of fan engagement! And that’s even after you’ve done everything by the book.

Fan acquisition is clearly a good strategy to create a communication channel with one’s business but with these revelations one has to wonder whether it is worth the expense.

One strategy I have seen which combats fake like is to focus only on users that are visiting your web site. I.e. run a Like acquisition campaign on your website rather than Facebook. You don’t have to pay any money to Facebook AND also acquire qualified fans. The downside of course is that if you don’t have a lot of traffic, you won’t be able to acquire a lot of fans. However, if you prefer quality over quantity, this may be a good approach.

Would love to hear from the readers on their experience. Are there any strategies that are working well for you?