How bands buy Facebook likes.
09/07/2012 in Music
Ok, this is a touchy subject for some and for others, they don’t seem to give a shit. Whichever way you look at it, this subject exists and Facebook has become THE social network of Australia with more Australian users registering every day and share prices currently sitting on $31.73 per share. Moreover, more businesses are advertising on Facebook today, with statistics for 2012 jumping higher than previous years. So it looks like the social network is around to stay.
Tonight on Triple J, they spoke about Australian bands buying Facebook likes and how Buried In Verona were recently accused of buying 30,000 likes to boost their numbers. I then took this discussion to Facebook – yeah that’s right – and a few people made some very valid points. One person said “It’s not like BIV are no-one, I think they just looked at what their peers had and just wanted a bit more” and another person stated “It devalues what is meant by a like. It’s a simple inflation scenario, like introducing counterfeit money into an economy”. However, they weren’t all negative comments. One person said “I personally don’t see what the big deal is. People pay for advertising so they can broaden their market. Online, posters, ads on TV, sides of buses, whatever”. Now, Buried In Verona is just an example and even though they refused to be interviewed by Triple J, there are other bands that use this technique quite frequently and it’s working for them.
In a world where web developers are common folk and networks like Tumblr, Twitter, Wix, Facebook and good old MySpace are taking over the website, we have major and independent companies such as labels, PR agencies and even promoters that aren’t too tech savy, looking at these statistics and making a judgement based on false popularity.
Why are we even bothering to talk about something so trivial? How important are Facebook likes in reality? Well, should I remind people that in five years time, we are going to have a generation of teenagers that don’t know a time before Facebook and as much as we all like to complain “It sucks! Why should we care?” most of us still use it, even though it’s buggy, updates all the time, introduces something new without letting us know and is full of memes. Even people that scream “fuck this shit, I’m deleting my account!” still come back… they all come back.
So how do they buy them? Well a simple Google search for “Buy Facebook Likes” will explain that, they’re called marketing companies. This article was really to invite you along to give your opinion and to inform that it happens.
Have a listen to the Triple J podcast that inspired this article.
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So is buying Facebook likes cheating?
Will other bands learn from the ones that rise and fall in the same year?
Will Garfield ever “like” Mondays?
What is your opinion? Please leave a comment in the section below.
