“The
best things in life are free,” says the old song.
“Money
can't buy me love,” the Beatles sang.
But
according to a recent email, money can buy you friends. Sort of.
They're not real friends, they're the kind on Facebook.
At
least they don't cost much. According to the promo, I can buy 500
Facebook fans for $49—less than a dime apiece. And if I want double
that number, they cost me only $79, less than eights cents each.
Interested?
Here's their pitch:
With
so many websites, blogs and social pages out there how can you get
noticed? Our Facebook marketeers and affiliate networks can deliver
Fans and Likes within a matter of days. Using customized ad
campaigns, viral and social promotions, crowd sourcing and social
networking we can target potential customers interested in your
product, service or brand. With promotional plans starting at $49,
kick start your digital marketing and get the exposure you need.
Further details available on the web link below.
Give
me a break. Do you really want the kind of loyalty only money can
buy? When publishers ask for platforms, I don't think they mean the
kind built of paper-mache.
Then
again, maybe your target audience is people who are easily manipulated.
See if the company can give you a price break for larger
quantities. You'll get your two cents worth.
8 comments:
I don’t much trust that $49 price to get 500 Facebook fans, but I don’t see why you have a problem with this. It isn’t like they are paying people to be their friend. Instead, they are talking about ad campaigns and other types of promotions.
This might be a good way to find my daughter a new boyfriend. It'd be like, matchmaking on a vat of Red Bull!
Other than that fine use of 49$, I can the benefits of it for business, but there are downfalls when it comes to trawling for "friends". I guess it depends on how you choose to spend that 49$.
I have a problem with this 'buying of friends'. But then I have a problem with folks that eliminate twitter followers based solely on whether that person re-tweets your stuff.
Either you are a genuine relational person or you are not. Like the slick used car salesman,I can quickly see if you are sincere or fake in wanting to meet my specific need for a car. I pity those that can not. IS that asking too much? Maybe it is.
Platform-wise, you can have 1000s of twitter followers who don't know you well, and the majority of those people probably won't check your blog or read your books. But your (NON-PURCHASED) FB and blog followers most likely will.
I think good platform-building is all about relationships. Yes, I have met some great people on twitter, but they followed me to my blog and I follow theirs. Maybe you could pay for FB fans and then get to know them, making them real friends...still, not something I'd waste my money on.
And Jennifer--Red Bull matchmaking! Now that would be exciting!
Unbelievable! I am a people person, so I take issue with this kind of payment for "friends." In my dictionary, friends are those with whom you have a relationship based on mutual interests and respect. I wonder about people who don't have a problem with this.
This is really no different than a blogger paying to advertise his blog. "Friend" may be the term used here, but what he's really trying to get are more people who will read what he has to say. There are plenty of businesses with Facebook pages who advertise for people to "Like" them. I don't see that it is or should be different if the business happens to be an author. The author may spend money to promote the page, but it is the content that will keep them. Whether the author paid $49 or not, if he has 500 followers, that is 500 people the publisher knows he can tell about his book when it is published.
Heather hey, there's a new rodeo event! "Red Bull Matchmaking" . It sure beats steer roping in terms of injuries.
I found this both hilarious and pitiful. It's hilarious that some profiteer concocted such a ridiculous scheme for peddling artificial friends, but pitiful that some folks out there will think, "What a great way to look like I have lots of clout!"
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