Like for like...not likely!

If you follow me on social media, you will hear me talk about social media engagement - a lot! My clients know this is something I focus on, and I love helping others learn all about it. In my first year in business I only offered Instagram and Twitter engagement, but I now offer Facebook engagement services too. If you’re looking for engagement help or want to know why it is important then you can read my blog "What is social media engagement and why is it so important?"

Anyway, today I am here to talk about follow threads and ‘like for like’ posts. You will see these all over social media, even when you’re not looking for them! There are some positives, but I have to say I am in the negative camp. I cannot stand them.

Please note, I am not necessarily talking about posts where you leave your social media info underneath, I am talking about those follow chains, follow for follow and like for like threads. Basically I will like your posts (whether I actually like them or not), just so you like some of my posts.

But less about me...here are some positives about follow threads:

• They are super easy to find, if you should choose to partake in them. You will find them all over Facebook groups, especially on a Thursday or Friday. So if you wish to join in, then you won’t have to look very far - which is great for people who are short on time.

• There are normally lots of comments on these threads, which means you have a lot of information in one place. This is great for people who wish to gather data about other accounts - sneaky but it is possible. You have 100+ accounts all from the same Facebook group all in one thread - if you join specialist Facebook groups this could be useful for data gathering on competitors or target audiences.

Now, to look at the negatives...

• Unless you follow very specific Facebook groups, you probably won’t be engaging with the right audience. Following ‘Business Mums of....’ or ‘Marketing for...’ won’t necessarily leave you hitting the right niche. Our niche audiences are more specific than just ‘mums’ or people interested in marketing or a certain gender; so why spend energy engaging with the wrong audiences, when you can spend time making sure you are engaging with the right niche.

• I am going to say this one loud for the people in the back FOLLOWERS DON’T EQUAL SALES. It doesn’t matter if 1,000 people follow you off the back of a follow thread or like for like post, if none of them are your target audience then none of them will buy from you. Followers are just numbers. Some of the best marketers I know don’t have the biggest following! I have known people with a much larger follower that talk a lot more rubbish! Followers don’t equal sales.

In conclusion, although ‘follow threads’ and ‘like for like’ threads are an easy tactic, they are ineffective. You are better spending 15 minutes doing engagement that is focused and targeting the right people, than spending 30 mins posting on follow threads and hoping people in the thread follow you. Alternatively, hire a Virtual Assistant (even better if you can find a VA who specialises in social media or social media engagement). If you would like to talk about this any more, I am happy to answer any of your questions.