Know before you go with a third-party provider

In our last post, we looked at the troublesome trend of Review, Click, and Engagement Farms making their pitch to unsuspecting entrepreneurs and businesses. They promise more followers and likes for a low price but are nothing more than profile cloners setting up fake accounts, creating fake engagement and putting your profiles in jeopardy of being banned.

In this post, we look at two additional kinds of common digital marketing cons: Social Media Advertising “Partnerships” and Fake Influencers.

Social Media Advertising “Partnerships”

The pitch: In this scam, a company will get you to pay them to run your Facebook ads on their pages. This seems like a great way to piggyback on their success because it appears as though they have thousands of followers for their page.

The con: Their assumed following is made up of primarily fake accounts.

The truth: The only humans who will see your post are the ones being pulled in with your ad dollars. You are not benefiting from their page because their following is not real.

A better idea: We can’t stress this enough: There is no reason why you can’t spend the same amount of money to run the ad on your social media platform. You have a good chance of converting those targeted people into followers. Additionally, you can retarget them in future ads because their traffic is now tied to your legitimate ad account.

Fake Influencers

The pitch: Real social media influencers with real followings do exist. They can provide valuable digital marketing partnerships in very specific situations. But if you don’t know what to look for, you may fall victim to a fake influencer.

The con: This person will ask you to pay them to retweet or share your content to their social media profiles.

The truth: While it may seem like you’re getting new eyes on your content, these “influencers” don’t have any actual human followers. Every bit of their social media presence has been created using the tactics discussed in our last post about farming. Your retweet or share will be broadcast to an empty contingency of fake profiles, and your money will go down the drain.

We can help you reach a new audience. Creating and launching a social media ad can be puzzling. How do you know what campaign to select, how to target an audience, where to place your ad, what is the best budget, and what should your ad look like and say?

Additionally, you may be curious about real social media influencers. The legitimate ones who are a good match for your brand can build awareness, are considered a trusted voice, and find creative ways to stay engaged with their audience.

If you have questions, we are here for you. Send us an email and we will help you navigate through the scams!