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Is driving Facebook "Likes" by ads a missed opportunity or an awesome strategy?

Adam Ostrow from Mashable just posted an article stating that Facebook “Ad Drive the Most “Likes” for Brands on Facebook [STUDY].” I find this to be very interesting. Over the last several months I have wondered if Facebook’s shift from “Fan” pages to “Like” pages would create an opportunity for these communities to grow more quickly.

While I’m no social scientist, but it seems to me that “liking” something is a smaller hurdle than declaring your a “fan” in such a public way. The barrier to entry is so much lower. So, it seems to me that driving “Likes” on Facebook through ads would be very logical. This means that friends recommending brands to other friends aren’t performing quite was well anymore.

What does this mean? Does it mean anything at all?

I’m very interested to know how engaged the people are who “Like” a brand on Facebook because of an ad versus people who have discovered it themselves or found it because of a friend’s recommendation.

I’d wager that people who “Like” a brand because of an ad are less engaged. Do I have any stats to back that up? No. But, my gut is telling me that if I take time to find something on my own or a friend shares it with me because they know what I like, then I’m probably personally more committed. If I find it because of an ad, then maybe I’m just looking for deals or thought I simply might check it out. But, then again, maybe it’s a dream come true and I’ll be super engaged, but maybe not?

Because of all of this, it seems to me that we, as social media marketers and communicators, need to continue to drive relevant content that will continue to drive “likes” from people who will truly be engaged.

Am I saying, be away with Facebook Ads for “Likes”? No.

Today coincidentally, Vanity Fair magazine was able to bring me to an article about Sean Parker “With a little help from his friends“. What did that do? I was a subscriber for two years because I really loved their in depth articles and great writing. Because they showed me an article (based on my demographics, naturally) they have gotten me to consider re-subscribing. Now, that’s a win based in social media for a traditional media company.

What do you think about the impact of driving “Likes” for brands via Ads is? Or is it just another great way to drive engagement? What am I missing?

Tags: facebook ads, social media agency, Social Media strategy