This is the second of a two-part guest post from my colleague, Susan Barry, who explores some interesting ethical and practical questions in the social media sphere. Did you miss Part One? Read it first, then come back. We’ll wait. [--GK]
Wait, what?
My client is satisfied, and the rapidity of the fan count increase has (mysteriously) slowed somewhat, although it is still growing much more quickly than before. I, however, am not satisfied. The resolution of this dilemma has created more questions than answers for me. In an industry (profession?) that is so new, there aren’t hard and fast answers to ethical questions. Which means we have to decide what our ethics look like. I’d love your take.
Are we naïve to think that social media can and should stay “pure?” I love Jay Baer’s quote about social media; he says something like, “It’s about making your company more like a person and less like a machine.” I might scream if I hear the word “transparency” at another panel, but it really is true that we expect people and brands to be authentic on Facebook (or Twitter, or wherever). We don’t have the same expectations in other marketing or advertising formats. No one thinks that a television ad is supposed to be transparent, an honest representation of a brand; we expect a company to put its best foot forward and woo us with witty copy, amazing images, etc.
Do the ends justify the means? Does it really benefit a brand that much to hit the 1,000 fan mark? Mr. T tried to tell me it would help with Edge Rank on Facebook, but I can’t find any evidence and don’t have any experience to support that. In my (albeit limited) understanding of Edge Rank, one’s Edge Rank is driven by engagement, and fake fans don’t engage. I kind of agree with him that the more fans a page has, the more legitimate it looks, and it takes a long time to build a large community in some sectors (such as Ms. X’s). So maybe it doesn’t matter if you pad your fan count with fake profiles if the goal is to use them to get real fans. What do you think?
What is Facebook’s role in policing fake profiles? Companies like Usocial have gotten cease and desist letters from Facebook in the past, but there’s no evidence that this is a real area of focus. And yet, when I tried to set up a dummy account on Facebook so that I could see my new timeline the way an outsider would see it (you know, for science), I got totally denied. I can’t remember the exact wording, but the response was something like, “Nice try, dummy, but we can tell this is fake. Get out of here.” Now, granted, I made absolutely no effort to be at all stealth, but if they can bust me, why can’t they bust whomever it is that is creating these fake profiles? Unless, and here’s where I’m going to go all conspiracy-theorist on you, unless Facebook is creating the fake profiles to count as “likes” for the sponsored stories they are selling?
Last, what can or should social media companies guarantee their clients? The first red flag popped up for me in this situation when Mr. T guaranteed Ms. X 1,000 fans in three months. Now, I’ve created campaigns that resulted in 1,000 (or more) fans that quickly, but I would never guarantee it. I guarantee a set of deliverables that relate to my work outcomes, but I never guarantee a specific number of fans – because I don’t think that matters. Or should matter. But maybe I’m just being naïve?
Social media practitioners of the world, weigh in. What do you think of all this? Am I crazy, naïve, dumb, or what? What do you think?
Social media professionals are at a bit of a crossroads with the freshness of the industry. Tactics that Mr. T (and presumably others) employ are akin to black hat SEO and will eventually be rooted out and penalized.
Responsible professionals interested in their clients, their industry, and the success of both should discourage and shame these practices. Otherwise the integrity of the entire industry will be lost.
Work with your clients with integrity and honesty; teach them why certain expectations are reasonable and others aren’t. That distinguishes the professional from the scammer. Your approach is good: “I guarantee a set of deliverables that relate to my work outcomes.”