Get me One Million Likes on Facebook

I am guessing the title of this article may have elicited a varied set of reactions already. 

So before I begin, let me clarify that I don't have any fancy trick up my sleeve neither am I going to dis this expectation that brands have.

What I intend to achieve by the end of this article, is some semblance of thought from both - agencies and brands; who endorse such an idea.

Now let's jump right on to the statement, shall we?
"Get me One Million Likes on Facebook in one year."

I have personally heard this one during introductory or pitch meetings, as targets on emails and during networking sessions at events.
At first I would jump right at imparting my knowledge on how its done but I am changing this over time.

What change, one might ask.

The following questions in return:

1. What is your current customer-base, as a ballpark?
2. What has been your YoY growth with customers since inception?
3. What are your short-term and long-term expectations from these fans?

For the purpose of this conversation, let us assume I am already talking to a client.
The client in question is a retail company that sells jeans.

So the client answers the first question - I have 500,000 customers who buy jeans from me thrice a year.

Awesome, moving on to the next question -  Our YoY customer growth has been 10% YoY and we're in our 10th year with our business.

Cool. And, now to my last question - Short-term I just want my brand to have the most likes on Facebook. However, in the long-run I would definitely want to monetize this platform for more sales.

Do you see what just happened in the first two questions as opposed to the last? 

Businesses don't grow at a ginormous pace, it takes lot of care and nurturing to build a brand, have customers like your product, buy it, believe in it and finally be an advocate for it.
If this is the logic one applies to business, how can such logic be applied to an expectation of One Millions Likes in one year.
How do you expect people on social networks to suddenly believe that your product is going to change their lives for all eternity?

Now let's look at it technically - when you acquire such a large base in such a short span, as much as Facebook will be one happy network, this rampant acquisition will do your brand more harm than good in the long run.
We've seen brands face issues of irrelevance of demographics, location and fans (dormant or active) that make up more than half of the entire fan-base when acquired quickly.
Not to mention, the issue of monetizing such fan-bases are a whole different matter. 
Worst of all, you will have spent large sums of money to sit on a database of people who may or may not resonate with your brand.

As much as social media is in the now and the results are instant, at heart customers still behave the same.
Instead of having a single-minded focus on fan acquisition, use these platforms for their true worth - listening and adapting. 
Work with your client/brand to understand what people want, what they expect - so what if these numbers are in a few tens or hundreds; this is the number that really truly counts.

I have been given to understand that Brand Managers chase this dream because the board wants a talking point. 
This "my-phallus-is-bigger-than-yours" attitude needs to change.

Educate your bosses and yourselves on the irrelevance of this One Million Lust.
Work on location or demographic centered campaigns to acquire fans, steadily.
Ensure your content is meaningful, created specifically for a social network and working within your brand guidelines.
Spend time understanding what is the current sentiment around your brand.
Avoid succumbing to fake review uploads to increase ratings and reports.
Allow your customers to rant and be gracious with critique.
Create flash sales specifically for social media.

This is a Herculean task and this mindset cannot change overnight.
Let's take baby steps to challenge this idea, one million at a time :)

-- 
Mitchelle Carvalho
CogMat