We all want followers on social media. The higher the number of followers, the more who believe and love your product/service, right?

On Facebook, many business pages and networking groups will often post something that usually creates a bit of a buzz. But is it the right buzz?

So what is this buzz all about? It’s called ‘Link Love’ or the ‘Facebook Ladder.’ In theory, it sounds good, but in reality, not so much.

Link Love or Facebook Ladder is where you tag your business page in the comments below a post and make a quick sentence or two of what it is your business is about. The goal is that you will go to each page and “like” their page.

We all want new followers, but when you have to “like” all the other pages, it becomes a bit of a problem.

Should you have to “like” every page?

You shouldn’t and here’s why…

1)  If you just like pages for no reason, you are not adding value to that page.  The page fans are not a true representation of the customer base.  And anyone who has a page knows that increased followers does not necessarily equate to more sales.

2) If you are “liking” pages for fun, your newsfeed becomes congested with posts from pages that you aren’t interested in.

3) Follow backs are often not sincere.

I encourage you to “like” as many pages on social media as you can…But only the ones that provide value to you.

If you happen to take part in these tactics, my advice is to avoid sharing that you’ve just “liked” the page with a spammy message like “its Jennifer from (insert page name). Great page, I appreciate you returning the love and liking my page (insert page name).”

That’s the equivalent of going to a networking event and shoving a business card in someone’s face before you even say, ‘hello.’

You wouldn’t do this in the real world, so why would you do it online?

If you feel you really want to make a comment to the new page you liked, send a private message to them. It makes a difference. This is where you can talk and learn more about each other’s business.

So why do people continually participate in these love linked events? The answer is creating a short cut to growing their followers. The truth is there are NO shortcuts to growing your followers.

If you want to grow your followers post on your social media consistently and provide value to your followers. Then repeat over and over again.

I would love to hear your thoughts about participating in Link Love or Facebook Ladder events