Celebs, Brands and Fake Fans. Channel 4 Dispatches reveal shocking secrets of social media

CANARY WHARF, U.K. - Aug. 6, 2013 - PRLog -- www.fundraisingforchange.co.uk

 Last night’s Channel 4 Dispatches showed how many companies, products; brands and businesses fake their likes and followers to help encourage potential consumers to buy into their products. Fundraising for Change discuss the points brought up in the show and how they affect you, as a consumer.

 According to Channel 4 dispatches, there are hundreds of companies, many based in Dhaka, India, that, for a fee, will create fake likes and followers for a twitter or Facebook page for a brand or a business. “We are not just talking five or ten likes, we are talking thousands of likes, and as most of us know numbers are very influential” says Sam, Manager of Fundraising for Change, based in London. 31% of the public review products and services before using them, showing that opinions of previous and current consumers do matter, and if a product or service has tens of thousands of likes, it is bound to influence a consumers opinion on that product or service in a positive way, regardless if the likes or followers are real. “From seeing that a company, brand or product is so popular on social media such as Facebook or Twitter, in a consumers mind it can only mean that those people have used the product or service and it is good, encouraging them to purchase it too. It is a worrying fact as in a way, people are being manipulated into purchasing products that really aren’t that popular” Says Emma, Operations Manager of Fundraising for change, based in London.

 So how does it all work? In many of these companies in India, workers have set up thousands of fake profiles each, and to create thousands of likes, they will just continually log in to each of their fake profiles, like the company that has paid them, and then log in as another fake profile and like again, this goes on until the amount of likes are achieved. “The worst part about it is that on the show one gentleman said it costs just 15 dollars per 1000 likes, those 1000 likes could make a huge difference to a small business, brand or product, it is so cheap, as well as making such a huge difference, no wonder people are using these services without thinking of the consequences” says Sam, Manager of Fundraising for Change (F4C). Although this is not illegal in India, it is against Facebook’s terms and conditions, and many Facebook pages have been shut down after it had been discovered they had used such services.

 Many companies may initially come across these services innocently, and use them without realising the outcome. Thousands of likes are great for any company, brand or product; however the overall result is not as good when they have no interest or knowledge of the brand or product. “Channel 4’s dispatches have really shown some home truths about the popularity of Social Media pages, whether it is a product, a brand or a business, but it really has made me think twice about the true popularity of certain Facebook pages, I like to review products first and so I will definitely have to look more vigilantly in future to make sure products are actually liked and that the likes are not paid for” says Emma, Operations Manager of Fundraising for Change, based in London.

 Whether you are obsessed with social media, or just an occasional user, maybe it is time to be very careful when making decisions about brands or products, and definitely do not base your opinion on the amount of likes it has!