So Obsessed About Your Social Media Followers That You Trick Your Customers? Don’t Do It.

A lesson in marketing

I picked up my retainers at the orthodontist today.

After 18 months of wearing Invisalign braces 24/7 to correct a bad bite, I am thrilled to just wear retainers at night. It was worth living with a mouthful of plastic in order to close my mouth completely. Bonus: I stopped snacking, since I couldn’t eat or drink anything but water without having to remove them.

But every orthodontic appointment left me mystified.

Prominently displayed on the reception desk was a counter showing the number of Facebook and Instagram followers, updated in real-time. (Old stockpicker me couldn’t resist — I had to check if the stated numbers matched FB and Insta. They did.)

Next to the counters was a sign:

“Wanna see something AWESOME happen? Follow us on Insta and like us on Facebook — real-time likes and followers.” There was an arrow pointing to the counters.

What’s my beef? 

That you hit follow and see the counter tick up? Because it’s awesome to watch yourself boosting someone else’s follower count? 

What’s in it for the reader? 

When I checked out the FB and Insta pages, thinking maybe that was the awesome thing, I found sporadic posts whose content had neither entertainment nor education, save for an occasional caption writing contest.

Are the real-time counters cool? Or performative?

Social Media gives businesses a chance to really connect with their clients. To engage, help, entertain, educate, or delight. Use Social proof only as a marketing tool when your intent benefits and is in alignment (pun intended) with your customer.