Is this a common FB strategy?

It's pretty saturated and cpcs are really high because of competition

Its contradictory to say that buying bunch of "targeted" likes. Its quite quixotic because all of the mechanisms available out there to buy likes are either generated via some scripts or bots and are hardly targeted. I doubt that they are hardly "real" or "permanent" either.
The only sane rationale behind buying a few likes can be to avoid cold start syndrome i.e. when one is starting up, page likes are zero or a few. So to avoid that, getting some likes induces a social proof which corresponds to somewhat better CTR.
But still, the best way to get likes and to be laser-targeted is to run FB Ads.

Question:
When you say "buy a bunch of (hopefully) targeted likes", are you referring to third party services for buying likes? Or, using FB "Page Like" Ads?

Third party buying likes = definitely a NO, NO
FB "Page Likes" when targeted correctly = YES

I posted this on another thread. Hope it'll help you...

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First thing you need to realized is that you can't take what works on other platform and automatically assume it will work on Facebook, or any other social media platforms.

Most people go on FB to get information, updates from friends and entertainment...not buy something. So, you need to pre-sell...by providing high quality value first...and usually most sales are made outside of FB, so you'll need a way to capture the leads, then drive those leads into a marketing funnel.

There are many ways of creating a marketing funnel, but here is a basic one.

1. Create a free lead magnet related to what your market wants. Obviously, you need some way to capture the leads.

2. The lead magnet should educate and provide high quality value...something they will gladly pay for. Also, within that lead magnet you need to pre-sell your core offer...so obviously, your lead magnet should be something related to your core offer.

3. Utilize effective email marketing to get people to back your offer. Emails sequence should be "value + soft sell, value + soft sell, value + soft sell, hard sell.

value + soft sell = provide value, then mentioned your offer will help them get a particular result.

hard sell = just sell the offer.

When you provide value, people don't mind being sold to. They mind if you are constantly shoving your offer down their throats.

4. Ultimately, you want to build a brand around YOU...not your offer. If you have a loyal following, they more likely to buy from you.


I did a post on my blog about creating effective FB ads...follow the steps will lower your cost and improve conversions. I'll post it here....

Here are 7 steps to create kick-ass Facebook Ads.

1. Know Your Target Market
This first step is the most important. If you don't have a clear picture of who your target market (or your customer avatar) are, you will waste a lot of money, so get this right before you move on to the next steps.

The power of Facebook lies in the data it has on it's users.

By matching your customer avatar to Facebook's targeting options, you will be able to create more relevant, engaging contents and effective Ads.

The basic info you need to know about your target market:

1. Gender
2. Age
3. Interests
4. Behaviors
4. Location

2. Drive Targeted "Likes" With "Page Like" Ads
Some people think running "Page Like" Ads are useless since Facebook lowered the organic reach of page posts. Don't believe this way of thinking.

People who like your page are more likely to buy from you...period.

Those who are discounting "Page Like" Ads are those who don't know their customer avatar...so, they are blindly targeting people.

Think of your Facebook Page like a brick and mortar store front. People who walk by, stop and comes into the store have some interest in what you have to offer. This doesn't mean that they will buy right then and there, or at all. But the fact that they visited your store show interest.

This is similar to someone "Liking" your Page. A person "Liking" your Page express interest.

3. Increase Engagement By Creating Relevant and Valuable Content
Since Facebook lower organic reach of Page posts, it is more important now to create engaging contents.

The more engaging your contents are the bigger the reach.

Your content should make people stop while scrolling their newsfeed...this is what Facebook calls "thumbstopper".

In order to create engaging contents, you have to know your customer avatar...their age, gender, interests, behaviors, etc.

A great way to highlight a highly engaging posts is to "Pin It" to the top of the page.

4. Run promoted post Ads
Push content into people's newsfeed by running Promoted Post Ads.

You can do this by "Boosting" the post on the Page...or (I prefer) using the Ad Manager or Power Editor.

The Ad Manager will give you more targeting options than just "Boosting" ...and the Power Editor will give you more option than the Ad Manager.

95% of what you need in running effective Ads on Facebook you can do with the Ad Manager. If you want more advanced options then use the Power Editor.

With all the changes with organic reach, it's a necessity now to run Promoted Post Ads.

5. Run Video Ads
Video are getting more exposure now then ever before. You have probably noticed an increase in videos on your newsfeed. This is intentional. Facebook is putting a lot of effort in making it a video destination as well.

Creating engaging videos and running Video Ads will help with branding, build trust, and differentiate you from others (because most people shy away from videos). Videos have a higher perceived value to prospects.

6. Use Advertorials
Advertorials are also referred to as Native Advertising.

Advertorials are more content based than the usual "direct response" marketing Ads.

Gone are the days where you can send visitors directly to a "direct response" landing pages with Facebook Ads.

Facebook's main focus is good user experience, and in order to achieve this, they want quality contents on their platform.

Sending people directly to an opt in form or hard-sell sales letter does not work anymore. Facebook will disapprove and even ban accounts if you try to run this type of Ads.

What you need to do: Send visitors to a valuable and relevant content, and within that content drive them to a marketing funnel.

7. Retargeting
Retargeting is the biggest rage in online advertising right now.

What is retargeting?

Basically, retargeting allows you to display Ads to people who had visited your site or offer.

For example, if people visits your sales page, but didn't buy, then you can run an Ad to target those visitors with a special discount to entice them to make the purchase.


Hope this help. Good luck!

Targeted likes, when bought, often comes with the fact that you are buying these likes, so they are obliged to like in return, not because they actually have an intention of spending on it. A person with an FB (even a real one) can say that he likes something, but not buy anything related to it. I think that if you have to buy likes from Facebook, it is only to get started on your page, but aside from that, you should consider other strategies that will actually have results. I'm not sure if it's already worked for you though, but if it has, then I don't see a reason why not continue it.

I am not expert in Facebook PPC but I do know free Facebook Marketing very well.

When it comes to Fan Pages, I would not buy Likes. That can really hurt your reputation and your engagement. Just think about this; if you are new and a few people know you already, then they see you getting hundreds if not thousands of Like over night or in just a few days ... and then nothing for the next few weeks - what are the chances of people realizing you bought Likes?

Buying Likes is not a smart way to go. Unless you dont care about your reputation that is.

It only works for short periods of time.

Anyways .. the guy Etong just gave you some great great advice, take it very seriously!!

I wish you the best of the best!

Keep up the great work for sure!

Cheers!

Yeah I use a targeted like campaign with several ads asking people to hit like if you want to know more about x. Then when I post something to my site and syndicate to FB, I boost it to my fans. This works really well and I get good engagements.

I will also run targeted boosts to other audiences to increase the numbers. The fans audience is generally a lot cheaper to run though.

Anything worth while takes time. There are no short-cuts to building a brand, which by the way is "YOU." I'm sure you can find a lot of "quick fixes" on the web, but they will probably hurt YOU in the long run.

Ed Tong has given you a lot of good advice. After you know who your target market is, I would start with just one idea, perfect and then move to the next. If you try to do all of it at one time you may become overwhelmed.

The one thing I would never do is "buy a bunch of (hopefully) targeted likes". In the long run it will ruin your brand, "YOU".

Buying likes (they are not targeted usually they are fake.) is never a good option. As those likes are bought, they don't convert at all. The best thing that you can do for your business is that you can generate organic likes via ads and valuable content. 1 organic like is better than a hundred bought ones.

So just stick to what you're doing and keep experimenting with that. This form of marketing may seem common but its totally useless.

I don't buy the idea of buying likes!! It is not good for the long term. Invest your time and efforts into the promotion and reaching out the right people!!!

By running a like campaign, do you mean paying for your ad to be shown? I've heard it's not very effective.. Haven't done it myself though, maybe if you invest enough money into this it should work.

Multimedia (especially pictures) are proven to evoke more of a response from Facebook fans. Incorporate images, videos, links and texts daily, the more engaging, the more sales.