Use and Misuse of "Like" Functions

Marketing strategists now have the ability to increase the number of people that "Like" their companies or products. Brands can offer Facebook users some sort of value, but require that the user "Like" the brand before the offer can be consumed.

That's one way to increase a brand's "Likes," of course. That might have some value. But the trade off is whether it really does anything at all to increase engagement with a user.

Part of the purpose of such "like-gating" is to get consumers engaged and involved. If you ask them to do something for you and they agree to do it, the theory is that you’ve already taken one step in the engagement process with them.

Other companies are trying to drive up their number of Facebook fans because that bumps them up on ranking charts and search engines.

But some us might be quite skeptical that engagement can be driven this way.

Here We are Now, Entertain Us: Like-Gating on Facebook | Social Media | ideaLaunch