Have you received a surge of invites on Facebook to like small business' page? If so, then you have been drawn into the latest local trend on the social media portal.

Many small business owners are taking advantage of this trend by asking their friends on their personal accounts to like their page and hit the "Invite Friends" button to spread the word and increase the page's likes.

“You’ve successfully supported my business for €0.00 and less than one minute of your time,” the text says.

However, it’s only natural to ask whether this initiative, although well-intentioned and genuine, is effective in increasing sales and generate interaction between the business and the client.

According to marketing experts Amy Lang and Stephen Ellul, it’s not.

The Growth Bully CEO  Stephen Ellul 

Ms Lang, Ballotra Media Sales and Marketing Executive, told WhosWho.mt that starting a social media presence from scratch is tough and that it is understandable why people turn to the “invite all friends” approach for a quick boost.

“Seeing those numbers go up quickly can feel good, and you might feel like you’re making progress. However, if all your likes and interactions are from family and friends, you’re essentially still at zero,” she remarks.

Expanding on Ms Lang's thoughts, Mr Ellul, CEO at The Growth Bully, says that such invites on Facebook can boost visibility and follower count, “leveraging personal networks for initial exposure". 

Nonetheless, he highlights that increased follower numbers do not automatically translate to higher engagement or sales.

On the same wavelength, Ms Lang points out that if one is to check out some pages using this approach, their posts only have a few likes.

“While these are well-intentioned, relying on this following won’t be the driving force behind your business’ success. So unless your target market is this exact audience, you’re basically accumulating sympathy likes that are unlikely to convert,” she adds.

On the other hand, Mr Ellul believes that the real measure of a business success lies in attracting an audience genuinely interested in the business, “as genuine engagement often leads to conversations". 

Ballotra Media Sales and Marketing Executive Amy Lang

 ‘To me personally, invitations feel the same way spam messages in emails do, so I ignore them’

This trend is viable only because Facebook has the option to send invitations. However, had other social media - perhaps those which are more popular nowadays - had the option, would they generate more traction or results than Facebook?

Mr Ellul states that the underlying principle of leveraging personal networks can be adapted to other platforms like LinkedIn, particularly for B2B businesses. Despite so, he believes that the effectiveness of such an approach is dependent on each platform’s audience and algorithm dynamics.

In contrast, Ms Lang is a firm believer that Facebook is the only platform where one “still get away with this". 

However, she feels that it probably doesn’t do too well with everyone. In her case, on days that she opens Facebook, her notifications are filled with invitations to like pages, which she feels that they equate as spam messages in email, so she ignores them.

In agreement, Mr Ellul states that this strategy might be seen as impersonal or spam-like which  might deter authentic audience interaction.

“But for frequent Facebook users, particularly the older demographic, who are accustomed to such interactions, this tactic might still find some acceptance. People who have more time on their hands might actually go through the effort of going on a page and inviting all their friends,” she says.

However, Ms Lang believes that adapting such an approach to Instagram, where the audience is different, would probably lead to the notifications being ignored or prompting a loss in followers instead of gaining traction.

‘A potential drawback is the low quality of the follower base’

Discussing potential drawbacks or limitations Mr Ellul comments that one disadvantage this trend presents is the low quality of the follower base.

“Likes and follows from people who aren’t genuinely interested in the business’ offerings might not lead to meaningful engagement, which is crucial for algorithmic visibility on social media,” he recalls.

Additionally, Ms Lang says that the biggest downside is building a following from the wrong crowd. This “probably won’t translate into sales if they’re not the target market for your business”. 

She goes on to add that without genuine engagement and sales, one is not going to grow their business. “It’s like having a big party but no one there is interacting with each other,” she adds.

‘Personalisation is key'

Asked whether they can suggest any tweaks to the approach to increase effectiveness, Mr Ellul says that personalisation is key.

“Tailoring messages to explain the value of following the page can be more compelling. Content that resonates with the target audience will naturally foster shares and likes. Strategic collaborations can also help reach a more relevant audience,” he adds.

Additionally, he tells WhosWho.mt that at the end of the day it's about creating an ecosystem of mutual support, where success is not just celebrated but shared. “Vanity metrics might not reflect the actual health of your business or community online,” he concludes.

Meanwhile, Ms Lang suggests businesses to try out other platforms such as TikTok or Instagram which favour growth and push their pages to people who don’t even follow the owners.

“By being consistent there you can reach people who will interact with your business because they’re genuinely interested,” she says in her closing remarks.