@kimkline I agree with you, Kim.  I’m not going to get leads from “fake” people!  And I want to engage with real people who will bring value to my page and who I can give value to.

@dianebianchi  Thanks!  I have found that I truly enjoy checking out the pages of my “likes”, responding to their posts, and just seeing what they or their company is up to.  I just hope that it is reciprocal and they will do the same!

@andrea-vahl  I too believe it is becoming much more noticeable, and am glad of it!

I can be so naive or maybe I just don’t want to believe in the prevalence of these kinds of practices. I had no idea people went to such great lengths to appear well-supported. It’s like cheating in board games when you were a kid..the “win” just doesn’t mean the same as an honest win.

I think this kind of stuff comes around though. In the end, it’s the quality of content and community you are able to give your audience. Just as you are saying,  @claudiapoeckl- it doesn’t matter much if there’s no engagement. 

Where is the line? Do you all think the same of such things as “like exchanges”?

@kimkline sounds   good to me…. its hard  to keep up  with all the NEW  ways   to  misrepresent  stuff on the  internet..

..i can see  the need for any kind of like at the start of a business on the internet…….but  not sure why  we  would  bother   for the long term….  the  real  goal has to  be  actual  potential  customers !!!  thats what we need if any  real money is going  to  be  coming into   the  picture……

I have a couple of different views on the fake likes and like exchanges. The fake likes, well I can see why people do it. To a new potential customer on your fan page, if they see you have a lot of followers they may be impressed and wonder why you are so popular. Not all people will look at the engagement, they may just be impressed with the amount of fans you have and that could lead to them checking out your website. (that is always good) The fact is though, the fake accounts will not engage in your page, so that part does not help. I would not want fake likes on my page, as I engage with my fans daily and need engagement. Plus , if they don’t take care to remove the fake accounts, more people will know about fake accounts or have fake likes on their page and then the # of fans will not impress anyone because everyone will then assume you must have fake likes if you have a lot if fans.Then it does more damage than good.

As for fan exchanges, I’m all for that. Well, my fan page does engage in this often.:) Fan page like exchanges gain you exposure to other real people. I think of it as a commercial on tv, (but as the page owner it is free to advertise). Posting your page in a “like exchange” puts you out there. It puts you out there so those immediate people can see your page whether it be a group, fan page, blog, website etc. But…. it also puts you out there on a google search for wherever you are posting and if you are posting on a fanpage such as the one I have, when you like a new page, other people see that you like it. Now you as the person liking the page may not want anything to do with it, but let’s say someone on your friends list see’s it and finds it interesting,that can be nice also. So when you post during a like exchange, like a commercial, some people will watch it and like it, some people may fast forward and not like it, but….. it is another way to get noticed by real people. I can say from my experience and from hosting networking exchanges, I have seen a real benefit to them. If your page can engage people then even those fans acquired from like exchanges will become involved. Fan pages are also subject to word of mouth. Some one may not be interested in your page for themselves, but maybe they know someone or meet someone who may be. It is never a bad idea to get your page out there.  The question is , is do you want to spend the time doing it as there are many ways to advertise your fan page, website, etc. Choosing how and where to advertise are important choices and reflect on your page, website, etc. There are huge benefits in advertising in many places, as it takes a person an average of 5-6 times to see you before they may decide to really look at your pages, website, etc. 
Anyways, this topic as you can tell I work with a lot, so I have some thoughts on it. hope I did not ramble too much and it made some sense.  Like exchanges may not be for everyone but they are a great option for inexpensive marketing.
@kimkline@annfurnivall@dawnchitwoodrivers@claudiapoeckl

@dawnchitwoodrivers  I would presume that the number of likes could have an initial impact on getting more likes (a domino effect for sure).  And I would also say that if I visit a page and there are active posts and comments, I am more likely to think it is a successful page/company and be more inclined to like them myself.

It definitely can be confusing!

@kimkline I agree there is definitely a place they should be held and it is true there are people who use the networking exchanges wrong, and that is a challenge. Many people don’t understand social networking and you are right people will just go after the likes and not follow through.It is best to like and follow through if you decide to engage in the exchange.