Dive summary:
- Facebook "likes" and Twitter followers may not always be the measure of marketing success they are presented to be; many clicks are generated by low-paid workers in "click farms" in countries like Bangladesh.
- Not only is the practice allowing brands to deceive social media users, the industry is holding the workers in poverty; the typical worker is spends long hours, often working through the night, staring at a screen in a dingy space and only earning one US dollar per 1,000 likes or 1,000 follows.
- The disclosures of the click farm practices could potentially hurt social networks' advertising as the value of likes and follows are called into question.
From the article:
"The importance of likes is considerable with consumers: 31% will check ratings and reviews, including likes and Twitter followers, before they choose to buy something, research suggests. That means click farms could play a significant role in potentially misleading consumers."
