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This doesn't surprise me at all. I've run a few, albeit very small, campaigns on FB. I set up targetting (occupation and geography) and I would get people out

by giarc 6y ago

This doesn't surprise me at all. I've run a few, albeit very small, campaigns on FB. I set up targetting (occupation and geography) and I would get people outside of my target 'liking' my ad. I'd reach out anyways to ask if they are interested in my product and they would never respond. I oftened wondered if they were just fake/bot accounts to make it look like my ads were getting attention. I'm glad some company has taken them to court to determine what is really going on.

at-fates-hands 6y ago
I can support what you're saying with the same experience. I did some SEO for a local landscape company. They were already doing well, but asked me about doing ads on FB. I told them I thought it was a scam, but they persisted so I ran a few campaigns for irrigation in the Spring and then fall cleanup starting in August. Same thing happened. They got a ton of impressions and clicks (no surprise) and a about a dozen leads. When they went through them, nearly all were for fake numbers (no answer and no VM) or email addresses that bounced. They ended up with one lead for a service they don't even make any money on. In the end, they lost a few hundred dollars, but it was enough to convince them running FB ads to generate business was not only a good idea, but it convinced them it was rigged and a scam.
- rattray 6y ago
  What could explain the mechanics of how this happens? Surely FB employees aren't managing those bot accounts themselves. Do they generally determine accounts that engage with ads to be "human/real", thereby incentivizing bad actors who spin up fake FB accounts to click/"like" ads?
  - JumpCrisscross 6y ago
    > Surely FB employees aren't managing those bot accounts themselves Why not? It's not like Facebook employees have a track record as paragons of virtue. If there are managers incentivized to meet click targets, it could even happen informally. Like the Wells Fargo account-opening scandal.
    - disgruntledphd2 6y ago
      No business as successful as Facebook is going to do something as idiotic as introducing click targets. Clearly you would want to optimise the rates ;)
  - meekrohprocess 6y ago
    They could also do it at arm's length. A lot of MTurk-style sites have loads of jobs along the lines of, "click this ad, fill out this form, get $0.02".
    - cpeterso 6y ago
      But who is paying those MTurk click farms to click ads on Facebook?
- auganov 6y ago
  How were the bids setup? When you underbid you'll get matched with people nobody wants. Also if real users aren't interested in whatever interaction you're soliciting you're bound to only get bots. I've done some FB advertising for news type content (much easier to target properly) and was getting incredible value for the money. Usually it's pretty obvious real fast if you're getting real action or not and you can adjust accordingly.
  - stainforth 6y ago
    Your description "people nobody wants" does not match parents "nearly all were for fake numbers" (bots).
  - giarc 6y ago
    I'm not the person you are responding to, but I am the parent comment. Anyways, my issue was that often the users that were "liking" my ads weren't even in the geographic region I selected. So if I say "spend $20 a day" and target people in X area, why are they showing my ad to people in Y area? I know they have options for lived in vs travelled through etc but these were clearly people that lived in Y area.
hertzrat 6y ago
If Facebook ads are as ineffective as people say, what have people done that did work? The only thing I know for sure is that word of mouth can make an outstanding product spread quickly, but you still need to get your first 100 users somewhere
breakfastduck 6y ago
Anecdotally, facebook adverts are effective. They may not be able to be tracked from facebook, but I've had plenty of people recommend a product in person that they 'saw on facebook' but never liked or interacted with. They're probably no more effective than billboards, or something though. That may be different with everyone stuck at home!

by giarc 6y ago

at-fates-hands 6y ago

I can support what you're saying with the same experience. I did some SEO for a local landscape company. They were already doing well, but asked me about doing ads on FB. I told them I thought it was a scam, but they persisted so I ran a few campaigns for irrigation in the Spring and then fall cleanup starting in August. Same thing happened. They got a ton of impressions and clicks (no surprise) and a about a dozen leads. When they went through them, nearly all were for fake numbers (no answer and no VM) or email addresses that bounced. They ended up with one lead for a service they don't even make any money on. In the end, they lost a few hundred dollars, but it was enough to convince them running FB ads to generate business was not only a good idea, but it convinced them it was rigged and a scam.

rattray 6y ago
What could explain the mechanics of how this happens? Surely FB employees aren't managing those bot accounts themselves. Do they generally determine accounts that engage with ads to be "human/real", thereby incentivizing bad actors who spin up fake FB accounts to click/"like" ads?
- JumpCrisscross 6y ago
  > Surely FB employees aren't managing those bot accounts themselves Why not? It's not like Facebook employees have a track record as paragons of virtue. If there are managers incentivized to meet click targets, it could even happen informally. Like the Wells Fargo account-opening scandal.
  - disgruntledphd2 6y ago
    No business as successful as Facebook is going to do something as idiotic as introducing click targets. Clearly you would want to optimise the rates ;)
- meekrohprocess 6y ago
  They could also do it at arm's length. A lot of MTurk-style sites have loads of jobs along the lines of, "click this ad, fill out this form, get $0.02".
  - cpeterso 6y ago
    But who is paying those MTurk click farms to click ads on Facebook?
auganov 6y ago
How were the bids setup? When you underbid you'll get matched with people nobody wants. Also if real users aren't interested in whatever interaction you're soliciting you're bound to only get bots. I've done some FB advertising for news type content (much easier to target properly) and was getting incredible value for the money. Usually it's pretty obvious real fast if you're getting real action or not and you can adjust accordingly.
- stainforth 6y ago
  Your description "people nobody wants" does not match parents "nearly all were for fake numbers" (bots).
- giarc 6y ago
  I'm not the person you are responding to, but I am the parent comment. Anyways, my issue was that often the users that were "liking" my ads weren't even in the geographic region I selected. So if I say "spend $20 a day" and target people in X area, why are they showing my ad to people in Y area? I know they have options for lived in vs travelled through etc but these were clearly people that lived in Y area.

hertzrat 6y ago

If Facebook ads are as ineffective as people say, what have people done that did work? The only thing I know for sure is that word of mouth can make an outstanding product spread quickly, but you still need to get your first 100 users somewhere

breakfastduck 6y ago

Anecdotally, facebook adverts are effective. They may not be able to be tracked from facebook, but I've had plenty of people recommend a product in person that they 'saw on facebook' but never liked or interacted with. They're probably no more effective than billboards, or something though. That may be different with everyone stuck at home!