Silent Tagging & Fan Ladders on Facebook - Advantages & Disadvantages

I recently had an enquiry from a friend wanting to know what the "go" was with Silent Tagging, Fan Ladders and Fan Chains on Facebook.  My friend had been invited to participate in Fan Ladders and didn't really know how they worked, or if it was worth her time.  Here is my take on Silent Tagging, I'll let you decide if it suits your business page or not.

For those who aren't familiar with this concept as yet, let me inform you a little.  Silent Tagging currently works by either 1. Invitation from a Business Page or 2. By A Silent Tagging Page.  Basically a post will be made by either page inviting people to tag their business page under the invitation post. Do this tag from your personal page and press the @ button to tag your business page.  You then go through the list of tags (possibly up to 150 at times!) and hover the mouse over the link and press the like button.  By doing this, and others agreeing to participate, your liker numbers can skyrocket in a short 30 minutes.  I have seen success on some pages by an increase of 56 likers in this time!  So what are the advantages and disadvantages I hear you say?

Advantages:

1. Good For New Pages wanting to Reach 25 Likers to gain a Facebook Username URL
2. Increase Liker Numbers means increased chances for new customers/clients/referrals to your business.
3. Liker numbers gained quickly without too much effort on your part.
4. When invited by other local businesses to join in a Silent Tagging Party, this could be a wonderful way to gain new local referrals and get your business name "out there".

Disadvantages.

1. Many people contributing to this Silent Tagging do not read the rules and either don't participate or LIKE with their business page instead of their personal page, and this does not improve your liker count - the whole reason for participating in the first place.
2. New Likers won't necessarily turn into customers.  If they find that after they have liked your page, that it is not suitable or appropriate for them, they will either unlike your page or hide your posts.  Remember not to over post as this irritates people when their home page is full of posts from the one business page.
3. Your Personal News Feed will now be taken over by business pages, rather than friends and family's posts etc.
4. Quantity versus Quality - Would you really prefer a Large Quanitity of Fans, or a smaller number that are Quality Fans.  (More on this later)
   

All in all, the decision is up to you. 

My Top Tips for Participating in Silent Tagging"

• Keep an open mind when participating remembering that you are most likely going to only gain numbers not customers.
• Give it a try as a good way to reach your username url quickly (25 likers)
• Play by the rules on the page that on which you are participating.
• Always log in as yourself, not your business page to join in the Silent Tag.
• You will most likely find that silent tagging is a far quicker way to gain those new likers rather than through shout outs.  Never forget though that you may not gain quality likers, just quantity.

Top "Silent Tagging" Pages

So you have decided to give Silent Tagging a go to either gain those necessary 25 likers for your URL or just to increase your numbers a little.  You may be unsure on how to start a silent tagging post on your own page, so why not participate in one that is designed for this concept.  The following pages are my top picks for professionally run silent tagging posts.  Most posts run for around 1 hour and then are deleted after this time to save extra spamming etc.  Remember to read the posted rules, often listed on the wall or in the info tab and log in as yourself, not the business page!

1.    Promote Your Products Australia  (Australian Businesses Only)
2.    Like 2 Like
3.    The Silent Tagging Circle

I would love to hear your thoughts, recommendations and experiences with using Silent Tagging & Ladders.

Until Next Time.