IG report: State Department spent $630,000 to increase Facebook ‘likes’
The State Department spent over $630,000 to increase Facebook “likes” for four of its pages on the social-networking site, according to an inspector general’s report.
(Simon Dawson/Bloomberg)
The efforts, which involved advertising initiatives between 2011 and March 2013, increased the fan numbers for each page from about 100,000 to more than 2 million, the report said. But employees complained that the agency was “buying fans,” according to the inspector general.
The State Department’s Bureau of International Information Programscame up with the campaign as a way to engage with foreign audiences, the report said.
The department’s ad campaign became less effective in September 2012, when Facebook changed its approach to users’ news feeds. The agency would not have to pay for sponsored ads to keep its content visible to people who have already “liked” its pages.The IG found that the number of Facebook users who actually engaged with each page was relatively small, with only about 2 percent “liking,” sharing or commenting on any item within the previous week.
“This change sharply reduced the value of having large numbers of marginally interested fans,” the report said.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said during a Wednesday briefing with reporters that the agency had reduced its spending on Facebook advertising and that it plans to implement the inspector general’s recommendations.
Psaki said the Bureau of International Information Programs now spends $2,500 per month on online advertising. “I think that’s a clear indication we’ve taken the recommendations seriously and put changes in place,” she added.
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