Fan-gating (also known as "Like-gating") is the practice of acquiring more
fans for a
Facebook page
Facebook is a social-network service website launched on February 4, 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg. The following is a list of software and technology features that can be found on the Facebook website and mobile app and are available to users of t ...
by requiring
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
users to "like" the page in order to access specific content associated with the page. This content is typically exclusive features,
promotional offers, games or other material.
On August 8, 2014, Facebook updated their platform policies to forbid businesses and developers from using like-gating on new apps, while existing apps will need to comply by November 5, 2014.
Issues with overuse
If fan-gating is overused with an inadequate payoff for users who agree, it can lead to ''Like fatigue''. Further, users may become bored if they encounter fan-gates frequently.
The main problem is that there is no interest in the content of the brand. Using the method of the "Fan-gating" you confuse Facebook statistics. Damage the user experience, resulting less time to your fan page. This affects advertisers.
Response from Facebook
In August 2014 Facebook updated its
platform
Platform may refer to:
Technology
* Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run
* Platform game, a genre of video games
* Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models
* Weapons platform, a system or ...
policy to combat fan-gating, with an explanation that artificial incentives do not benefit people nor advertisers.
Since then a lot of
webmaster
A webmaster is a person responsible for maintaining one or more websites. The title may refer to web architects, web developers, site authors, website administrators, website owners, website coordinators, or website publishers.
The duties of ...
s and
app developers shifted away from the practice of like-gating.
References
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