I was asked to critique a Facebook page with over 1 million followers.

They wondered how they could improve engagement. After about 3 minutes looking at a few posts I replied…get rid of all the fake followers.

They then asked me how I knew they had fake followers. I replied…your engagement doesn’t match the level it should if all those fans were real.

Turns out several years ago an admin bought likes for the business in an attempt to boost their authority. That admin hadn’t lasted long and had been replaced by several other admins over time and none of them even bothered to look at the numbers.

I caught it right away.

The numbers don’t lie.

And based on actual engagement only about 20% of the over 1 million followers were real.

Unfortunately, they had come to pride themselves on having over 1 million followers and they really didn’t want a solution that included deleting them. They wanted to know how to spruce up posts and get people commenting.

They really didn’t want to admit that their fans were fake or have it known that their admins were trying to game the system.

Removing that many fake friends at once would show their real followers some thing wasn’t quite right.

So I proposed removing fake friends at the same rate new fans came it. If they received 1000 new fans this month, they would remove 1000 fake friends.

It would take time.

But, eventually the engagement would go up.

FYI: To remove anyone from your business facebook page – go to “settings”, then “people and other pages”. From there it will show you all the names and faces of those who liked your page and the date they liked your page. Select the name and go to the gear icon and either ban them or remove them.

Rob Anspach

Anspach Media | Website | + posts

Rob Anspach is affectionately known as “Mr. Sarcasm” to his friends. To everyone else, he’s a Certified Digital Marketing Strategist, Authority Amplification Expert, Best-Selling Author, Podcaster, Speaker, and Publisher who helps entrepreneurs, experts, and organizations expand their influence, credibility, and legacy.

With more than 30 years of experience building brands and positioning leaders as industry authorities, Rob specializes in authority marketing, storytelling strategy, and digital visibility. He is known for helping experts move beyond simply being known… and become respected, trusted, and remembered.

Rob has authored, co-authored, or produced 65+ books covering topics such as social media marketing, podcasting, copywriting, personal injury law, military law, entrepreneurship, customer experience, life lessons, scams, sarcasm-driven business strategy, and more. His publishing and authority-building clients include attorneys, speakers, doctors, consultants, real estate professionals, coaches, and corporate leaders seeking to elevate their visibility and thought leadership.

He is also the host of The E-Heroes Podcast, featuring 385+ interviews with entrepreneurs, innovators, and industry disruptors. The show is distributed across major platforms including Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Audible, iHeartRadio, Spotify, and additional global streaming networks.

Through consulting, publishing, and strategic authority positioning, Rob works with businesses and organizations worldwide to help them increase revenue, strengthen brand trust, and capture high-value online opportunities.

Rob is available for speaking engagements, media interviews, podcast guest appearances, and corporate training programs focused on authority marketing, legacy branding, and strategic visibility.

To learn more or to get started, visit www.AnspachMedia.com or call Anspach Media at (412) 267-7224.