• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, June 9, 2011

Let’s be honest, lots of brand clients just want lots of “friends” on Facebook, and followers on Twitter, said Steve Latham, CEO of Encore Media Metrics. “They don’t care if [the friends and followers] are robots,” he said of some, unnamed clients. Which begs the question, “Can you buy ‘friends?’” The answer? “You can!” according to Latham.

Yes, “You can buy friends,” agreed Mike Proulx, SVP of Digital Strategy at Hill Holliday. BUT, if they’re not loyal, friends aren’t worth the Facebook pages they’re featured on. In practical terms, if your friends and followers aren’t liking and retweeting actively and organically, you won’t see the desired “brand lift,” according to Proulx.