in Facebook

What is Fan-Gating?

Fan-gating is accomplished by creating two versions of a tab on your page—one that’s shown to users who already Like your page and one to those who have not Liked the page.

The non-fans are encouraged to Like in order to “unlock” the content behind the tab. Because information about whether a user has Liked your page is easily accessible through Facebook’s Graph API, it is relatively easy to implement a gate, or “reveal tab” as it is sometimes called.

The reason to fan-gate is fairly obvious: to increase the number of Likes by making it a requirement to access something that is presumably desirable to your fans. This could mean access to download a white paper, receive a coupon or participate in a contest.

However, this begs the question of the value of a required Like. Should this individual be considered a true fan? Is he or she likely to remain engaged with your brand after accessing whatever content you have gated?

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in Blog

What do you think about the proposed T-Mobile buyout?

If you were given a voice about the proposed T-Mobile buyout, what would you say? Do you feel that your voice matters in this situation? Consumers Union wants to know what you think. You can send an email to The Consumerist to share your thoughts.

The combined company (if it gets the proper approvals) will be the largest US carrier by far. AT&T and T-Mobile together have about 25% more subscribers now than Verizon does. The acquisition is reportedly not about gaining new subscribers, though – it’s about improving the reliability of service overall. Additionally, the move helps AT&T prepare for the advent of 4G communication.

 

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