US State Department spent $630,000 on ad campaign to get more Facebook 'likes'

The New York State Department has reportedly spent a whopping 630,000 dollars on its advertising campaign aimed at garnering more 'likes' from the Facebook users.

The campaign at the department's Bureau of International Information Programs succeeded in getting an increase in its fans from about 100,000 to more than 2 million from 2011 to 2013, New York Daily News reports.

The May Inspector General report said that despite increase in the fan following, many in the bureau have criticized the advertising campaigns as 'buying fans' who may have once clicked on an ad or 'liked' a photo, but have no real interest in the topic and have never engaged further.

The report said that the Bureau failed to reach the desired audience as only 2 percent of those who 'liked' the agency's pages engaged in further activities of sharing or commenting.