The phrase “Like on Facebook”has become so commonplace that it’s hard to imagine another platform. If Facebook Like were a person, it would already be a Bar Mitzvah or a Bat Mitzvah. But we haven’t always wondered how to get more likes on Facebook.
In 2007, the social networking platform FriendFeed was the first to allow users to click “Like”next to a post on a social network. Then in 2009, Facebook added an identical feature to its platform. And since then, we’ve all been trying to figure out how to get likes on Facebook.
The potential audience that Facebook offers is huge. Even if the total number of users first dropped in early 2022, getting likes on Facebook still promotes your content to around 2.11 billion accounts.
Source: Digital 2022 Global Overview Report.
Read on for tips to help you understand the role likes play in your Facebook marketing and why it’s important that your likes are genuine. Then we’ll look at some practical tips to help you get more likes on Facebook.
Click on any of the tips below to jump ahead, or keep scrolling and read the entire guide.
Why are Facebook likes important?
Likes are a ranking signal for the Facebook algorithm
Likes are important because they affect which posts the Facebook algorithm pushes to the top of users’ feeds. The algorithm is a black box of mathematics that organizes posts. The box includes many factors, and the output is the user’s tape.
Likes and the algorithm have a long history together. In fact, the first submission algorithm was based on likes only.
Details of the current Facebook feed algorithm are trade secrets. But likes are probably an important part of it. They are also a part that everyone can see.
They serve as social proof
Most factors in the Facebook algorithm are invisible to users, but likes vary. Because anyone can see them, likes provide social proof to influence your audience. This makes likes a key part of how users interact with your content on Facebook.
Social proof is just a buzzword for peer pressure. Specifically, social proof refers to how people tend to do what other people do when they are not sure what they should be doing.
If you are alone next to a rock, you may not dare to jump off. But if you see all your friends jump off, you will most likely try it yourself. User engagement works the same way.
Likes are proof that other users have already interacted with your post. When other users see it, they are more likely to do the same.
Is it worth buying likes on Facebook?
Given how important likes are to a thriving Facebook presence, it might be tempting to buy them. We saw ads – “High quality! 100% real and active users! Affordable prices!” But no matter what that pop-up says, buying fans on Facebook is a bad idea.
First, there are ethical reasons not to. But if you need a Hootsuite blog post to tell you about it, then I probably can’t convince you right now.
There is also a risk that you will be caught. Facebook’s official stance on fake likes is ambiguous. He clearly does not prohibit buying likes. This also does not mean that the platform will not harass users who buy likes.
Even if Facebook itself doesn’t care if you buy likes, your customers probably don’t care. Building trust with your customers is one of the main benefits of social media marketing. If they find out you’re buying likes, you’ll throw it all away.
On a purely selfish level, buying Facebook likes is still a bad idea, even if you never get caught. This is because you are not just lying to other Facebook users; you lie to yourself. All those fake likes you buy will nullify your social media monitoring efforts.
Social monitoring is when you use data related to your brand from social media to get insight into the business. Platforms like Hootsuite offer powerful tools for analyzing the data your social media presence generates. When you fill your Facebook presence with noise like fake likes, it becomes harder for you to know what real people want.
How to Get More Likes on Facebook
Basically, there are two ways to get more likes on Facebook: increase your reach and increase your engagement. But often they go hand in hand.
Increasing your reach means getting more views on your content. The more people see your post, the more likely it is to get likes.
Increasing engagement means getting more likes from the people who see them. When you create content that your audience wants to see, you get likes more effectively than if you hit “Post”the first thing that comes to mind.
Sounds deceptively simple. But we have eight tips to help you master the art of getting more likes on Facebook.
When you know what you’re trying to achieve on social media, all parts of your social media presence win. Before planning your next Facebook masterpiece, think about how this post contributes to your overall marketing goals.
Good social media fundamentals means following a social media marketing plan that aligns with your business goals. After all, successful content marketers are six times more likely to have a documented strategy.
2. Know what your audience wants to see
In order to create content that your audience will interact with, you need to spend some time figuring out what they like. Making decisions based on data from your specific context will help you create posts that get more likes.
Fortunately, there are many tools available to help you analyze your data. You can use the official Facebook Business Manager analytics platform to dig into data from all Meta social media platforms.
There are also third-party services such as Hootsuite Analyze that integrate data analysis across all social media platforms.
Once you get the data, make sure you focus on the right numbers. Engagement metrics such as applause rate (the number of approval actions a post receives relative to your total number of followers) and virality rate (the number of people who shared your post relative to the number of unique views it received) can help you to determine the exact type. content that resonates with your audience.
3. Know when your audience is active
One easy way to get more likes is to post when your audience is most active. While the timeline is gone, the algorithm still prioritizes recent content.
It’s simple, but not always easy. First, you need to figure out when is the best time to post on Facebook.
There are general trends that apply to all areas. Between 8:00 and 12:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays is the best time in general.
Once you know where your favorite place is, the next step is to consistently post content during that time. Users (and algorithms) pay attention to accounts that post regularly. But the accounts that flood their feeds turn them off. Find the right balance using the Facebook post schedule.
4. Stay on top of Facebook trends
You will attract more attention if you stay up to date with the latest trends. Facebook users are looking for content that interests them.
Facebook Reels is the fastest growing format on the platform, and Facebook is pushing them pretty much everywhere. Take advantage of Reels to get more likes from your short video content.
People still use Facebook as a way to research brands. Hootsuite’s 2022 Social Media Trends report found that 53% of users aged 16-24 use social media as their primary brand research tool. Give users what they want by posting content about your brand.
More and more users are shopping on their social media apps. Satisfy the needs of your audience by setting up a Facebook shop to get more likes on the platform.
Source: Facebook
Take it one step further and get your brand featured on Facebook’s Live Shopping feature. This is a great way to get attention for your business and likes on your Facebook page.
But don’t blindly follow trends without making sure they fit into your overall content strategy. Facebook’s echo chamber was a major cause of the disastrous turn to video in the late 2010s. If you try a trend, be sure to look at the data to see if it works for you.
5. Pin a Popular Post
A lot of this advice boils down to “figuring out what you’re good at and doing it more often.”When you pin a popular post on Facebook, you make it more visible. This gives a post with more likes a chance to get even more.
Source: Monte Cook Games on Facebook.
For example, Monte Cook Games has pinned its latest Kickstarter campaign to maximize its visibility. The more users see the post, the more the snowball effect will work, increasing their presence on both platforms.
6. Work With Facebook Influencers
Brands are more involved than ever in influencer marketing. In 2022, two-thirds of U.S. social media marketers reported using influencer marketing. Just three years before, in 2019, only half.
Source: eMarketer
Collaborating with an influencer, especially one who can communicate directly with your target audience, can help you create compelling content that your followers won’t want to miss.
Source: ASOS on Facebook.
When clothing brand ASOS, for example, posts influencer content with its large audience, both parties benefit from exposure.
7. Take advantage of cross promotion
If you have a lot of followers on other social networks, take advantage of this! Over 99% of Facebook users have accounts on other social networks.
Source: Digital 2022 Global Overview Report.
Try promoting Facebook related content on other social networks to increase the visibility of your posts.
Source: SingerSewingUK.
Just over 80% of Twitter users are also on Facebook. By tweeting about an upcoming event on Facebook, Singer helps its audience stay updated on their social media activity.
Cross-promotion is not limited to social media. Don’t forget to include a link to your Facebook page on your website and include it on your business cards. Make it easy for people to find your brand on social media – after all, they won’t be able to like your posts if they never see them.
8. Run ads
Some of the tips here will help you increase your organic reach, but unfortunately organic social media reach is on the decline. Without paid promotion, brand posts will be seen by only about 5% of its subscribers. But if you choose to run ads, you can take advantage of Facebook’s detailed ad targeting to make sure your posts reach your ideal audience.
Source: wonderfulAS
Remarkable doesn’t wait for word of mouth to talk about the latest features of their product. They use the data that Facebook collects to make sure their message reaches the people who are most likely to respond positively.