SME Tips – How to Increase Your Facebook Likes

I’m going to assume that you’ve already set up a dedicated Facebook Page for your business before we begin. If for some reason you haven’t done this, go and do it right now, and this blog will still be here when you come back. Make sure you choose an appropriate profile picture (your logo is best), cover photo, put your business in the right category, link your Facebook Page to your website, and describe your business as succinctly and as potently as you can.

Done it? Good – glad to have you with us.

Ok, so – your first 100 Facebook likes, and how to reach that milestone as quickly as you can.

1. Create Some Content

At the very beginning of your Facebook journey, simply posting content on your page will not be enough to get those first 100 through the door.

However, slightly counter-intuitively perhaps, posting up some great content to your Facebook page is the very first thing that you need to do. This is simply because you have to have something there of interest to read or view when your brand new fans start arriving. You don’t want them to just flippantly click the ‘Like’ button and then go back to stalking their ex-girlfriend, never to be seen again. You want them to stay on your page, have a look around, and see what you’re all about.

To do this, you need to make sure that your cover photo is exceptional. Say you’re in business peddling up-cycled footwear. Your profile picture should be your logo, and your cover photo should be a shot of the footwear being worn (and looking damn smart to boot (no pun intended)).

On top of this ‘static’ content, however (though it shouldn’t be too ‘static’, mind you – make an effort to change your cover photo frequently so as to continuously be giving your page a ‘fresh’ look for returning visitors), you will also want to have at least 2 posts on your page ready for viewing as soon as you start inviting people to like it.

Just like the opening sentence and/or paragraph of a novel (or any piece of writing for that matter) your first posts have to be brilliant – nothing less will do if you want to hook your new likers, pique their intrigue and get them wanting more.

Visual content is always best – if you can make a video, great! If not, then an image is just as good. Remember to welcome everyone in your posts and direct them to your About Page and link neatly to your website.

2. Invite Your Friends

The average Facebook user has somewhere around 338 friends – this figure is based on research from the PewResearch Centre, however the data is a year old, but is the most reliable and up to date that I can find.

With 350-odd friends on Facebook, you should surely expect at least one third of them to ‘Like’ your new business page in support of what you’re doing – though don’t expect them all to do so.

If you reach the magic 100 by just employing these first 2 basic moves, then you’re off to a great start. However, don’t be surprised if this isn’t enough. The first 100 likes can actually be the hardest to achieve of them all – there is a saying in social media: ‘The bigger you are, the faster you grow.’ This most definitely applies to Facebook likes. The more followers you have, the more visible you will be to a much larger and extended audience – so don’t lose heart in the first week when you’re struggling, just employ these next tips instead…

3. Encourage Engagement By Thanking Your Likers

Whether you reach 100 likes right off the bat or not, you still need to take the time to thank all of your new likers. And when you do so, make sure you do it publicly.

If they also ‘liked’ one of your posts, then thank them beneath it, making sure that they are tagged, or otherwise thank them on their own Facebook wall. This will increase your exposure, as your liker’s friends will be able to see the post, and they may well head over to your page, see what you’re all about and then click the ‘Like’ button, too.

And when they do, you thank this new liker on his/her wall, increasing your exposure once more – and on and on (and on and on) it goes…

4. Engage, Engage, Engage!!

I hope that this one is a no-brainer, but just in case I’ll spell it out loud and clear for you here. Your likers are not obliged to remain likers. If you don’t respond to any comments or likes that they leave on your page or on any of your posts, then they may very well feel ignored. Some won’t be too bothered, of course – but others will vote with their feet and unlike your page, and this can start to have a negative effect on your reach.

Engagement is also key for showing the human side to your business. When someone leaves a comment, it’s your chance to show how friendly you are, how grateful for their interest, and that you plan to show good all round customer service from hereon in.

Remember that Facebook is a social network, so never forget the importance of being sociable with your fans – here is your chance to win them over with your friendly brand persona and winning personality.

5. Add Social Buttons To Your Website and Blog, And Link Your Other Social Accounts To Your Facebook Page

Don’t forget that some of your followers and customers will find you via your website first of all. So make sure you use it as an opportunity to promote your Facebook page to your website visitors, using widgets or one of the social plugins provided by Facebook. You can simply add a ‘Like Button’ to your blog, which automatically clocks up a ‘like’ on your Facebook page, and you can also create a ‘Share Buttons’ for your blog posts as well – and I recommend doing both!!