“Like Schmike – Why ‘Likes’ are Overrated”

Just to clarify up front, I like “likes.” It truly is gratifying to post content on Facebook or Instagram and see a bunch of Likes pop-up from friends. Let’s face it. Likes make you feel good – particularly if they’re for a selfie or pics of your family (or furry family!) Conversely, they can make you feel bad if you don’t get very many! The weight of Likes is all fine and dandy for personal pages but not so much for business pages where their value changes drastically.

I was reading a blog the other day, and the author mentioned that when readers “like” your post, they essentially are saying that the content is valuable to them. And, who doesn’t want consumers to value what they post, right? Another article described Likes as interaction with the follower.

In this context, I believe that “value” and “interaction” are overstated words to describe someone pressing a thumbs-up or heart icon beneath your post. Look at your own activity on social media. How easy and automatic it is to press the Like icon. (Just check your Activity log. You’ll be amazed at how often you Like things.) You indicate that you Like a post, then you move on to the next item in your news feed, right? Do you really ever give your Like another thought? Chances are, not often.

That doesn’t sound very much like “value” to me. Sounds more like auto-pilot. Social media value is if the reader takes the time to make a comment about your post. Then, you’ve actually gotten them to engage with you, which is much more valuable to your business. Better yet, the reader shares your post. Now they’re saying “I value your content enough to want my friends to see it too.”

Broaden Your Reach

Consider the average number of Facebook friends is 338, and the average number of Instagram friends is 150. You have the opportunity to rapidly expand your brand’s exposure just by having a handful of your followers not only like your post but comment and share it with their friends. Unfortunately those are a bit more difficult to earn, but here are a few tips to help you:

1. Be thoughtful with your content. What objective does it support? Often we make willy-nilly posts just to put something out there. Think it out first. It’s helpful to develop a content strategy for your social media channels, then create content to support that strategy.

2. Show a little restraint. It’s easy to overdo it on social media. Heck, it’s free so why not? Free or not, over exposure can be just as bad for your business as underexposure (think “unfollow”). Fewer quality posts best frequent mediocre posts any day of the week.

3. Pose a question. Encouraging your followers to respond to a question or to submit their own photos is more effective at spurring interaction than simply making a statement or sharing information. Patience is key though. Sometimes it’ll take several posts to goad your followers into commenting or sharing your content.

4. Make it fun. Definitely have a content strategy that supports your objectives but be careful to not make it all business all the time. Sometimes you just want to make a reader smile or laugh using memes or GIFs. And if they do that, they’re more likely to share it with their friends.

Naturally you want people to like your business page – particularly since “follow” is a default coupling with Like on Facebook. Plus, Likes also can provide some good direction of what your future content should be.

Just don’t hang your hat on those hearts and vertical thumbs. They’re not very accurate indicators of reader engagement. Comments and Shares are where it’s at.

All that said, I wouldn’t be upset if you “liked” my post. I’d really prefer if you’d comment on it, though. Particularly if you can share any examples of how you’ve engaged your readers on social media.