Do you “like” it?

As a regular, everyday person on Facebook, what makes you “like” or “unlike” a brand? Too many posts/day? Not relevant content? “Noise” in your wall?

How about D) all of the above?

Companies posting on Facebook want as many people to “like” their page as possible, and there are lots of tricks to get those fans. Contests, begging, etc.

But if you get a “like” – then what? Ideally, you want the people that liked your page to now take action. Now, you want them to “like” a post, or comment on a post, or join an email list, or post pictures, or buy a product.

How can you get them to do that?

1. Post quality – People don’t like blatant marketing pushes. “Buy this widget!” is probably not going to get you anywhere. You want to post good CONTENT. Maybe it’s relating something in the news to your business, maybe it’s positioning your company as the authority on an interesting subject. (Ie: If you’re a detergent company, posting tips on how to get out stains, keep laundry from wrinkling, etc.)

2. Post style – When I was a journalist, I learned how to write good headlines. Some of the best headlines were positioned as questions. Why? Because a question is a lead in – it makes someone want to read to find out the answer. Social media is no different – a questions leads in to comments with answers. Or new questions. Back to the detergent company, perhaps they should post “What’s YOUR best stain-removal tip?” People love to sound authoritative on their own! Or, maybe consider a fill-in-the blank model: “The worst stain to remove is ______!”

3. Post quantity – The gold standard for acceptable number of posts per day is around 2-3. There are exceptions to every rule, and I recommend some trial and error to see what works. But think about your own Facebook wall. No one wants to see 10 posts within 30 minutes of each other about nothing! That prompts me to hover over the post and click the “hide” button.

If you spend all that energy to get Facebook “likes” you don’t want to get HIDDEN from showing on people’s wall. Why? If you post to 1 person, and the average person has 130 Facebook fans, then that post could be seen by 130 people. Clicking “Hide posts” means a user no longer shares your content with their 130 fans.

That’s probably worse than getting UNLIKED on Facebook. Because unliking a page is a clear action, and not a passive one.

What have you found that makes you LIKE, HIDE, or UNLIKE  a page? Share your comments!