I don’t want you to just LIKE me

I don’t want you to just LIKE me

Recently a post went live on the Identify Facebook page and a minute later, analytics told me that it had been seen by 5 people. I was over the moon. Why? Because of those 5 people, 4 had liked the post and one had commented.

Ok it’s a tiny sample but… That’s an organic engagement success of 100%. I was thrilled as it’s evidence that the 680 current follower list of the Identify page consists of quality, receptive and engaged people of current and future value to my business.

Social media is now widely accepted as an essential marketing tool but few businesses understand that a high number of likes on a page does not necessarily mean that they are best utilising it as such.

Take your personal Facebook activity as an example: have you ever liked a page as part of entry into a competition but not been to that page since? Or seen a sponsored post on your newsfeed and given the page a follow as you scrolled past?

Because you haven’t interacted with that page recently means their content doesn’t come across your newsfeed – so it is easy to forget that YOU STILL LIKE THOSE PAGES. They essentially purchased your like through prizes or boosting, but what use is your like to them now?

On the other hand the pages you frequently visit, like, share or comment on will be seen more on your newsfeed, you will connect more with their business or offerings and at some point have become or are more likely to become a customer of theirs.

Even if the number of likes on a business page is relatively low but a high percentage of those followers are interacting with its content, posts are more frequently served to their newsfeeds and further organic followers are gained by recommending that page to their friends.

Understanding the value of Facebook engagements is a vital part of creating the right social media marketing strategy. However, connecting with your followers and improving your overall Facebook engagement may not be as easy as you think. It requires special planning and techniques that include the right content, timing, triggers, imagery and calls to action.

Again, it is not something that happens overnight – you don’t put up posts and wait for people to flock to your page to have a discussion about them. Just like in the real world, it takes time to build a relationship with your followers that can eventually spill into action.

To do this, engagement needs to be part of your wider social media plan, and flexible enough to change according to the responses of your growing audience.

Rachel Goodchild is managing director of Identify,