Facebook is the most popular and frequently used social network on the planet. With over 2.7 billion (with a B!) monthly active users, it’s imperative to have your small business active and relevant on this platform and for you to know how to get more likes on your Facebook business page. 

With organic reach decreasing rapidly on Facebook, you need to find new and innovative ways to reach your audience while staying ahead of your competition. The more likes, engagement and activity you have on your page, the more likely the chances of your brand being seen to a new audience. 

 Building a strong, credible following on Facebook is of the best ways to build your brand, generate leads and increase sales. In this blog, we will take you through a couple of ways to get more followers on Facebook and how to make sure you are doing it properly. 

Make sure your goals are S.M.A.R.T  

Think about what it is exactly that you’re trying to achieve and make sure your goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-based. There is no point trying to gain a following that is not authentic, does not believe in your brand and won’t purchase your product or service. It’s all fine and well having thousands of likes on your business page but how many of these likes are credible? Think about exactly who your target audience is and define them properly. Ultimately, it’s about needing to reach the right audience who has an invested interest in your small business. 

Make your content engaging and shareable 

There’s no point in spending countless hours on content that isn’t vaguely interesting. Create content that people want to share and comment on. Humans are visual and it is known that video content on Facebook gets the highest engagement. We’re not asking you to be the next Steven Spielberg, but we are suggesting to not just sticking to plain text. Spark discussion with interesting images, newsworthy articles, interesting facts, videos, quizzes etc. Make your audience believe that they heard it from you first! 

 Having your content engaging and shareable is one of the most valuable ways to get more likes on your Facebook business page as it has more opportunity to be exposed to the right audience who isn’t already following you. Don’t be shy to ask your audience to spread the love and share your content too! 

Keep it short 

With the competition popping up all over your feed daily, it’s important to make sure that your copy grabs attention. Keep it short, punchy and get to the point quickly. Instead of sharing an entire article in one post, use a couple of attention-grabbing sentences with a link to the said article. Social media platforms are designed for the users to scroll through their feeds quickly with an overload of information thrown at them constantly, so make sure yours stands out!  

Timing is everything

Knowing when to post your content and how often is incredibly vital to make sure your content will be seen by the right audience at the right time. If you are posting too frequently the audience will find you spammy and may get annoyed, leading to a drop in likes and even some unlikes. If you are not posting often enough, your audience is likely to lose interest and that will lead to a drop in engagement.  

It’s also important to consider geographic locations and time zones when scheduling and posting your content. If your company is based in London but your clientele is based in the United States, you need to make sure your content is going out at a time that is appropriate to them. 

 According to an article by Sprout Social, these are the optimal times and days to post to Facebook for global engagement: 

We would suggest using a scheduling tool, such as Hootsuite, to post 4-5 times a week on Facebook to ensure that your posts are going out consistently, for maximum engagement and to save time. For more time-saving social media tips for small business, read our blog here. 

Leverage off your other platforms 

Don’t be shy to promote your Facebook business page through your other platforms. This encourages an audience that perhaps isn’t following you on all platforms to do so.  

Give teasers and sneak peeks on your other platforms that directly link through to your Facebook business page. For example, if you are a chef promoting your latest recipe book upload a picture onto Instagram with the copy “For the full recipe head over to our Facebook page!” This keeps the content engaging, the copy short and sweet, increases engagement and leads the audience directly to your business page. 

 With this being said, our advice would be to stick to 3 social media platforms that are relevant to your business to avoid your content being spread too thin and becoming oversaturated. It’s better to have 30 likes on one post than 3 likes on 10 posts. As mentioned previously, the more likes you have on a post, the more likely your posts will be seen by a new audience. 

Engage with your audience 

 If you are expecting your audience to engage with your content then you should be doing the same with them. Make sure you are responding quickly and efficiently by answering all questions and queries, acknowledging their response and comments, giving thanks and appreciation where it’s due and networking on relevant Facebook groups. 

 Sticking to your brand’s tone of voice and being professional in your responses is a great way to increase your reach, brand awareness and gain exposure. People who are not following your business page will see your responses on their timeline and if they like what they see, are more likely to like your Facebook business page.  

Incentivise 

Give people even more reason to follow you! Run discounts, competitions, promotions and giveaways to encourage your audience to share your content on their timelines, increase engagement and encourage Facebook business page likes. 

 However, it is important to note that the audience you want to incentivise is one that is credible and authentic in the long run so make sure your offering makes sense to both you and the user.  

 For more ideas on how to run an Instagram giveaway click here. 

Go live! 

Last but not least, go live on your Facebook page! Depending on your product or service you offer you can go live and create content that is incredibly engaging and shareable to the viewer. You can do product demonstrations, behind the scenes tours, question and answer sessions, meet the team, staff takeovers, entertainment and so on. 

 This gives the audience a sense that they are part of the business and encourages a more personal interaction between the brand and the user. This also gives your small business endless opportunity to get more likes on your Facebook business page. 

 If you have read this to the end it means that you are fully aware of the influence Facebook has on not only the user but on your business too. Try all of these tips mentioned above and you’ll be on your way to creating a successful, engaged Facebook business page. 

 Once you have followed the tips set out in this blog, start considering some paid Facebook ads to reach a whole new audience. Read our 8 tips for setting up Facebook ads that get results here.