5 Ways to increase your ‘Likes’:
First of all, why is it important to encourage likes? If you are a Social Media Manager or Business Owner in charge of increasing engagement, you will know very simply, Likes = Exposure.
You want likes on a post because for One – it means someone has read your post. Two – a persons ‘Like’ will be signaled to their own network which means more eyes on your content. And Third – a popular post with more likes will help your post gain more reach.
1. Hashtag – Use hashtags that encourage likes with every post. For example on Instagram you can research and add popular hashtags such as: #like4like #likeforlike #likeforfollow #likeforlikealways #like4likesback #likemypost which are specifically added to increase likes. You may have seen these used on other sites such as, Twitter and Facebook, though they are less effective here.
2. Offer value – Provide tips (not unlike what I am doing in this blog). Research articles, white papers, blogs, articles keep ’em comin’. The more education and advice the better. This will not only help to build your company or personal profile online and provide valuable backlinks to your website, it will give followers a reason to regularly tune in to so they keep coming back. If readers enjoy your content or find it has added value in some way, you’ll usually get a ‘like’.
3. Share content – Share your content, share other peoples content. Credit your shares to whomever the post has come from. Hyperlink to their company where possible with an @ symbol. This lets the owner of the post know you have used it and they’ll usually like your post as a reward in return.
4. Post Photos – Photos get more likes! It’s a known fact. Especially on Instagram, but this goes for other social media sites too. Add text to a photo, meme it up or simply add the words ‘like my post’ and test how people engage with your post.
5. And, the easiest way and almost the most obvious is..…ask for likes. Create your own Call To Actions (CTAs) in your posts. Posts encouraging people to like, share or comment, are 100% more likely to be liked. Surprise surprise! Here are some example posts:
“Check out our latest design project for @clientname. We were able to develop the app in little to no time to meet their deadline. Like our post if you think we did alright!”
“Our latest website design. Like our post if you are after something similar for your business”. – Encourages engagement and also provides lead opportunities.
For more social media tips read To Hashtag or Not to Hashtag for advice on how to use Hashtags effectively.
