facebook... don't go for big numbers... go for the right numbers

There's always pressure to generate higher Facebook numbers. But what do you want? An army of the disinterested or a battalion of the engaged?

By Dan Harris

It's the question I'm asked most frequently by friends, businesses and colleagues..."how do I get more likes on Facebook?" 

My answer is always the same "why do you want more?"

The number of likes a page has on Facebook is arbitrary.

It means nothing of you don't do anything with them and they have no interest in what you say.

It's quite easy to grow a Facebook page really, run a competition that sits behind a like gate (yes they do still exist unfortunately), pay for Facebook advertising or use clever updates to encourage the existing customer base to involve their friends.

Organic growth by promoting your channels to the right audience is what we all really strive for.

An audience who will be captivated by your actions, will happily talk to and about you (not always positively but at least it's in a contained environment) and who will positively contribute to the shared experience on Facebook.

You will find this audience more engaged and more willing to communicate. By doing so, their interaction with you is spreading throughout their network and helping you reach more eyeballs.   

It's pretty safe to assume that unless Facebook have a monumental failure, it's not going anywhere for a while. As such, look to build an audience of the right people, not just the most people.

This post was written by Dan Harris who tragically died several months after it was written. He worked at Moo and was a former local government digital pioneer. We've kept this fine post up as an example of what Dan did and what we're missing out on with him not being here.

Photo credit 

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