With over 2.9 billion active users, Facebook is the biggest of all social networks, so creating a Facebook page for your business allows you to reach a large audience and get more bookings (see also our post about how to increase your online reservations).
We gave you the 5 steps to create the perfect Business Facebook page in our last post. Now it’s time to dig deeper and see how you can increase your followers.
How to get more Likes on your Facebook page: 14 ways that really work
How many Likes does your Facebook business page have? This number may be under your expectations, and you would like to get more Facebook Likes quickly to improve your brand image and get more bookings online.
The best way to get more Likes is to share truly likeable content and engage in ways that make your brand likeable, too. In other words, create content that has real value for an audience that will provide plenty of value for your brand in return. Here are some tips to help you create content that generates Facebook Likes.
1) Define your target audience
Think about a smart Facebook marketing strategy. First, define your target audience to know who you’re talking to and adapt your content accordingly. Then research the competition to spot techniques that work to get more Likes on Facebook and those that do not. Finally, set S.M.A.R.T. goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.
Your new Facebook marketing strategy will help you:
- Find the essential information you’ll need to add to your page.
- Find the best keywords to include to your bio.
- Select the best cover picture aligned with your content strategy.
- Publish your first posts.
It will then be much easier for you to create the perfect Facebook page or improve the one you already have.
2) Create valuable content
Nobody likes an empty Facebook page, and you can be sure people will check your posts before deciding whether to like your page or not. So before inviting people to like your Facebook Page, start posting some valuable content such as:
- Your own posts.
- Posts shared from other relevant Facebook pages.
- Events.
- Offers.
When creating a post, keep in mind your target audience and think about what kind of information they’re looking for. This will help you find the right format, right timing, and right tone of voice.
3) Be Consistent
Consistency is key in social media. Research shows that 80% of consumers lose trust in local businesses if they see incorrect or inconsistent information in their profiles. Likewise, if your posts are not aligned with your brand image and marketing strategy, you might lose the opportunity to see your Facebook Likes increase.
To get more Facebook Likes, you must ensure that the content of your page is updated, consistent with your website and other social media profiles, and reflects your business values. Your Facebook fans are your fans because they like you and your restaurant or local business. So be yourself on Facebook and use that same authentic tone consistently.
Tips: to save time and get all your profiles on social media consistent with just one click, use Mozrest’s Profile & Review Manager. Contact us for more info.
4) Invite friends from your target audience
Now that you have defined your Facebook content strategy, published your first posts, and made sure your page is consistent with your other social media profiles, your Facebook Business Page represents a robust online presence that will make potential customers and fans feel comfortable interacting with you.
Start by inviting your existing Facebook friends in your target audience and your employees and ask them to invite their own friends. By doing this, you will rapidly see the number of Likes increase.
You can then use other channels, like your website, email signature, newsletter or in-store promotional materials, to promote your Facebook page amongst your customers by adding a “follow us” logo.
5) Add great pictures
Good posts with images are the ones that get shared the most and go viral. So to get more Likes on Facebook, take the time to find good, relevant, and eye-catching pictures. If you don’t have a photo library of your own, you can use plenty of free stock photo sites, such as Unsplash, Pexels or Adobe Stock Free Collection.
6) Find great headlines
On average, 8 out of 10 people will only read the headline of your post. This doesn’t mean you should neglect the rest of your post, but that you should at least focus on your headline.
With only 2 out of 10 people reading the entire post, this means that the success of your posts, and the likelihood of getting more Likes, requires you to write a great headline.
Your headline is the first impression you make on a reader that will either convince him to click through or ignore your post entirely.
7) Adapt your Facebook page’s template and tabs
Facebook allows you to choose templates and tabs specially designed for restaurants and local businesses.
To change your template, go to Settings, then click on Templates and tabs. You can choose between 10 templates, each designed to promote specific content. For example, the “Restaurants & Cafes” template is designed to highlight photos and essential information about your menu, hours and location. Whereas the “Business” template is designed to help you manage your business, including ways to post jobs and special offers.
Then, select the tabs that will help your page visitors quickly find what they’re looking for: Reviews, Shop, Offers, Jobs, Photos, Videos, About, etc. The tab order also determines the order of the sections people see at the top of your page.
8) Pin a top-performing post
To get more Likes on your Facebook page, you can also maximise the lifespan of your best-performing post by pinning it at the top of your page. People will then see it before any of your other posts.
You can change your pinned post as often as you like. So keep it fresh and always feature your best-performing content in this high-visibility location.
9) Cross-promote your Facebook page on other social channels
Take advantage of your other social channels. Instead of posting on Twitter or Instagram a link to your Facebook Page and asking people to follow you, choose high-valuable Facebook-specific content, like an infographic or live video, to promote on these social channels so you can highlight the value of your Facebook Page to your existing followers.
This way, you can drive your Twitter or Instagram followers to your Facebook page rather than just letting them know your Facebook page exists.
10) Be responsive and human
If you want more people to like your Facebook Page, you need to engage with those who already do. Unanswered comments or questions on a Facebook Page can be a huge deterrent for potential new fans. Remember, Facebook is a social network, and being sociable is a key way to make your brand and page more likeable.
Prop tips: for a better brand image and customer experience, it’s always recommended to answer customers’ positive or negative feedback. However, you probably don’t have time to answer every review on each social platform; this is why Mozrest’s Profile & Review Manager alerts you each time you get a review on Facebook, Google, and many other platforms and centralises all your reviews in one place. So you don’t lose time and never miss a review again! Contact us for more info.
11) Host a Facebook contest
Interactive content like contests is better for grabbing readers’ attention than static content. Facebook’s contest rules allow you to ask your fans to:
- Like this post
- Comment on this post
- Like the comments on this post (i.e., vote by liking)
A good contest depends on your business goals. To help you create the perfect contest for your Facebook page, think about your Facebook marketing strategy:
- Target audience: What do they like to know about your business/ services/ products? What would they want to win?
- Competitors: What kind of competitions do they host? Which ones work the best?
- S.M.A.R.T. goals: Do you want to increase engagement with likes and shares? Or awareness with impressions? Or drive traffic to your website?
Bear in mind not to be too promotional. Sure, you’re trying to promote your restaurant or local business on Facebook, but people want their feeds to be entertaining and informative, not pushy and packed with sales pitches.
12) Post at the right time
It’s essential to publish content on your Facebook page when people can read it. Hootsuite’s latest study about the best time to post on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn reveals the following:
- 10:00 am.
- Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
Best time to post on Facebook:
- 8:00 am to 12:00 pm.
- Tuesdays and Thursdays.
With this in mind, you can make a few tests to determine what works best for your target audience and find the right time to post on your Facebook page to promote your business.
You can then schedule your posts to go up at the best time for your Facebook audience.
13) Use the Facebook algorithm to your advantage
Understanding the Facebook algorithm is key to increasing your organic reach. Since Facebook wants people to enjoy browsing their News Feeds, its algorithm prioritises quality content, not overly promotional. In addition, Facebook specifically highlights authentic posts that inform and entertain.
14) Try live video
One additional way to take advantage of the Facebook algorithm is to try live video. The algorithm prioritises live broadcasts, bumping them higher in the News Feed. So if you have an event or product presentation that would work live, give it a try.
