With organic reach falling with every Facebook algorithm change, it is becoming more important for companies to keep every Like they receive, so that they will get their organic posts in front of as many people as possible. But some brands make big mistakes when it comes to how they handle their social media, and they are sabotaging their goals by simply ending up with their fans deciding to unlike those brands instead.
What are the biggest mistakes brands make that ends up alienating their fans?
Too many posts
Even with the reduced organic reach, some companies think the way to compensate is to just post many times more to reach as many as possible. However, posting too frequently is one of the top reasons that people unlike a brand on Facebook, because there will be people who get tired of seeing those messages and clicking unlike is pretty easy.
Repeating the same posts
Because organic reach is dwindling, some companies are making the mistake of repeating their messages multiple times in a row, at 2-4 hour intervals, in hopes of increasing visibility and engagement. But this is actually attributing to unlikes when those users actually see it multiple times, as well as diminished likes when users look at the company’s Facebook page and see 3-4 identical posts in a row. Repeating messages is okay, providing there is a long duration between them, with other posts in between.
Boring or repetitive content
Make the most of the content you do post. Don’t post boring updates such as “Be sure to visit our store for great deals.” Instead, highlight a specific product or deal to entice them, because if you constantly post boring and repetitive content, it is easy for someone to hit “unlike” so they don’t keep seeing the message.
Marketing, marketing and more marketing
Along with boring or repetitive content, don’t constantly market either. You want to ensure you are sharing what will interest your audience – yes, include posts about deals, but you need to intersperse it with content that isn’t strictly “marketing” such as a highlight of an valued employee, sharing inspiring quotes or things your customers/audience have posted to their own timelines. And don’t forget, things like inspirational quotes or really unique and interesting products or pictures are what people are likely to share on their own timeline, not your marketing message.
Only liked to take advantage of an offer
There is nothing you can do to prevent people from unliking when you trade likes for offers, and you shouldn’t expect to keep all of them. But once you do, you want to continue including offers in your stream to keep those likes from unliking. Again, don’t spam, but your odds of keeping those “liked for an offer” types are to periodically offer those deals again.
Don’t offer enough deals
Like people who like for offers, there are people who like for the explicit purpose of watching for those great deals. But there are a ton of brands out there who solicit likes with comments like “be the first to know about our sales/deals/specials” but then never, or very rarely, actually share them. Since this is one of the main reasons people will seek out a Facebook brand page (as opposed to it being presented to them somewhere and they then click like), be sure to deliver what you promise for those likes.
Jennifer Slegg
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