Earlier this year, Facebook announced that an estimated 8.7% of its user base were duplicate or fake accounts. Of course, since they now are answerable to share holders, they need to clean up their act.
At the end of August, Facebook came at the problem from the other side stating:
When a Page and fan connect on Facebook, we want to ensure that connection involves a real person interested in hearing from a specific Page and engaging with that brand’s content. As such, we have recently increased our automated efforts to remove Likes on Pages that may have been gained by means that violate our Facebook Terms.
On average, less than 1% of Likes on any given Page will be removed, providing they and their affiliates have been abiding by our terms. These newly improved automated efforts will remove those Likes gained by malware, compromised accounts, deceived users, or purchased bulk Likes.
Facebook Page Likes Purge
Last week, the great Facebook Page Likes purge began in earnest. The media concentrated on the top Facebook pages, some have seen massive losses. But, smaller Facebook pages are seeing a significant decrease in Likes too.
It is actually a good thing
Fake likes, whether intentional or not are just numbers. Numbers aren’t interested in your business, they don’t “engage” and certainly don’t buy. Numbers are not your potential customers.
So resist the urge to buy likes for your business page, ultimately it’s a waste of money you could be spending on something that works!
How to increase your Facebook page likes naturally
Scanning this QR code with your phone takes you directly to Like My Local Business Online’s Facebook page
Ask people to like your business page and provide the address
- A “Like Us On Facebook” sticker in your window, on your paperwork or leaflets is pretty pointless unless you tell people where your page is. Have you ever tried searching on Facebook?
- Use a QR code for those people who have phones that never leave their hands!
- Provide a link on electronic documents – your email, online brochures and of course on your website or blog
Give people a reason to Like your Facebook page
- Update your page regularly
- Use a “Like Gate” and give people a freebie when they like your page
- Get involved and be human – find other related business pages and comment when logged in as your page
Over to you…
Have you noticed your Facebook page likes decreasing recently? Let me know in the comments and don’t forget to pop over and Like My Local Business Online on Facebook!
This free short report guides you through the 5 essential steps to make your local business Facebook Page work for you. Discover:
- How to find your audience on Facebook
- How to optimise your page so people find you “nearby”
- The types of updates you should be posting
Download your report and get started today. Simply fill in your details in the boxes above and I'll whizz the report over to you!
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These are some great ideas for creating more visibility for Facebook Pages. As for your question, I haven’t seen Likes go down, but it’s not like my fans run into the millions.
Nanette Levin recently posted..The best marketing tactic is easy, free and memorable
Hi Nanette, I don’t have millions of fans either! I have seen a significant drop though, about 30 over the last week. Goes to show, you don’t have to be buying fans to lose them! Thanks for stopping by
People just like to see those number of likes increasing and will try to achieve that by any means possible – this is a thought provoking article for those who have purchased likes, or who have participated in those ladders and silent tagging groups – not worth it in the end! Thanks Jan – you are a blog post machine recently- awesome!
Hi Sue – you probably have the same battle as I do sometimes explaining why numbers aren’t important to clients. You’re right though, some people think only in numbers of followers and go to all sorts of lengths to get them – usually wasting money in the process. Thanks for popping in
Very true. Numbers mean nothing if they’re not going to engage. I remember the first time someone disliked us. I took it really personal and wanted to find out who it was. Now, if people unsubscribe from my list or unlike us I’m just thankful that I’m not wasting my time.
Great article
You’ve hit the nail on the head there, Lizz! If someone isn’t interested in your business, there’s really no point in them Liking (or subscribing). Thanks for popping in and taking the time to comment