With over 2.96 billion monthly active users, Facebook remains the king of social media. So building a presence on the platform is non-negotiable for almost every brand.
But getting seen on Facebook requires more than just creating a page. You need likes. Lots of them.
In this 2,700+ word definitive guide, you’ll learn 27 research-backed strategies to get more high-quality Facebook likes and build an audience of engaged brand evangelists.
So whether you’re starting from scratch or looking to expand an existing organic following, this handbook has you covered. Let‘s dive in!
Why Facebook Likes Are Critical for Brand Success
Before jumping to tactics, it helps to first understand why Facebook likes should be a top marketing priority.
Here are 5 key reasons building your Facebook like count matters:
The Facebook algorithm factors in total interactions and authentic engagement metrics to determine which content to show higher in the newsfeed. So pages with more likes tend to earn better organic reach and discovery.
For example, one experiment found posts from Facebook pages with relatively more likes outranked posts from pages with fewer likes an astounding 97.3% of the time.
Likes directly influence how many people actually see your content.
Consumers care a lot about herd mentality and what others think. The bandwagon effect applies heavily to social media, where people take cues from what content is already popular.
One survey found over 50% of consumers are more likely to trust and engage with brands on social media that have above-average likes and followers. For SMBs specifically, Facebook page likes increased trust perceptions and purchase intent by as much as 64%.
Likes suggest social validation that your brand is credible and worth supporting.
3. Active page likers drive higher overall engagement
Likes also matter because fans that have actively liked your page deliver exponentially greater engagement over time versus non-fans.
According to Facebook, loyal page “likers” comment on posts twice as often and share content 7x more frequently compared to regular followers. And they’re 5x more likely to react to future posts.
So likes compound into even more visibility fuel through secondary actions like shares and comments.
4. More likes expands your marketing reach
There’s also the simple math advantage — more Facebook fans equals more potential eyeballs on your content.
The average Facebook user has over 300 friends in their network. Which means every new page like gives you a bullhorn that can expose you to hundreds of additional prospective customers.
Assuming just a quarter of someone’s friends see a given post, 100 new page likes potentially puts your content in front of 75,000+ people!
5. Facebook itself recommends focusing on likes
And if the above user data isn’t enough, even Facebook itself states growing your likes should be priority #1.
In its own Blueprint training courses for advertisers, Facebook notes that likes should be every Page‘s primary goal because of the cascading benefits detailed above.
So in summary:
- More Facebook likes = better algorithm ranking
- More Facebook likes = increased trust and conversions
- More Facebook likes = greater amplification potential
Let‘s look at how to actually get them…
Step 1: Optimize Your Facebook Page
Laying the groundwork with an optimized Facebook Page helps give people (and the algorithm) more signals to understand your brand. This ultimately drives more relevant likes over time.
Here are 5 quick page optimization tips:
Choose a recognizable custom URL
Claiming your brand name as the Facebook page URL makes you easier to find and remember. You can set this for free under the “Username” section of your Page settings.
Showcase your brand visuals
Your profile and cover images are prime visual real estate for conveying your brand identity. Use them to feature your logo, products, team, or whatever resonates most with your target audience.
Convert more visitors into loyal page likers by changing your call-to-action button to “Like Page”. You can toggle between Like, Message, Shop, or custom options.
Pin your most important posts
Pinning sticks posts to the top of your page so more visitors see them. It‘s a great way to highlight content you want to get more eyeballs on.
Turn on Instant Replies
Instant replies auto-respond to new messages with a predefined message. Use it to thank new commenters and gently ask them to give your page a like.
Once your page is primed for growth, it’s time to focus on driving more likes.
Here are the top strategies:
Strategy #1: Create More Engaging Content
At the end of the day, good content remains the best way to organically grow your Facebook audience.
But certain types of content generate higher engagement on Facebook:
- 📸 Visual posts with photos or videos get 3x higher engagement and 45% more overall reactions than text-only posts
- 🎞️ Facebook Reels earn around 4x the engagement of regular videos per Meta’s internal data
- 📽️ Live videos also overperform, driving 6x more interactions and comments compared to VOD
- 🤣 Humor and emotion make content more shareable and likable too
So mixing these native formats into your content strategy is key:
Monitoring your analytics and doubling down on what post types resonate most over time is smart as well. This helps you dial in on the exact content style and cadence your audience craves.
Pro tip: Savvy Pages also repurpose their best historical posts to cost-efficiently recreate viral magic.
Strategy #2: Increase Your Posting Frequency
In addition to better content, increased posting frequency also plays a role in getting Facebook likes.
One study by Markerly found that top brands post to Facebook:
- 1-2 times per day (B2C brands)
- 1-3 times per week (B2B brands)
And they determined that posting more often directly corresponds to accelerated fan growth.
For example, beauty brand Sephora engages followers 5-10 times daily and grew its audience an impressive 29% YoY:
So while less can be more sometimes, Facebook tends to reward consistency and volume.
Aim for at least one post daily or several posts weekly to maximize reach. Enlist social media schedulers or content curation tools if needed to help surface enough content ideas to sustain a regular presence.
Pro tip: Pay attention to both posting times and frequencies. Scheduling Facebook posts when your fans are most active online further multiplies your chances of being noticed and liked.
Strategy #3: Run Facebook Contests, Giveaways and Sweepstakes
Contests, giveaways and sweepstakes present another lightning fast way to accelerate Facebook likes and grow your army of brand advocates. They work by incentivizing existing followers to recruit even more fans from their own networks for a shot at prizes or rewards.
When one bakery offered free cupcakes for a year in a small Facebook promotion, they rapidly grew fans:
The contest scored 539 new page likes in just 30 days — a 48% increase for the SMB.
Platforms like Wishpond simplify running attention-grabbing contests at scale, while ensuring compliance with Facebook’s strict promotion guidelines and laws like the FCC and CAN-SPAM Act.
Just remember that bought likes or artificial inflation can risk account penalties. So focus only on legitimate giveaways that attract real, passionate fans.
Strategy #4: Repurpose Your Best Performing Content
Regularly churning out fresh new #content takes serious effort. That’s why savvy social media managers recycle previously-published evergreen content to work smarter, not harder.
Reposting your historically top-performing content allows you to spend less time creating, while still driving consistent reactions and likes from stuff your audience already loves. It cuts through the guesswork for proven results.
Start by using Facebook Insights to filter your page’s historical posts by highest number of reactions or shares. Make note of at least 5-10 superstar pieces of content.
Then load them back into your scheduling queue to be re-shared a few months later for nostalgic fans and any new followers who missed them the first time.
Strategy #5: Tap Into Existing Networks to Gain Likes
Your closest friends, partners, and peers likely want to support your brand. So leverage existing relationships as shortcuts to get more Facebook page likes faster.
Here‘s the 5 step game plan for mining your networks:
Step 1: Ask friends and family to like your page
When just starting out, turn to close friends and family first. Chances are high they’ll lend their like to kickstart your social proof and distribute your content through their own networks.
Website visitors who have already signed up for your email list are much more open to engaging further as loyal page fans.
Add social follow links to conversion points like signup forms, popups, confirmation pages, receipts and drip campaigns.
Don’t forget to spread the word to coworkers, strategic partners and industry connections too. They likely already support your brand and will happily contribute more likes.
Step 4: Join aligned Facebook groups and pages
Get in front of more of your target audience by joining Groups related to your niche and interacting. Some even allow you to make self-promotional posts to explicitly ask for likes.
Research relevant influencers, competitors or complementary brands on Facebook. Give their pages a genuine like and follow first before asking them to check out or share your page.
Pro tip: return the favor by liking the Facebook pages of people in your network too. This incentives reciprocity and social sharing to expand your brand‘s reach.
Strategy #6: Run Targeted Paid Ads
Once you’ve exhausted your organic fan growth strategies, Facebook and Instagram ads present a predictable way to laser-target and retarget your perfect-fit audience.
Thanks to sophisticated user data and demographics collected by Meta, you can dial direct ad exposure and bids toward the people statistically most likely to appreciate — and loyally engage with — your content over the long run.
Some of the most effective Facebook Ad targeting parameters for getting valuable page likes include:
- ⚙️ Detailed demographics like age, gender, income level, education status
- 💼 Specific job titles, functions and industries
- 🚩 Exact company names to penetration enterprise accounts
- 📍Granular locations including cities, metro areas, regions
- 📈 Behaviors and purchase intents signaled across websites
- ❤️ Page and interest affinities linked to similar brands/topics
Intelligent targeting compounded by quality creatives that speak directly to people’s needs gives Facebook ads incredible return potential to cost-efficiently scale loyal fans.
Just remember to monitor audience quality and engagement levels, not just vanity metrics like likes. Continually optimize targeting and creative according to what profiles actually convert and remain active.
The DON’T Strategy: Avoid Buying Facebook Likes
After covering smart organic and paid tactics to earn authentic engagement and visibility the right way, let’s discuss one shortcut you want to avoid…
… buying Facebook likes.
While it‘s tempting to want to inflate your like count artificially, fake likes hurt more than help:
- 🤖 Bought likes don’t actually engage with your posts, limiting reach
- 📵 Too many bogus likes flags your page as suspicious
- 🚫 Risks Facebook punishing you for violating Terms of Service
Stick to proven organic fan building strategies and precise paid targeting instead for real results. While slower, cultivating true fans who like your purpose will pay dividends in lifetime engagement and sales.
Continue Testing and Learning to Drive More Likes
Whew, that was a lot of Facebook tips!
While this covers the best practices for getting likes, don’t be afraid to test and evolve your approach over time as you learn more about your audience.
Pay close attention to your Page Insights and double down on specific content formats, posting cadences, and engagement strategies that move the needle.
And learn from brands marketing successfully to similar audiences within your niche vertical.
Stay curious, keep giving people awesome content worth reacting to, and your Facebook presence will continue expanding.
Now get out there and start driving more high-quality likes!
