Facebook Page Owners/Promoters – Do This Before Facebook Eliminates Like Counts!
Facebook has confirmed that it may be removing like counts from its network in an effort to reduce engagement “envy” and “self censorship” according to Techcrunch. As of this writing, this is only a spot test and not active for the vast majority of Facebook users. Facebook is testing the reaction to this change on Instagram presently and Facebook may be next.
Will Facebook Eliminate the Like-Invite Mechanism by Removing Like Counts?
Facebook declined to share results from the Instagram Like hiding tests, its exact motives, or any schedule for starting testing. If it does decide to go ahead with a test, Facebook would likely do so gradually and pull back if it significantly hurts usage or ad revenue.
To those of us who assist clients with growth of Facebook pages or use a Facebook page for our businesses, there may be a less obvious, but serious side effect of this change. The loss of the like-to-invite approach.
Currently, Facebook Gives You a Way to Invite People to Your Page Who Have Previously Engaged
Currently, when someone “likes” a post by a page, say, made on a group, the Facebook page owner can click on the engagement numbers and see the list of those who have engaged. There is then an “Invite” button provided which can be a powerful way to gain page visitors (while their recent engagement is fresh on their minds.) if this is on a popular group, the list can be filled with those who appreciated the post, but have not yet liked your page. Those will have “Invite” available in the list (see illustration.)
In growing a few 5 digit follower pages, we’ve found the response rate to these invites can be as high as 30%, but organic “follows” are a tiny fraction of that. We have captured thousands of engaged audience members – one button at a time.
If this is eliminated, Facebook page owners will be forced to use paid promotion of Facebook pages to grow followers, which is more of a passive mechanism – with like rates in the sub-1% range.
Before Facebook Eliminates Like Counts, You Need to Do This:
Therefore, before Facebook eliminates like counts, page owners and promoters should go through their historical posts and invite everyone who has engaged with your page. This will let you fully capture the potential of this audience while you still can.
- Open each post
- Click the “All” link for “all engagements”
- Scroll through the list looking for enabled “Invite” buttons.
- This is easier on mobile than desktop because of infinite scroll
If you’re interested in discussing methods for growing your business contact us for a free consultation – 859-951-4414
