We would like to start with a disclaimer that Facebook has already taken their side between Facebook likes vs followers. Yes, they have chosen, it’s the follow button, as they have recently announced to discontinue the like button soon. So shortly, you might not find a “like” button on Facebook. But, don’t conclude in precocity that followers are more important than likes, this is truly not the case. Like is an easy click button, encouraging content while scrolling through your timeline. The next thing is, following a page comes with a consumer promise that you agree to see regular pop-ups of the content of a specific page appearing on your timeline. Moreover, considering the number of Facebook page likes a business page can have, it is going to reach the maximum number of eyes, increasing your digital presence by notifying every single friend of the user who just liked your post. Although the number of likes and followers are never going to be the same. The numbers for these features on Facebook don’t need to be something similar, and we’ll reveal to you why. To begin with, let’s dive into a little about what likes and followers are, and what grounds they stand for a user.
Understanding the difference
You need to comprehend between likes and followers, so let’s examine how significant each of them is.
- Like is a denotation button by a Facebook user who has decided to support and encourage your content through an expression, followed by choosing to display their name on your webpage.
- A follower on the other hand is a Facebook user who has decided to interact and receive regular updates from your Facebook page as their news feed on their timeline.
Basically, these two are separate. A person liking can see one of the contents from a Facebook page, but decides not to follow the page. Let’s understand through an example, assume your friends like your page in order to support a friend, yet they decide to unfollow knowing the fact that they don’t need to see your every post regularly. Also, someone could decide to follow the page and get the posts’ notifications, yet they don’t need their name to be displayed on the page.
When somebody finds your content matching their interest on Facebook, they will definitely follow to keep themselves up to date with the content you are supplying through your Facebook page.
Which is important between likes and followers
After making a Facebook page, numbers for both (like and followers) increment after some time, not declines, for sure. A page like is more about the client showing their appreciation for a post or a page entirely. Albeit, following a page, is more like a thing that doesn’t appear in the ‘about’ segment of a person’s profile, while like does. Eventually, some of the followers find they are consequently being fed up with content that they are currently uninterested to look at and hence they can decide to unfollow it. This means they’ll not further get any feeds from that Facebook page.
For example, you start following a Facebook page that posts a flat available for rent in Chicago because you need one. After a month of searching and going through thousands of posts, you have finally got the decent flat and finalized it. Imagine you are done with moving to this new flat but your timeline is full of these “flats” posts that don’t mean anything to you at this moment. Well, you’ll obviously unfollow it.
Whereas talking about followers vs likes, ultimately, you need a fair amount of loyal followers to develop a fan base for the longevity of your business and the online success. You need those individual followers to keep vouching for you. To surmise the deciding factor, followers are more important because the people following you essentially can see your substance, while the individuals who have decided to unfollow have quite not liked everything on your page and hence have not decided to follow yet. Above all, followers are going to actively participate and keep your Facebook page alive and moving.
Maintaining your followers is important
Facebook is a good provider for businesses looking to gain a digital market for their brand identity. This widely popular platform offers the best possibility of conversion from millions of Facebook accounts. Hence, offering a perfect soil for internet marketing. Followers are the best assets you could have in the field of marketing. Every time, when your content is published, your existing followers are always the first to see it. As a result, they may spread information about your page like a chain reaction when it is republished by them, allowing more people to view it.
If you have a lot of likes developing on your webpage when the number of followers is not rising, you should seriously mull over observing your followers and check whether they are falling. If they are, you have to find ways to keep engaging the users to overcome the deficiency of followers.
Above all, your posts are the key to engagement. To say accurately, Facebook can be utilized for delivering brand mindfulness and developing the insight that you’re useful in terms of adding value to your supporters. Consider your posts showing up in your clients’ feeds, and consider what they think about it.
Final word
With the announcement from Facebook already planning to lose the like button soon, it is good to remember the fact that people who like your posts once in a while have a very low chance of visiting your page again. It is wise to know that more likes don’t mean more revenue or more business because Facebook has exhausted its natural reaching capabilities over time. But still, knowing the huge user base this platform offers, the credibility and conversion from Facebook depend solely on its engagement.
Talking about user engagement, followers are a valid source to rely upon. Even the big brands and huge sites that publish blog articles on their websites frequently, often share their content on Facebook, keeping their followers in mind. However, all things said, a brand page in general, is more likely to have a decent lump of fewer followers than they do have likes. Facebook still holds a substantial stake in the world of marketing today and you need to concentrate on generating unique content that only you are offering followed by prioritizing by adding value to your followers. As a result, they will spread the word for you and the followers will gradually increase.