How to get more Facebook likes: be a social media Shakira

Sometimes Facebook marketing can feel like you’re shouting into a huge blue and white hole—throwing witty comments and well-crafted posts into the abyss. And there’s nothing worse than checking on a recent post and seeing a social tumbleweed roll by.

So you search for inspiration. You want to find out how to get more Facebook likes without:

• Breaking the bank

• Buying illegal bots and getting banned

• Sounding super needy— pleeease like and share

It’s time to look up to Shakira.

By mixing up a few of our own suggestions and following in the footsteps of the Queen of Facebook, you’ll be well on your way to rocking a successful social media marketing strategy.

It can be done.

Right, why Shakira?

She’s only the most popular singer on Facebook and the first person to reach 100 million followers, ever.

Ahead of Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and Eminem, Shakira has racked up a massive 100.3 million likes. Let's put that into perspective. If every single person in Argentina, Australia, and Canada liked her page, you still wouldn’t reach that colossal number. And this number continues to grow—so she must be doing something right.

These tips don’t lie—how to get more likes on Facebook

We can’t teach you to dance like the Queen of Facebook. But here are our top pointers for getting more Facebook likes.

Give your profile a makeover

No one is going to like your page if it looks like a fourth-grade Computer Science project with pixelated photos and poorly made graphics.

Make a great first impression and optimize your cover and profile photos. You can even use a video as your Facebook cover photo now to entice people further.

Underneath your (brand’s) clothes, there has to be something more than just a pretty picture. Add information about your company so people know what your business actually does, and where else they can find and interact with you.

Get visual

If you’re posting content without a photo or video you might as well be throwing it straight into that bottomless pit where unloved Facebook posts go.

A visual post is twice as likely to get Facebook likes than plain text—so get snapping.

Show off your new product, let people know what conference you’ll be at, or even what you’re having for lunch. If you think it’s interesting, go for it.

Not feeling overly creative today? Use tools like canva.com to create engaging social media posts. They have loads of templates you can personalize with no photoshop skills required.

And if you do want to make your own visuals, check you get the dimensions right with our Facebook ad specs.

A friendly word of advice: don’t go overboard with your updates. There’s nothing worse than having your feed filled with a single brand’s content. Or 25 new photos from your Aunt Susan’s step class.

Search for similar people

Did you know that there are Facebook groups where you can promote your brand?

Look for groups that interest you, then share relevant news and information with the members. But don’t spam. Always follow the rules, or you’ll be booted out quicker than you can say 'Mark Zuckerberg'.

Another great way to get more Facebook likes is by finding influencers in your field.

Is there an Instagrammer who aims to eat every cake in Atlanta? And you have a bakery? Well, follow them. Talk to them. Create a bond. Invite them into a conversation and they might even return the favor. If anything—you’ll get some cake recipes.

Find the right time

Whenever. Wherever. There’s always a best time to post for maximum impact.

While an email marketing startup might be successful at 3 pm on a Monday, maybe Shakira gets more Facebook likes on the weekend.

After a lot of googling and a few years working in social media, I can tell you that there really isn’t a blanket answer for when to post—every brand is different.

To find out your optimal posting time, you need to dig a bit deeper into your Facebook Insights.

Don’t know anything about your audience or Facebook Insights yet? Facebook has you covered with this solid guide on how to get the most out of your page.

There are also social media tools out there which can help you optimize your posting time. Try Buffer, Hootsuite, or Sprout Social.

Unfortunately, I don’t have access to Shakira’s Facebook Insights. But let’s dive into what we found out here at Typeform.

We see that our fans are active at around 6 pm CET. Why could that be? Well, it’s when people in Europe finish work. And over in the US, it’s late morning to early lunchtime. When Europeans finish work, they’re more likely to browse their Facebook, right when Americans are more down for a mid-morning scroll.

People have different browsing habits, so play around with your Insights and see what works for you.

Run a competition

Who doesn’t love a giveaway?

Start a promotion on Facebook to publicize your company and get more Facebook likes. But beware—Facebook has cracked down recently on what you can do to promote a contest.

Feel free to:

• Ask people to like the post

• Encourage people to comment

• Ask people to post on your page’s timeline

• Run a contest where people compete for the most likes

Steer clear of:

• Asking people to like your page

• Asking people to tag their friends

• Requiring people to share your content to enter

• Asking people to change their profile or cover photo

“What’s the point of a competition where I can’t get people to like my page?” I hear you scream.

Well, if you’re holding a competition with prizes people want, they often like your page in anticipation of more contests and giveaways. And they’ll see your content in the process. Boom.

Remember: make them drool over the prize, so it’s worthwhile to enter. The prize itself isn’t just a gimmick—it’s your investment in getting more Facebook likes.

Make it easy for people to like your page

This one seems pretty obvious—you click the big LIKE button. But I’m talking about putting that LIKE button on everything you own—online at least.

Look at Shakira’s website.

Each page is just two clicks away from being liked. You can even like her WeLoveIt page. I’d never even heard of that social media site until today—Shakira is on top of ‌trends.

Consider adding a pop-up to your website, asking people to like your Facebook. But do test it to make sure it doesn’t hurt other conversions. You can add social media icons your email signature, or shout about your page on your other social networks.

Actually, shout about your Facebook page wherever you can—until they Can’t Remember To Forget You.

Ask people to like your page—without looking needy

There’s nothing more cringe-worthy than a page begging for likes.

But what if I told you there’s a way you can ask people to like your page behind the scenes?

Facebook has a feature that lets you invite people who’ve liked your post to like your page. What’s even better is that all of this goes on privately—so nobody else will see you asking them to like your page.

To do this, you need to follow just a few steps. First up, you need to click on your post. Choose a high-performing one to begin with.

Now click on the people who engaged with the post and voilà—you’ve got the option to invite people who liked your post, but haven't liked your page yet.

It’s a more personal way to connect. And these people are already fans of your content, so it’s not a long shot that they’ll like your page.

Creep on your competitors

If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. Look at what other people in the biz are up to, and follow their lead.

Dive back into your Facebook Insights and start adding your competitors to your Pages to Watch tool. It lets you see how their posts are performing and how many likes they’re getting.

Imagine you’re a spy. Give yourself a nickname if you like.

Now pretend to be the biggest fan of your competitors. Check out the content they’re making, see which posts are the most liked—then use their work as your inspiration to do better.

$pend some dollar

You’ve tried all these tips and you’re ready to put some money behind ads. But before you splash the cash, make sure you know what you want your ads to achieve. For example:

• Define your audience. With Facebook ads, you can be as specific as you like. Target Shakira lovers in Denver under the age of 26, or reach out to Reggaeton fans nationwide.

• Pick an engaging format. Whatever you do, don’t spend money on a generic stock image photo with underwhelming copy.

• Set a budget. Don’t have Shakira-level cash flows? Facebook makes it simple to limit the money you spend, so you won’t be tempted to splurge.

• Choose your incentive . Of course, you want to get more Facebook likes. But what can you do to entice people, to make you worth their time? Will they get a discount code? Exclusive content? Access to a secret club?

It takes a lot of experimenting to get it right, and there are a bunch of tools out there to help you. Facebook even offers their own course on it to help you learn.

Getting more Facebook likes—why does it seem impossible?

Your audience’s love is hard to earn, and you have to put in the work to win them over. So here’s some simple, digestible advice for you:

1. Don’t annoy people. There’s a fine line between entertaining and irritating.

2. Find your niche and master it.

3. Put some money behind posts. Play around with different formats and CTAs, and learn from the results.

4. Put the social back into social media. Don’t forget that it’s humans you’re speaking to.

5. Pop on some Shakira and smile.