Facebook Fanpage Likes Really Don't Matter

We have all seen the comments and heard the complaints about not being able to get people to like our business pages on Facebook. There is always someone wishing they could figure out how to garner more likes and rise to the top of the sea of pages.

What if I told you that likes really don't matter? What if I told you that having thousands of likes on your Facebook page really is not what you should be concerned about? Would you think that I was full of it? Would you stop reading right now and turn to another post or another course that walks you through the steps on how to get more likes on your Facebook page?

Whether you are making jewelry and selling it on Etsy, or writing posts and putting them in front of the world to see, when it comes right down to it; likes really don't matter. You see, likes on a Facebook fanpage are simply a by-product. Yes, I just said that and I mean every single word of it. Likes are simply a by-product of what you are doing to engage fans.

Corbett Barr of Think Traffic says it best in one of his blog posts found here. WRITE EPIC SHIT! Oh yeah, I just said that! If you are not writing epic shit for your followers to read, then you are drowning in a pool with others that are not writing epic shit. If you are not focusing on reaching targeted fans, then you are never going to receive those likes that you crave so much. Why? because if there is nothing to like about the stuff you are writing, or the things you are making, then why is anyone going to be bothered with clicking the like button?

Do you really think that any of the big time bloggers or big sellers on Etsy go out and beg for likes on their Facebook fanpages? Do you think that saying, "Hey, come and follow my page!" really does anything to get a targeted fan to follow you? I guarantee that these tactics are overused and unproductive.

How many of you have friends that send you invites over and over again to like their Facebook fanpage? How many of those pages are putting out epic shit that you want to read or follow or have show up in your news feed? How many of those pages have you finally given in and hit the like button, only to turn around and hide posts from that page on your timeline? This happens over and over again, just because someone is hungry for a like.

Now, what if I told you that you can get likes over and over again and you don't even have to work that hard to get them? What if I told you that if you work really hard at putting out epic shit in your posts and your status feed, the likes would happen AUTOMATICALLY? It all comes down to what you are willing to write in your posts and the things that you put out into the world.

A friend of mine, Nicole Hanna of Nicole Hanna Jewelry, has learned how to put out epic shit! Her wire wrap tutorials are such a hit that she has figured out how to capitalize on them in a way that is truly epic! She does a thing called Treasure Hunt Tuesday. The first Tuesday of every month she hides one of her tutorials among her blog posts. If you can find it, you can download it for a limited time on that Tuesday for free! How crazy is that? Since doing Treasure Hunt Tuesday, she has come up with another idea called Finish It!, in which she has a tutorial that she has written and she gives it away, but there is a catch; she has left out the last part of the tutorial instructions and prompts her followers to 'finish' the tutorial on their own and share it. You can read about these and some of the other contests and giveaways that she is doing to drive traffic to her site here. Nicole Hanna has figured out how to put epic shit into the world that people hunger for. With all of this, she has done something else that she didn't even have to work very hard at, and that is get targeted likes to her Facebook Fanpage.

I believe that you must be willing to give something away for free to receive something in return. Whether that is a Facebook fanpage like, or someone to help you do something that you are having issues with, or whatever the case may be. When you find your 'community' you must work hard to keep them around. Begging for likes and focusing on 'me' instead of 'them' will get you no where in a hurry.

Here is a challenge for you. Figure out something (preferably virtual) that you can give to your fans for free, no strings attached. Promote your giveaway on your Facebook fanpage. It is OK to ask them to like and share the post for the giveaway, but do it in a way that benefits THEM and not YOU. For example, you could say, "Like and share this post so that your friends may get a copy, share in the benefit, get the coupon, etc. as well!" This turns it around to benefit them, in some form, instead of you.

Now, build a fangate on your Facebook page so that your fans must like your page before they can get the prize. This also increases new fans, because they are going to want what you are offering as well and the only way to get it is by liking your page. Put that fangate at the top of your Facebook page by using one of the custom tabs. Promote this giveaway as much as you can. Now sit back and watch what happens.

Not sure how to build a custom tab for your Facebook fanpage? This is the greatest tool I have ever used to do just that... Fanpageology! No it is not free, but if you own a business this could be one of the best investments you could possibly make. It is so simple to use and it is a very powerful tool. You can read about some of my success with using this tool here. Throughout my blog posts for the last couple of months, I have been talking about Fanpageology, so you may want to read some of my other posts as well.

I would love to hear about what kinds of epic shit you come up with to share with your fans! Tell me about it in the comments section below!