10 Strategies to Get More Likes on Your Social Posts

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Do you ever wonder why a company similar to yours is getting more likes and interaction on their posts, but you are posting more frequently? They could be getting a ton of shares, likes and tweets due to the approach they are taking when deciding what to post. Sometimes it is better to make those personal connections or just think outside the box. Here are a few strategies to help you get more likes and shares on your social media platforms.

1. Timing Is Everything

Posting your content at the right time is key! It is very important to know the peak times your followers are online. To gain more likes you need to post to their convenience and in the moment. News does not wait for us so if there is an event or story happening now go ahead and post about it. The post will not have the same effect three days later. It becomes “Old News.” We know you cant be online 24/7 but there are several programs that will help you schedule your posts in advance. This also keeps you organized by having a plan for your content.

2. Create and Post Awesome Content

Get noticed by creating great content. The first thing to do is discover who your target audience is, and modify your posts to what they would like to see. Always provide information that your followers will find valuable, leading to more engagement. If your brand is selling an item provide a link to their website or where to purchase this. It makes the item more accessible and easy to track. People are very visual so always include an image. Posts that have an image tend to get the highest amount of engagement and likes. Use simple relatable images that target the demographic you are trying to reach. Our apparel client Salt Life posts daily quotes with real photos with that their audience can relate to and engage with. Many of the images are images submitted by the fans.

3. Create Real Content Fans Can Interact With

The people who are reading and looking at your posts are real so post real content. Instead of posting just products, show people interacting with the product.   Our client Notations does a great job of mixing up their posts showing their garments on actual people. You can also do this by showing some personality to the posts that could target outside hobbies, quotes, fashion, etc. This will show you are a real company that has some personality. Notations created a post with their fall fashion and coffee on national coffee day.   This gives the viewer a look at the product while interacting with something real.

4.Use #Hashtags

The Hashtag has become one of the most effective ways that consumers can find topics and each other on social media. They are one of the best free shortcuts to navigating specific topics. Hashtags will allow you to track relevant conversations and see how long your message could stay active. Make sure any hashtag you are using is popular and something that with catch the attention of many.   We use a specific hashtag for each of our clients on most posts as in this tweet from Junk Food Clothing. This allows us to track the interaction of the post and allows others to be connected and find information about the brand easily.

5. Ask for the Like

Social media is very noisy and sometimes your messages get lost in the crowd. Be Direct and ask for people to like your posts. This gives people a straightforward approach to what you would like them to do.   If you state what you want to happen clearly then you will start seeing some results. Hosting a contest is a great example of telling people to like your page and tag a friend to win a special prize. This helps your post get more likes and spread the word of your brand.

6. Reference Other Accounts

When posting your content you can tag popular accounts in your posts. This is a great way to reference your posts and make a connection with their fans as well.   By doing this you can grab attention of fans you might not typically share with. Our client Soffe has partnered with Kori Lee Wilbourn on a campaign called “Stand With Soffe.” As you can see below when posting content pertaining to the campaign we tag and reference Kori and remember to use the hashtag.

7. Share Popular Content

Sharing others posts similar to what your audience likes is a great social media strategy. You just have to decide if your audience will think that the content shared is important as well. By sharing others posts, the creators will see this and will be motivated to return the favor. It’s a great idea to surround yourself with like-minded people. Each can learn from one another and continue to help each other out.

8. Ask Questions

Asking questions in your posts are a great way to not only get more likes but create engagement too. By asking questions, you are inviting a conversation. You could ask a general question such as “What are your plans for the weekend?” Our newest client NY Collection does a wonderful job of asking questions to engage their target audience. Below they have posted an image of three different colored tops and asked which one is the audience’s favorite. They had many responses engaging several people in a conversation. NY Collection can also use this information in their next post or apparel design. As soon as you ask questions it is great to respond as soon as possible, this goes for all posts. It shows your brand cares about what your followers have to stay and helps the conversation going.

9. Reward Those Who Share

Once someone is valuing your posts enough to share – reward them! Respond to these posts with positive comments and a thank you that will go a long way.  This will start a long-term relationship with new fans. You will begin to notice them sharing and liking your published posts more frequently. Don’t forget to return the sharing favor sometime.

10. Cross Promote

If your brand does not participate in multiple social media platforms you should! Some of your target audience may not like Facebook, but they love Twitter. This way you can reach a greater number of people. You can use each of these platforms to push your followers to like you page on another platform and build a larger following. It is a great idea to post content that is similar on multiple sites. For example Junk Food Clothing below launched a new video talking about partnering with the NFL on Pinterest. They posted this news on their Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter pages. If they would have only posted on Pinterest, they may not have reached as many followers. You can use this strategy to your advantage by using similar or a few same posts on each platform.

For more information about how to create more likes on your posts check out this article from Sprout Social : http://sproutsocial.com/insights/get-more-likes/ .