Top Reasons Your Fans Are Hitting the 'Unlike' Button

Getting a lot of people to like your Facebook page can be gratifying, but losing their loyalty can be equally devastating. You’re usually left thinking “what did I do wrong, was it something I said?” That’s if you’re keeping track of your fan numbers close enough!

This is the unsettling reality for many companies and independent pages who are struggling to find ways to retain fans after enjoying an initial boost of popularity. So what is causing your fans to hit the infamous unlike button, and what can you do to stop more fans from doing so?

The Human Spam Filter Effect – Posting Too Frequently

If you’ve ever used an email client before you know about spam filtering – it’s an automated mechanism that identifies spam-like content and throws it straight into the trash bin. Many Facebook users are so in-tuned with internet browsing that they’ve developed their own built in spam filter and are quick to discard overbearing, unwelcomed, and useless status updates. In fact, people get so aggravated by a high frequency of posts that they don’t even want you having access to their wall anymore, and subsequently they unlike your page.

So how often should you post?

This is no rocket science and there is no magic formula. Each business is different so it's all about A/B testing. Besides, your emphasis should be on quality not quantity. The general rule of thumb is that if you don’t have something great to post, don’t post at all. With that said, if you’re taking the time to research your market and pay attention to the requests, opinions, and interests of fans, you should be able to produce at least 3-5 good status updates per week to start with. Increase the frequency if you see a positive response and increased engagement from your fanbase. Again, test different scenarios and don't be afraid to fail at times...

Lack of Incentive - What Have You Done For Me Lately?

You may have forgotten how you got all of those fans to begin with; you probably offered some type of incentive. Maybe it was a discount, some exclusive content or app, some genuinely helpful information, or some wholesome entertainment that made them come back for more. Whatever it was, you’re obviously not doing it anymore. Keeping fans on Facebook is a lot like keeping fans with any other type of media. If a television show is no longer entertaining, viewers stop watching, ratings decrease, and eventually it gets taken off the air. If you’re noticing a steady decline in fan numbers, you need to take action immediately and reintroduce the incentive-based status update strategy. A good way to let your fans know that they’re appreciated is to use a reveal tab/fan gateway to give them access to exclusive content that only fans can see. This will make your fans feel valued and motivate them to keep following your statuses to avoid missing any upcoming contest or giveaway. It will also encourage non-fans to join your page out of curiosity.

Failed Initial Targeting

Maybe the reason why they’re unliking you is because they were never really your fans to begin with? It could be that in your rush to get as many fans as possible in the beginning, you may have neglected the process of carefully targeting your audience. There are lots of ways to get fans on Facebook, including buying them from marketing gurus that are equipped with all the latest tools and tricks. However, if you don’t make an effort to ensure that your fans are properly targeted you could find a large percentage of them losing interest down the road.

So how do you do a better job of targeting your true fan base?

One of the best "organic" ways to attract fans that are likely to stick with you for the long haul is to advertise your fan page EVERYWHERE you can. Think beyond your website, e.g. email signatures, business cards, flyers, invoices, brochures etc... Another great way to attract targeted fans is do joint ventures with other fan pages in your niche. The concept is simple – you find already successful fan pages that have a lot fans who would probably be interested in your page, then you contact the page administrators and ask them what it would take for them to post a link to one of your statuses in their next update. However, the most efficient ways to attract laser targeted Facebook fans will require you to put your hand in your pocket: Facebook Ads! Using Facebook Ads you can target people by location, age, sex, marital status and most importantly INTERESTS. This gives you the ability to display your ad only on profiles that are likely to become fans and/or customers. Coupled with a fan-gated contest or giveaway, Facebook Ads is ridiculously efficient! Try different ad rotations and targeting options to ensure you get the best bang for your buck.

Your Posts Just Suck

There really is no better way to say it. Your fans are unliking your page for the simple reason that they are tired of reading substandard posts that lack useful information or entertainment value.

How do you fix this?

In essence, you need to learn how to post status updates that are captivating and share-worthy. Adding a dislike button to each one of your statuses using Status Magic (as explained in the previous link) might be a good way to find out what your fans do not like before they get so sick of your antics that they completely unlike your entire page.

Use media to your advantage.

If you don’t have the resources, time, or skill to create your own quality media content, find it elsewhere on the web and introduce it to your fans. Sometimes being a known resource and sharing content that has already been created is all it takes. You’d be surprised how many people will stick around just because they know you always bring the best of the web to their fingertips. Think of websites like Digg or Reddit to find potential "viral content" that is relevant to your niche.

Use news and trends to your advantage.

Again, you don’t have to be a world-class journalist and conduct interviews or author breaking news. You just need to point out the latest trends and occurrences that your fans are likely to be interested in, and maybe add your own spin or opinion on the matter. Remember that your fans are basically subscribers; keep them up-to-date and involved.

Be interactive and engaging.

When you’re posting a status about an upcoming promotion, recent news, or a popular trend, make sure you pursue the input of your fans. Hold a poll, ask them to leave a comment, and give them the opportunity to engage in open dialect. Getting your fans involved is a good way to keep their mouse cursor away from the unlike button, and it also creates a buzz. If you're running out of ideas on what to post, check out this article.

And finally...Have a personality and be personable!

Don’t be afraid to be funny, witty, and unique. Stand out from the crowd by acting like a human being, and not a status updating advertising robot. There is no preset formula that will make people like you. Facebook is a digital platform but it still operates in the real world; people like other people simply because... they’re likable. What’s the point of starting a page on a social network if you’re just going to be antisocial?

About the Author

Amine Rahal

I have been passionate about the web since 1995! Started out as a web developer and then turned into an online marketing specialist, focusing mainly on SEO and SMM. 

During my career, I have worked for many large-scale organizations in Canada, the United States and China. In 2008 I founded IronMonk Solutions to help small businesses reach new heights using online marketing. Since its foundation, IronMonk has helped over 100 businesses improve their web presence, traffic and sales.

Socializing the Anti-socials: Disruption of the Indian Higher Education System

The Indian Higher education sector is valued at roughly $ 11 billion. This segment includes only those Indians who enroll for degree courses in India. In addition, nearly $ 13 billion is spent annually by Indian students seeking admission to foreign universities.

This makes the total higher education pie around $ 24 Billion.

That is a significant market if one thinks of the sheer numbers that are available for Indian education institutions. In this environment it is important for organizations to harness the power of disruptive creation. And one of those sources could be social media.

Using teaching tools based on social media could not only enhance the quality of education but also convert some of the foreign aspirants to start considering Indian institutions in their quest for higher education.

The other significant number is that the number of Indian students opting for higher studies is only 11% of the school pass outs. This is much lower than the global average of 23%. This creates another opportunity for institutions to invest in tools like Share Point, Yammer, Jive or Connections and integrate them with video facilities like Skype to create virtual classrooms for the future.

I think the ball is in our court and it is time to disrupt the status quo.

Do let me know what do you think? Do Indian education institutions have the guts to aim for glory or is it going to be the same old story?

(Source for figures: IDFC SSKI & CSLA Education research report)

 By Dr.Vikram Venkateswaran, Founder & Director | TheSocialPeople

Dr. Vikram Venkateswaran is a marketing professional with almost 10 years of experience. He is passionate about public health, blogging, writing, public speaking and lawn tennis. He can be followed on his twitter handle @drvikram. Visit his blog at Docter Soccer.

Founder Speak is our weekly column by the founders of TheSocialPeople- Viral Thaker & Dr.Vikram Venkateswaran.

How Social Media Is And Can Be A Global Classroom

Google+ is one of the most powerful forerunner amongst
all the Social Networking Sites with collaborative feature
like Google Hangout, Blogs, Wikis, Hangout and Drive.

Just try this activity – Go to Google and search for ‘Social Media’ and you’ll get a whole lot of ideas on marketing, branding and what not, but one sector that social media can seriously turn around is education. I’ve written about it in my earlier posts as well (Can Social Media find a place in Classrooms) on how Social Media is slowly being accepted as a very powerful collaborative learning environment provided it is used appropriately. I always love to refer this using a concept I call the “Fool with a Tool” idea – Give nuclear power to a fool and he would use it as a bomb, give it to a person with sound mind and he will harvest energy. Same tool being used differently. So does that make the tool bad? In my opinion – No!

Social Media has become an integral part of our culture and daily living. One can find everyone from a large company to a small grocery store having their own Facebook account. When I was first proposed with the idea of having social media as a learning environment in the education industry by my colleague Dr. Vikram I was unsure about its application from the business perspective. The idea was definitely interesting but it was new, which means we’d have to break all the three laws of Newton (break inertia, gain momentum & action/reaction). But as we immersed ourselves in this idea and I saw my niece doing her school assignment on Facebook with her friends, I had the energy to drive towards this vision.

Using technology to just do the same stuff that we have always been doing is not exciting, but when that same technology is used for a different purpose it creates a whole new horizon for a greater purpose. Thinking about this idea of having social learning networks today may sound like a dream, but a quick research on this dream by our team shows that Social Media is indeed having a strong impact on how students across the globe interact and learn online. Below are some of the reasons we believe are influencing this impact:

1. It breaks the four- walled barrier of a classroom- Robert Frost wrote his famous lines “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall…”. It makes me wonder if he knew the connotation of these lines. Social Media has the power to break the traditional four walled classroom based learning to a whole new world of Global Collaborative learning. One of the best examples we’ve come across of the Social Leaning tool is Classle which combines the power of on online LMS with that of Facebook. Classle has also been mentioned in one of the case studies in our Whitepaper – Socializing Education – Why Collaboration Matters!

2. It’s free- Just image what if schools and colleges run virtual classrooms on Google Hangout or Skype. Imagine the impact it could make to the process of and its outreach. The best part of this initiative is that social networking tools such as Google+, Facebook and Skype are all free. Ok, in reality nothing is free as you’ll still have to pay for your internet and infrastructure technology, but that is it!

3. Make education system more open- The parent who may not know the teacher in the next grade can simply follow their blog to get to know about some of the practices. This breaks down walls and helps to build relationships with families and our community. Earlier, parents weren’t able to see the other classroom’s ‘newsletter’ unless it was passed around; now it is easily shared. Knowing people beforehand will help to break down barriers that may have existed before.

4. Break the cultural barriers- When I was a kid, I used to imagine what it might be like to be a student at a completely new geographical location with a different learning culture. But today kids can easily collaborate on Facebook with their peers and discuss their project on how a steam engine works – Live! This was something I’d never dreamt of as a kid. With social media in place there is so much opportunity to not just read content from different people but even actually talk with them and share our opinions. Having the opportunity to connect with people all over the world breaks down a lot of cultural barriers and builds a stronger understanding. The Global Classroom phenomena!

5. Amplify passion to learn- Passion is a term that has been used a great deal in education. I am a firm believer that we have to build learning upon the passions and interests of our students. We now have the opportunity to not only connect with people of different cultures, but with people with similar interests. The child who feels that others don’t have similar interests in the classroom, is not limited anymore. We can help to facilitate these connections in schools so our students not only feel like part of the crowd, but the passion to learn is stirred within.

I have said this many times before, that education is based upon collaboration and relationships. While people often look at social media as just ‘technology’, we have to see how best it can be used to really bring our world together. If we are proactive in the way we work with kids using social media, there is no limit to what we can do.

Viral Thaker, Founder & Director | TheSocialPeople

A seasoned HR & Marketing professional, Viral was one of the early adopters of social media. With over a decade of industry experience under his belt, his skills span corporate strategy, delivery management, customer relationship management, business development and operations management. Viral is a voracious reader, a travel enthusiast and enjoys adventure sports. Follow Viral on Twitter @vrlthaker

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