Aim for Comments Over Likes on Social Media

How many likes did you get on your latest Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn post?

Is it 10? 100? Or if you’ve a big fan base, over 1000 likes? Well here’s a hack that will help you get better engagement, and that too, genuine ones!

Comments.

Most businesses have fallen into the trap of chasing likes over comments. Sure, likes are much easier to get, and therefore, becomes more appealing. Additionally, it’s no surprise that most users would also get attracted to a post that has 100 likes over one that has a mere 10 likes. 

In a bid to achieve this, brands often opt for posts asking their fans to click and like. As a result, we’ve reached a click-bait plague, over the past few years. However, Facebook has taken notice. These unworthy interactions are not a great way to measure the success of a post. This is as good as your Grab driver demanding for a 5 star review. It's pointless.

Facebook has looked to solve this problem by promoting posts that have higher meaningful interactions. However, what does this even mean? A meaningful interaction refers to how a user reacts to a particular post. While liking a post is quick and easy, commenting and sharing a piece of content only happens when a user is truly charmed by the post. In short, a user who has had a meaningful interaction with that piece of content.

Therefore, brands should start seeking comments over likes. This then brings us to the next question. How do you get more comments?

One easy tactic is to look into your post. If it's a picture, consider asking users what they felt about the image. However, if that proves to be too general, try video content. Here, get users to let their thoughts known on a particular segment of the video. Be it whether they are happy, surprised, shocked, or disappointed, chances are, they will let their feelings known.

Next, how do they get their message across? Yup, you guessed it. It'll be through a comment. This then creates a domino effect, where friends of your fans will end up seeing the post too. Therefore, giving them the chance to also have meaningful interactions with the post.

Another way to build better engagement is to insert questions in your posts. People read statements, but reply questions. By having more questions in your posts, you are driving people to engage with your post, hence you get more comments.

So if you’re still focusing on likes over comments, it’s time to change your approach to level up your social media game!

Key Takeaways:

1. Stop chasing likes on social media.
2. Click-bait content no longer works.
3. Focus on getting your audience to have meaningful interactions with a post. This means, driving them to comment.