A Like is an action that can be made by a social media user. Instead of writing a comment or sharing a post, a user can click the Like button as a quick way to show enthusiasm.
Depending on which platform you use, this metric can have alternative names, such as Like Count (LinkedIn, Twitter), Organic Like/Paid Like (Twitter) and Post Like (Facebook).
Update: Keep in mind that due to the recent Facebook page update Page Fans and Page likes will be replaced with followers. Therefore, make sure to shift your focus from counting likes and page fans to page followers.
Reasons to track Likes
Gauging how your audience reacts to the content you post and share is crucial for any social media marketing strategy. This direct response metric helps you determine whether your audience is interested in what you’re currently publishing, and should direct the type of content you share in the future.
If you don’t get enough likes on certain topics, consider to change your content tactics or even delete that content from your communication plan and send those messages through other channels to a different audience segment that might be more receptive.
Common variations of Likes
| Name | Description | Platform |
|---|---|---|
| Like Count | This version of the Like-metric simply displays the amount of likes that have been gained. | LinkedIn, Twitter |
| Organic Like | Organic likes get generated when social media users press the like button on posts that have not been sponsored. | |
| Paid Like | Represents likes which came from sponsored/promoted posts and were paid for. | Various Platforms |
| Post Likes | Post likes combine all of the likes that a post generated, paid as well as organic. |
How can tracking Likes help you to become more data-driven?
It is very important to track the likes of every post. Social media users can easily express how they feel about a certain content, product or service through likes. Facebook recently expanded its like options for organic posts and ads. Now users can express whether they like, love or dislike something which increases the information flow and shows that this metric becomes more and more important.
Try to compare your likes to other engagement factors such as comments and shares. If you look at a certain message, you try to convey, in a holistic view, your analysis will be much stronger and sophisticated.
Nexoya Pro Tip: Look into engagement rate as a way to measure how “attractive” certain content is by comparing it with impressions.
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Additional information about Likes
- The power of social media likes
- Do Likes matter on social media?
- Seven mistakes most people make when tracking KPIs