Lets talk about the most controversial Facebook campaign of all.

Do you think you know what that might be? Starts with an L, ends with an E and has an I and a K in the middle. You got it…Like Campaigns.

When it comes to Facebook Marketers, there is a very divisive line for those who are pro Like Campaign, and those who are against Like Campaigns. And the No camp appears to be the most vocal of the two. It seems a majority of Ad experts will advise you not to spend a cent on Like ads and I can understand where they’re coming from. You see, when you run Facebook Ads, you will get people liking your page just when they see your ad. However, unless you have a big daily ad budget, then Likes will will be slow coming.

Now here’s a ‘Free Like’ hack… when somebody does “React” on your post with the thumbs up, the heart, the smiley face, etc, you can invite these people to like your page. Just tap on the “Reactions” and you’ll see the names of the people who ‘reacted’ to your post. If they do not already Like your page, you’ll see a little button “Invite”. You simply tap this button and invite them to like your page. Probably about 30% may accept the invite to Like your Page.

This is why many Facebook experts would say don’t spend money on Likes. Yes, you will get them by running more goal centered campaigns (eg. Conversions) however, as previously mentioned, you need a big ad budget to get traction with this method, or manually be inviting people who Reacted to your post to Like your page.

When you run a Like Campaign, you can target your ideal clients – REAL people. It’s not like paying someone on Fiverr $20 to get 5000 Likes – that’s something you definitely do not want to do! No, real people can see your page and like it and you can have it highly targeted so that it is your ideal client. Many well meaning marketers just refer to Likes as a ‘vanity metric’ but little do they know how powerful it is for you to have people ‘Like’ your page.

You see, in the busy Facebook Newsfeed, and all the competition for the limited Ad Space that is available, people who do not Like your page, will only have the potential to see your ads up to 2 times per day. Now, people who DO Like your page, have the potential to see your ads up to 4 times per day.

Think about that… if they’ve been to your website and you’re retargeting them, then they can see your ad twice as much as someone who doesn’t Like your Page. If they’ve watched your webinar and you’re wanting to continue the engagement with them, maybe you’ve got a timeframe for them to book a call, you do not want to be forgotten about, so being TWICE as visible in the newsfeed is a very real advantage and makes Page Likes much more than just a vanity metric.

Even if they haven’t already started through your customer journey – if they haven’t yet opted in for your Offer or Lead Magnet, you can build an audience via Like Campaigns that you can then retarget with other relevant content, as well as your offer – so you’re not promoting to a completely cold audience.

Or, you’ve got a great video, which you can promote to your ideal audiences and then you can retarget the high intent video views (watched 75%) with a Like campaign. Then people like your page, you can start the relationship with them, start getting in front of them more in the newsfeed so they’ll see more videos from you, more content from you that you’re promoting and build that relationship.

People are scrolling through hundreds of Posts and Ads in their Newsfeed, so you have to be visible and relevant. If you can get in front of your ideal client 4 times per day instead of 2 times per day, it’s like Speed Dating! You can speed up the relationship with your potential client that helps them to get to know you, like you and trust you and then come on board as one of your ideal clients.

So in case you haven’t guessed, I’m very much Pro-Like.

If you are a coach or an ‘expertpreneur’ there is actually nothing wrong with having people who like your page who are not your ideal client, because while they may not be your ideal client, chances are they know somebody who is. So when the Like your Page, or engage with your post, their friend (who IS your ideal client) will see that they like your page, which establishes social proof for you. “If Joe likes them they must be alright, I’ll check them out a bit more”…. With the ‘average’ Facebook user having over 200 friends, having someone engage with your Post or Page can have a massive effect on your reach.

So for those who say “Likes don’t put money in the bank”, well actually they can. They are not just a vanity metric, it is a very powerful marketing strategy and not everyone on your page does has to be your ideal client though.

If you are someone who has a message, if you have some information that can encourage people, don’t you want to encourage people who are more than just those ones that are going to get their credit card and pay you? Life is so much bigger than that. We need to think bigger. Be more generous with our information and with our offers and what we’re putting out there to just spread the joy, spread the love, because it could be your information that could just absolutely change someone else’s day.