by Delia Rusu | Featured Contributor
WOW, I lost like… 5 fans on Facebook just yesterday, I’m wondering what I did wrong!
my dear friend and client tells me, her voice breaking.
Seriously, I think, have we got so attached to the number of followers or fans, that something like this can actually ruin our day?
And then I recall times I was feeling the same way.
I know how long (or so it looked like, at the time) it took to get the first 100 Facebook fans.
Well, they say the first 100 are the hardest to get… but funny thing, once you hit that plateau, you’d be trying to reach the next one, and you’d get upset when you see that someone unliked your page.
Truth to be said, we want to be liked. We want our Facebook business page to attract many people.
And this applies whether you have 150 or 2,000 fans.
We find it hard to believe that someone decided to break up with us. As if it’s a real life relationship.
But, did you know? There may be lots of reasons why someone unlikes your page. And… psst… I’ll let you in a big secret:
It’s not about you, it’s about them!
So let’s dig into the… 5 reasons why you’re losing Facebook fans… and what to do about it.
1. Your posts are too positive or too negative
Yes, it goes both ways.
Some of your fans start their day all energized, happy, and ready to go, go, go. If you’re posting something that can be perceived even slightly as negative, they get upset that you ruined their day.
And they unlike your page. Yes, just like that.
Quite the opposite, some people lead “normal” lives, day in and day out, going about their work. They feel OK-ish about everything and don’t get excited too much.
If you’re super happy all the time, perhaps using words such as “great” and “awesome”, they get stressed out and feel pressured to be as happy as you are (or the updates you post).
They don’t like that every single post of yours is infused with happiness. And they decide to go. Too much of something can’t be too good, right?
2. You’re posting too much or too little
No, it’s not a mistake. It’s all relative to how active some people are on Facebook, and how much they care about having their news feed clean.
Some fans only like and follow a few pages and so if you post very often, say 4-5 times a day, you’ll appear on their news feed too many times.
On the other hand, some people follow thousands of pages, and so when you post 2-3 times a week, it’s too little for them.
In the rare case they see an update from you, they won’t really know who you are and won’t remember liking your page.
These are both situations in which people unlike your page.
3. Your posts are not relevant or too relevant
It looks like no matter what you do, it’s still no good. Yes, you got that right.
Some people liked your page to get updates that are strictly about the business. For example, for my page at Happy Blogger Plaza, they may would expect only information related to blogging, SEO, blog and web design, and social media in relation with blogging.
If they ever see a photo of the wonderful maple trees in the fall, they get upset and may unlike the page.
Quite the opposite, other fans like to be entertained from time to time with something different and they don’t mind when you post a photo of your dog or cat.
They actually enjoy seeing a bit of your personal life in your updates.
So these fans will probably leave if you never post something outside the usual business stuff.
4. An existing fan has reached like capacity
You may not know, but Facebook limits the number of pages that someone can like to 5,000. Before you say:
Whoa, 5000, who would want to like 5,000 pages on Facebook or have 5000 pages liked already?
…know that, in time, many people have done it. Little by little they added pages to their likes and got to the 5,000 upper limit.
For them to be able to like new pages, they need to unlike some old ones to make room. It could just happen that this time they unliked your page.
5. Your page is reaching a milestone in number of fans
I bet this is surprising to you, but it happens to me all the time.
When I reach 100, 500, and then 1000, etc number of fans, the up and down game begins. It goes back to 99, 98 and then up again to 99, 100.
I can only relate this to a popular practice that business owners have of offering a prize or giveaway to the 100th or 1000th fan. Then people like and unlike hoping they will be that exact number.
I know it’s crazy but that’s something I noticed with every plateau that I reached.
So what can you do when people unlike your page?
Hmm… nothing! Don’t worry so much about your likes going down sometimes, it’s nothing to do with you in particular.
It’s actually supposed to be this way. Because people who really want to be your fans and be part of your community will decide to stay while others may want to leave.
And that’s OK. This is what you really want so you can build a strong and connected community around your business page, right?
Your turn now!
What do you think? Do you maybe worry for no reason when you see unlikes on your Facebook page?
Do you notice even? Please leave a comment and share so others can benefit!
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Delia Rusu – Blogging coach at Happy Blogger Plaza – Worldwide
Wanna blog confidently, get online visibility, and get more traffic to your blog?
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Choose the learning method that works best for you: 1-1 help, group coaching, or workbooks, plus access to a supportive community to get all your blogging questions answered!
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4 Replies to “5 Reasons Why You’re Losing Facebook Fans (Hint: it’s not about you!) by @happyblogplaza”
Michelle
Oh man, I spend WAAAAY too much time obsessing about this. My numbers, how many visitors, etc.. it’s not healthy.
Thank you for sharing!
Delia Rusu[ Post Author ]
Glad to be of help, Michelle! 🙂
Lori Lavender Luz
I really like your take on this. As long as we’re posting and blogging from our core, we’re less likely to be swayed by the whims of readers whom we may or may not even know.
Delia Rusu[ Post Author ]
Thanks Lori, that’s the main idea!