Let me set the scene… You launch your Facebook page. You share your page and receive hundreds of likes. A month goes by and you see your page has been unliked by a lot of people. You scream and throw your computer out the window.
No, you really don’t do that, but you want to. Having your page unliked is like someone saying they don’t care for you anymore. Some take it personally, some could care less. All Facebook pages get unliked at some point – it’s just the course of social media marketing but you may be left wondering “But WHY??”.
There are reasons why people unlike Facebook pages. Everyone has a reason for everything including why they liked you in the first place. I wrote earlier in 2013 about 8 Reasons Your Facebook Page Isn’t Being Liked, which applied to why people don’t like a page in the first place. Today, I’m blogging about why people leave your page after liking it.
Your page may be unliked because…
1. The content has become irrelevant to the page’s industry.
Every page starts off with the right intent – to promote themselves and their products/services. Some pages, however, get too caught up in sharing cute images to get engagement, alienating those who liked their page for their original content. An inspiration quote or cute picture is fine every now and then but if that is all you are posting, you will lose people. It’s important to keep a balance with the content you post. Remember, your fans liked you for your industry-related content, not the endless stream of Steve Jobs quotes.
2. Inappropriate content is being posted.
People will leave your page if post content that is deemed too religious or too political (unless you are a religious or political organization). Foul language is inappropriate on social media period. There is no place for cursing or derogatory language. That can get you shut down by Facebook for spam or hate speech.
3. Content is being posted too often.
While it’s true you want to post frequently on social media, posting too much can be a turn off. A general rule of thumb I use is 2-4 times/day on Facebook, 4-6 times/day on Twitter (not including thank you’s), 2-4 times/day on LinkedIn and 2-4 times/day on Google+. Pages that post on Facebook every 30 minutes – there are some who do – will see their posts and page hidden and/or unliked. As a part of your social media strategy, you need to outline how often you are going to post and don’t deviate from that. I know I would hate to lose a fan simply because I posted too much.
4. Posts do nothing but want me to buy the business’ product or service.
Social media is meant to be social – engaging and building your community, not a megaphone selling everything you offer. Pages that do nothing but post their specials and want me to try the latest XYZ for this super-low price will see it unliked very quickly. There is nothing wrong in promoting your offers and products/services, but keep it to a minimum. For every 10 posts you post, only have 1 or 2 be self-promotional.
5. They are bombarding their fans with constant “Like & Share” contests.
This reason came from a fan on my Facebook page when I asked why they unlike a page. It seems every page that has to do with clothing is doing contests like these. Not to mention they are against Facebook’s rules, they can clog up a newsfeed fast when everyone shares them. Know the rules and just don’t do it.
6. The page is no longer of interest.
This is probably one of the most common reasons. It’s natural to unlike pages that no longer interest you. You may have changed jobs and no longer need to know about a former employer’s industry. Maybe you’ve gotten married and have no need to like all those wedding-related sites. If you are doing everything right and see unlikes, don’t stress – they are more than likely fans who have deactivated their accounts or your business is no longer of interest because of life’s circumstances. My daughters are school-aged now so there is no sense in me liking Pampers or Sesame Street. It’s just a part of life.
Likes and unlikes come and go. If you are doing everything like you should, I wouldn’t stress but if you see a lot of unlikes in a short period of time, take a look at what you are doing on your page. Should you cut back your posting frequency? Should you cut out 99% of those inspirational or cat pictures? Now would be a good time to re-evaluate your social media strategy.
How about you – why do you choose to unlike a page?
Great article Mandy, thank you! If I may, I’d like to add one more reason, and that is that a Facebook page will lose a like when someone leaves Facebook. If an account is deleted, so are their likes. What may appear to be an “unlike” is actually someone who has cancelled their account and has nothing to do with the fanpage.
That is a GREAT point Liz! When people do delete their accounts, it also removes them from all pages they previously liked. Thanks for mentioning that!
Great article, Mandy. These are all valid reasons. I’ve also seen people like a page at networking parties for the express purpose of having the like reciprocated. Later, they delete the like. Interesting, isn’t it?
Great post – solid advice for page owners.
Point 1 is so hard to avoid. I notice a lot of pages I like have resorted to this sort of stuff in a quest for likes and shares. Cutesy, shocking or emotional posts made for the purpose of squeezing a click through to their site and getting some viral action are pretty transparent. It’s my number one reason for unliking!
But point 6 is great and something I’d never really thought about before – people growing out of things. I wonder how the generation raised on social will change their liking habits as their lives go on. I wonder if it will even be important in 5 years, with the rate that social media changes!
I just got 20 unlikes in a couple of hours. My Facebook page has good content, it doesn’t advertise my products everyday and try to engage on a daily basis. This is the first time I get this many unlikes in a very short period of time.
Thanks for stopping by Dan! If you don’t mind, could you share with me your Facebook page? Having that many in a few hours is quite rare. It could just be a glitch with Facebook. My like numbers change daily to be honest. I would watch it over the next week, it may just be a one-time thing. Wish I had more I could say!
Mandy – good advice and I really like the first one – but are n’t pages in a dilemma? Without the cutesy stuff (which I hate by the way), they get killed by Edgerank and therefore nothing they say will be seen. But by manipulating Edgerank in this way you alienate the people that actually care what you say.
Thanks Terry! It seems as such, but the good, quality content will make it through. We may have to pay to promote good posts. What I’ve heard with this new Storybumping Facebook is doing is that those types of posts you mentioned will hurt a page more than help. Let’s see if actually happens!
Thanks Terry! It seems as such, but the good, quality content will make it through. We may have to pay to promote good posts. What I’ve heard with this new Storybumping Facebook is doing is that those types of posts you mentioned will hurt a page more than help. Let’s see if actually happens!
#6 is the main reason I unlike a page. My tastes in hobbies, a change in job, or just a shift in friends and interests change my feelings about certain products or companies. It’s nothing against the business, I just don’t feel the need to follow them anymore.
I often unlike for the same reason.
I only unlike a page if they bombard my wall with too much info. When someone becomes spammy (even friends) I have to either silence the noise or unlike.
I do that as well. Especially when it’s someone who is asking for me to like their page back.
what about if you post quotes that contain a swear word or that is funny? I’ve done this before & I have had positive response. Thoughts?
Hi Marie! That’s a good question – I think it depends on what it is. If it’s a funny quote with one swear word in it (As long as it’s not the “f” word), you should be fine. I’ve seen some posted that were hilarious and got a great response that has some mild swearing in it. You just want to make sure it stays on topic with what your page is about 🙂
Unfortunately, our public discourse has become so coarse
that, in general, mild swearing is no big deal. With that cultural reality in
mind, I think Mandy is right in her response on this subject. Personally,
though I often do not share things with even mild swearing. Everyone has to
think about his or her personal and business brand. Everything we post creates a
perception around our brand(s). Consequently, everyone has to make a
determination as to the extent using even mild swearing helps or harms their
personal and business credibility and professionalism.
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