In order to ensure that businesses get quality connections and reach the right people through a valuable presence and not artificial incentives, Facebook has announced that like-gating apps or campaigns will no longer be allowed on Pages with effect from 5th November 2014.
What you need to know
Rewarding users with fan-only content (especially entries to contests) in exchange for liking a Page has been a popular method to increase the number of likes for years, and in the past Facebook even allowed businesses to like-gate their entire Page.
As social media methods progress and marketers and brands put more emphasis on the quality of fans rather than the quantity, like-gating is an outdated way to grow your fanbase and no longer considered good practice.
Disadvantages of like-gating:
- You don’t learn much about your new fans
- You don’t get a way to reach your fans outside of Facebook
- You can’t tell if users are liking your page because they are genuinely interested in your brand or if they’re just after a prize you’re giving away
- As many users like a brand’s page to gain access to special content such as competitions or discounts, once they get that access or once your contest is over, many will unlike your Page or hide your posts from their feed, which is considered negative feedback and soon a very small number of users will see your content
- You’re asking users to give you their stamp of approval before even getting a taste of your brand and content
What you can do
Switching focus away from like-gating and replacing it with action-gating means that you can now concentrate on collecting information that is potentially more valuable than likes and achieving better results in the process.
Advantages of action-gating
Action-gating means you ask users to do something besides like your Page – like vote or share information about themselves – in order to gain something in return from your brand – such as access to a promotion or an extra entry in a competition.
- It makes promotions and offers available to everyone, increasing your brand’s exposure
- It doesn’t hurt the mobile experience as like-gating did because of multiple steps required for users that hadn’t liked the Page, which could drive potential new customers away
- You can gain social intelligence by collecting data that can help you understand your audience better
- It’s easy to build this type of campaign and you should start collecting useful data such as:
1. Email addresses that you can utilise in future email marketing campaigns, giving you a direct channel to potential new customers
2. Demographic details to understand who your customers are and where they’re coming from
3. User-generated content
4. Customer feedback
Designed to improve experience for users, brands and marketers, the policy change is a sign that Facebook knows the number of likes on a Page is not as valuable as an admin may think and it also highlights the importance of always diversifying your marketing channels. You can still encourage users to like your Page, you simply cannot force it on them to gain access to special content.
Download your social channel updates guide for the Facebook like-gating ban and more here.
For more information on recent social changes, or to find out how LHM can help you grow your social activity, email us at hello@lhmmedia.com or call 0121 237 5260.
