Can’t you get your staff to like you?

I’ll be criticised for placing undue weight on likes as opposed to reach when it comes to social media posts. After all, you can read a newspaper without feeling the need to applaud every article.  But, admit it, we can’t help seeing likes as a proxy for the success of our work online.

It’s forever fascinating, then, that brands struggle to amass even a handful of likes for their posts. Can’t they get at least their staff to like them? More pertinently, don’t their staffs feel the need to support them? After all, that’s what likes typically are – a show of support for the author rather than an endorsement of quality content.

I know there are reasons why a staff member might not like every post, as their friends will soon tire of being exposed to every post liked by them. But I’m not buying that as the explanation as to why so many companies fail to secure a single like from their workforce. It has to be something else. Maybe it’s the staff member saying, “Hey, this is my private space, back off!” Or maybe it’s just a subtle outlet for them to express that they don’t really like where they work, or who they’re working for.

That’s likely to be how a prospective client or employee reads it.  And there’s real issue with lack of likes. It reflects badly on your brand.  So encourage your staff to like your posts. Or, better still, just be more likeable!