A rampant growth in the use of social media apps indicates that it’s becoming difficult for people to live without them.
The first thing we generally do when we wake up is that we grab our phones and start exploring our preferred social media platforms.
We use social media for diverse purposes. Some use it to stay connected with their friends or family. Others want to keep up with the latest happenings.
People also leverage social media to interact with their preferred brands and share their experiences with the world.
Social media users are generally active when it comes to expressing their thoughts or opinions. One way to do it is through liking the content they stumble upon.
Whether you like someone’s posts on social media or they like the content you share, it has a psychological impact.
Likes on social media stimulate the fear of missing out or recognition. The more you acknowledge them, the higher the craving.
Receiving likes on social media is a metric that helps brands gauge engagement. They often use this indicator to compare the performance of their content with that of the other players in the industry.
For individuals, it’s a way to showcase their popularity and the acceptance of the information they share.
In this article, we will talk about the psychology of social media likes and the stimulus they generate. Furthermore, we will also discuss the process of growing your likes on social media.
So, without further ado, let’s start.
The Effect of Social Media Likes
Over 4.74 billion people use social media apps. It makes social media platforms the leading communication channels for brands to convey their message and generate traction online.
Commoners can also leverage social media platforms to interact with anyone anywhere in the world.
Likes make such interactions pleasant. When you say something and people like your posts, it triggers a huge dopamine rush.
It’s a hormone that fuels happiness. So, the more likes you get, the happier you feel. The happier you feel, the more active you would want to be on social media.
This is one of the biggest reasons the influencer industry acknowledges a growth rate of 14.47%.
Every other person you come across these days wants to become a social media influencer. Why do you think that is?
When people interact with your content and like your posts, it gives you a sense of recognition and fuels your happiness.
The impulse this phenomenon creates is so strong that it starts dictating your mood completely over time. The engagement on your posts governs how the rest of your day will be.
So, the first thing you do in the morning is that you grab your phone, access your favorite social media apps, and monitor engagement.
It’s such an addictive thing that if you don’t keep yourself in check, your susceptibility to receiving likes on social media may lead to mental health issues in the long run.
How Fear of Missing Out Comes Into Play
Fear of missing out, also known as FOMO, is a psychological phenomenon that fuels anxiety and may lead to negative thoughts.
Fear of missing out represents a feeling where you think that you’re not experiencing what others are.
As said earlier, likes on social media serve as an indicator for brands to monitor engagement and assess their performance on social media compared to competitors.
They not only keep an eye on their posts but also track engagement on the content that competitors share.
If people like the content that others share more than you, it will trigger the fear of missing out. You would want to learn the strategies that others are using to get more eyeballs and attract the intended audience through relevant social media platforms.
The same goes for individuals. If your posts get fewer likes compared to your friends, it would trigger a very bad feeling.
The fear of missing out fuels anxiety. Suppose you want to understand how it works. Just recall an urge to check for notifications from social media apps constantly.
How Likes Boost Your Morale
Getting more likes on social media compared to others fuels your self-esteem and boosts your morale.
When people like your posts, it means that they agree with your opinions and relate to what you just said. You feel appreciated. And it brings you a lot of joy and happiness.
When you get more likes, it ensures that your audience appreciates what you’re doing. You see your efforts translate into a positive contribution to the cause, which motivates you to keep up.
We are social animals. So, we crave attention. When we get it, it has a very deep psychological impact.
Likes on social media represent a gesture of approval from people for the information you share. Hence, it serves as an excellent morale booster.
It makes you go the extra mile because you chase the feeling you experience as your likes constantly grow.
On the flip side, the absence may have a devastating impact. Your mind either translates it as disapproval or a lack of recognition.
How to Grow Likes on Social Media
Social media platforms are excellent communication channels for brands to engage the intended audience.
They serve as an excellent source to generate quality leads and grow your brand’s reputation in the industry.
However, to engage your audience, it’s essential that you consistently share content that offers value to the community.
By sharing quality content that aligns with the interests of the intended audience, you can get high engagement and more likes on your posts.
It not only motivates you to keep going and ensure that your content strategy is paying off, but it also enables you to enhance the shareability of your content.
Social media algorithms favor content that engages people. So, the number of likes on your posts may complement your content marketing efforts.
The following are a few useful tactics through which you can grow likes on social media:
Know Your Audience
It goes without saying that to get people to like the content you share; your posts must align with the interests of the intended audience.
You should understand your audience and be familiar with the personality traits that represent them.
This information enables you to tailor your social media content to the liking of your audience and grab their attention.
Your posts stand out from your rivals as they are not generic but personalized as per your audience’s wants.
As a result, you get more likes on your posts compared to other players in your respective industry.
Offer Value
People explore social media platforms not just to interact with other people but also to seek relevant information.
In fact, 68% of people say that the reason they follow their preferred brands on social media platforms is to stay up-to-date with their latest announcements and updates.
People leverage social media platforms to make informed buying decisions. They research the solutions to their problems and choose brands that help them achieve their goals.
So, one of the best ways to grow engagement and get more likes on your social media posts is to share information that offers value.
You should strive to help your audience find answers to the questions on their mind and access relevant information.
This way, you will be able to get more traction on social media and get more likes on the helpful content you share.
Cover Latest Trends
Another excellent way to grow your likes on social media is to cover the latest trends or share content about trending topics.
People are already talking about such topics and want to know more. So, publishing information about the latent trends will make it easier for you to get their attention.
Social media algorithms also favor you this way and show your posts to more people, which fuels your visibility on relevant platforms.
As a result, your chances of getting more likes significantly increase. Plus, you engage your target audience with ease.
Select the Right Channels
Multichannel presence is the key to generating more traction and cultivating high engagement. It fuels the visibility of your content and makes it easier for you to convey your message.
However, being active on all of the leading social media platforms can be overwhelming. Hence, you need to pick a select few.
Just be careful when selecting the platforms to share content with your target audience. Not picking the right ones may severely affect your ability to generate traction and cultivate engagement.
You must identify social media platforms that your target audience prefers. Since the intended audience is more active there, the chances of them interacting with your content are higher.
Sharing content on other platforms will just be a waste of time and resources, as you will not be able to get more likes or engagement there.
Publish Shareable Content
The more shareable your content is, the higher your chances to score more likes on social media.
When your content is accessible to more people, it has a positive impact on the engagement you generate.
Just focus on making your content interesting. Being familiar with the interests of your target audience and embracing personalization may work wonders for you.
You can also consider leveraging visual content. We can process visual information quicker than text. So, we generally prefer consuming visual content rather than text-based.
We also share visual content more than text through our social media profiles or pages, such as images, infographics, videos, and more.
Hence, creating visual content may complement your shareability and help you drive more likes on social media.
Publish Your Content at the Right Time
It goes without saying that sharing content when your audience is active on respective social media platforms has a significant impact on engagement.
People notice the content you share more when they’re online, not the other way around. Hence, you should pick the best time to publish your posts.
To identify the best time to schedule your social media posts, you should monitor the performance of the content you shared in the past.
Notice the time of posts that got more likes on relevant platforms. There may be various other factors that may come into play here and fuel the engagement, such as the content topic.
However, it’s safe to assume that you continue sharing your posts on time, which gave you the best results in the past.
You can also experiment with the scheduling time of your social media posts or conduct A/B tests to see what works for you.
Be Consistent
Staying consistent when it comes to sharing your content on relevant social media platforms has a significant impact on your ability to score likes.
When you consistently share relevant information with people, they keep coming back to you for more.
They know that you always come up with something fresh. And they will readily find answers to their questions with you. So, the frequency of them visiting your social media pages significantly increases.
Being consistent in sharing your social media posts can be overwhelming if you do it manually. Having to do the same thing over and over can be an annoying experience.
Hence, it’s best to automate your social media posts. It saves you time. As a result, you can easily focus on tasks of high value.
Use Attention-Grabbing Headlines or Captions
When it comes to publishing useful content on social media and generating traction, you’re not the only one in the race.
You compete with other players in your respective industry, and each of them tries to get more likes and engagement than you.
One of the most efficient tactics for making your social media posts stand out is to use eye-catching headlines or captions.
Your headlines or captions are the first thing that catches the eye of the people. So, making them appealing can help you grow engagement.
We live in a digital age. Information is available to us in abundance now. We can easily access countless information sources with ease. Hence, you should play smart to attract your target audience.
People have this habit of constantly scrolling their feeds on social media apps. Your goal is to make them stop and look for more when they come across your posts.
Final Thoughts on the Psychology of Likes
There’s no denying that the likes you get on social media trigger a dopamine rush. It influences your decision to keep going and even go the extra mile to acknowledge a surge.
Social media algorithms level the playing field for everyone. You get an equal opportunity to shine and acknowledge the recognition that you crave.
Your efforts dictate your ability to score more likes on social media, whether you’re an individual or a brand.
A positive contribution to the community in the form of sharing relevant and personalized content consistently enables you to cultivate high engagement.
It all comes down to giving people what they want and tailoring your content as per their psyche or expectations.
Furthermore, you need to be active on the right platforms. It helps you interact with the right people who are more likely to appreciate your efforts.