Expect Drop in ‘Likes’ as Facebook Updates ‘Like Counts’

Your business’s Facebook page will likely experience a drop in ‘likes’ in the coming weeks, as the social network will begin scrubbing likes from inactive accounts.

This means you could be in for a little disappointment if you’re measuring business success by the number of people who “like” your Facebook page.

A Drop in ‘Likes’

Facebook informed page administrators that beginning March 12, they will start removing inactive accounts from the ‘like counts’ of Pages.

For page admins, this means they “should expect to see a small dip in their number of page likes” as part of this effort to remove inactive accounts—including accounts memorialized for deceased users or those voluntarily deactivated. If a deactivated account is reactivated, however, the account will be re-added to the Page’s like count.

Better Data

For businesses with Facebook Pages, removing inactive accounts from Page audience data means they get a real idea of just how many people notice or interact with their brand. By counting only the active users, businesses will have an easier time finding people who are similar to their followers using tools like lookalike audiences.

Facebook added that they are already weeding out likes and comments made by deactivated or memorialized accounts. The removal of the ‘likes’ will help keep data consistent.

In a way, this also helps reduce spam and “like baits” from appearing in people’s News Feeds. As discussed in one of our previous blogs, ‘like baiting’ and spammy links only contribute to poor user experience, which no business ever wants.

This just proves that even when it comes to Facebook likes—much like any aspect of social media marketing, quality is still better than quantity. Your business may lose more ‘likes’, but in exchange, you get a more accurate way of tracking customers.