Social media engagement is a hot topic these days. Likes, comments, shares, and views are all metrics that people look at to determine how much interaction their content is getting. But what constitutes “a lot” of likes on a Facebook post? Is 50 likes on Facebook a high amount or just average?
The answer depends on a variety of factors, including who posted it, their number of followers, the type of content, when it was posted, and more. Keep reading as we dive into the data and explore both sides of this debate.
What Determines If 50 Likes Is A Lot?
There are a few key factors that determine if 50 likes on a Facebook post is a lot or not:
- Who posted it – A friend with 500 followers getting 50 likes is different than a business page with 500K followers getting 50 likes.
- Number of followers – Post reach is limited to how many followers you have, so the number of potential likers is important.
- Type of content – Certain types of posts (like funny videos) tend to get more engagement than others.
- Time posted – Posting at peak times when more people are online means more potential for likes.
- Facebook’s algorithm – The algorithm controls how many of your followers see your posts, affecting possible engagement.
- Niche – Accounts in certain niches or topics often see higher engagement rates than others.
- Engaged followers – Having real, active followers instead of fake or bot accounts leads to more authentic engagement.
As you can see, context is everything when evaluating Facebook engagement. While 50 likes may be a lot for some, for others it’s just a fraction of what their content is capable of achieving. The quality and relevance of the followers matters far more than just the quantity.
Why 50 Likes Could Be Considered A Lot
Here are some reasons why 50 likes on Facebook may be considered a high amount of engagement:
For Average Users
For everyday Facebook users with personal profiles, 50 likes is typically seen as a high amount of engagement. The average Facebook post only gets single digit likes, often from the poster’s closest friends and family. Most users have under 500 friends, many of whom are inactive or rarely engage with posts. So getting several dozen likes from your network stands out.
Low Number of Followers
If you only have a few hundred or thousand followers, getting 50 likes represents a significant portion of your audience. A post that engages 5% or more of your followers is doing well. With a 1,000 follower account, 50 likes is 5% engagement, a great benchmark.
High Engagement Rate Content
Certain types of posts are proven to get higher engagement rates on Facebook. Posts with photos or videos tend to perform better than plain text status updates. Entertaining, funny, or emotional content also tends to spark more likes and comments. A post that taps into one of these categories with 50 likes is performing above average.
Facebook’s Algorithm
Due to Facebook’s algorithm, the average post only reaches a portion of a page’s followers these days. So earning 50 likes likely means the post had a strong reach. Posts that appear higher in followers’ feeds or get shares to reach more users have an advantage. This context would make 50 likes an impressive achievement.
During Facebook’s Early Days
In the early days of Facebook, 50 likes was seen as a milestone engagement number. With less competition and more chronological feeds, going viral was easier. Few individuals had followings in the thousands or tens of thousands. So at one time, 50+ likes represented a popular post likely shared by many friends of friends.
Outside of Prime Engagement Times
There are peak engagement hours on Facebook, typically around lunchtime and evenings when more people are scrolling on their feeds. If a post got 50 likes outside of these prime windows, like early morning or late night, that’s a good sign. With fewer users actively online, that amount of likes stands out.
Why 50 Likes May Not Be Considered Much
On the flip side, here are some reasons why 50 likes may be considered a low amount for Facebook:
For Brands/Businesses
For Facebook business pages and accounts with large followings, 50 likes would be low engagement. Major brands and companies with 500K+ followers would expect posts to get thousands or tens of thousands of interactions, so just 50 likes would likely be seen negatively.
High Number of Followers
Accounts with over 100K, 1 million, or 10 million+ followers have huge reach potential. But they need hundreds or thousands of likes to match even a fraction of their audience. For a 1 million follower page, 50 likes represents just .005% of their followers. Posts need to consistently reach 1-5% to be considered successful.
Boring/Irrelevant Content
Certain posts are bound to flop and fail to resonate with followers, no matter the size of your audience. Low-quality posts with poor visuals, rambling text, unclear messaging, or irrelevant/uninteresting topics will likely get poor traction. If these posts only get a few dozen likes, it’s understandable.
Bad Time to Post
Meanwhile, posting at odd hours when few followers are online also limits the potential likes you’ll earn. Late nights, early mornings, and even weekends tend to have lower Facebook usage, especially among business audiences. So posts made off-peak could struggle more.
Facebook’s Algorithm
With Facebook’s algorithm limiting organic reach, some posts inevitable perform worse than others do. If the post wasn’t deemed highly shareable or engaging enough by the algorithm, a limited portion of your followers likely saw it. So 50 likes when only 5-10% were reached reflects low engagement rate.
Paid Boosting Tactics
Pages often use paid boosting or advertising to increase their Facebook post reach. If a post was boosted or promoted and still only got 50 likes, the paid effort was ineffective. More money may be required to improve engagement, or the content itself may need work.
Benchmarking 50 Likes Based on Follower Size
A helpful way to evaluate 50 likes on Facebook is to compare it to follower counts across different account sizes. Here are some follower size tiers and what could be considered “good” like amounts for each:
| Follower Size | Good Like Amount |
|---|---|
| 100 followers | 10-20 likes |
| 500 followers | 25-50 likes |
| 1,000 followers | 50-100 likes |
| 10,000 followers | 500-1,000 likes |
| 100,000 followers | 1,000-5,000 likes |
| 1 million followers | 10,000-50,000 likes |
These benchmarks show how 50 likes is likely awesome engagement for an account with 500 followers, but weak for a brand page with 100,000 followers. The percentage of followers liking is more telling than the raw numbers alone.
Engagement Rate Benchmarks
Another helpful benchmark is looking at engagement rates across account sizes. Industry experts tend to cite the following average engagement rates:
- 2-4% for accounts with under 1,000 followers
- 1-3% for accounts with 1,000 – 10,000 followers
- .5-2% for accounts with 10,000 – 1 million followers
- .1-.5% for accounts with over 1 million followers
So for an account with 50,000 followers, a “good” post should achieve 250-1,000 likes. While for an account with 500,000 followers, a good post would be 2,500-10,000 likes. Comparing your engagement rates to these industry averages is useful.
Tips to Increase Facebook Likes
If you want to increase your Facebook likes and boost your engagement rates, here are some helpful tactics:
Post Visual Content
Posts with images and videos receive much higher engagement than plain text status updates. Use high-resolution, eye-catching photos relevant to your post topic.
Engage During Peak Times
Pay attention to when your followers are most active on Facebook and aim to post consistently around those times. More eyeballs on your posts will lead to higher likes.
Try Different Post Types
Certain post formats tend to get better engagement, like list posts, open-ended questions, polls, controversial topics, relatable content, etc. Experiment to see what resonates most.
Run Contests or Giveaways
Contests requiring followers to like, share, or comment to enter drive tons of engagement. Offering prizes or free samples gives followers incentive to interact.
Ask for Engagement
Explicitly asking your audience to like or comment will lead more people to do so. Just be sure it’s a relevant, non-spammy ask related to the post topic.
Engage with Followers
Like and reply to followers who comment on your posts to keep the conversation going. This builds community and encourages future participation.
Use Hashtags Strategically
Including a mix of popular and niche hashtags can help expose your posts to more topic-specific networks leading to new likes.
Conclusion
Determining if 50 likes is a lot or a little on Facebook depends greatly on the context of the post and account. For everyday personal profiles, 50 likes represents strong engagement with your existing network. But for larger brand pages, much higher engagement is needed to stand out.
Comparing your like count to your follower size and measuring your engagement rates are the best methods. While the raw numbers provide useful data, the percentages reveal how well your content is truly resonating with your audience size.
If 50 likes seems low for your goals, employing some of the above strategies can help gradually increase your Facebook engagement over time. Stay focused on providing value for your followers through visual content and you can build an active community that loves interacting with your brand.