There are a few potential reasons why someone might follow but not like a Facebook page:
- They want to see the page’s updates in their newsfeed but don’t necessarily endorse the page or want to be associated with liking it.
- They accidentally followed the page through an advertisement or other means but actually have no interest in the page.
- They don’t feel strongly enough about the page to officially “like” it but are mildly interested in the content.
- They plan to interact with the page more before deciding if they want to like it or not.
- They don’t fully understand how Facebook works and don’t realize there is a difference between following and liking a page.
Overall, following a page simply subscribes you to its posts, while liking a page shows active endorsement. So people may follow pages casually without feeling committed to fully liking the page. Let’s explore some of these reasons in more detail:
Wanting to See Updates Without Endorsement
One of the most common reasons people follow but don’t like a page is that they want to stay updated on the page’s content, but don’t necessarily want to endorse it. For example, someone might follow a political candidate’s page so they can stay informed about the campaign, but they aren’t ready to openly support the candidate by liking the page.
People also may not want updates from some pages to appear in their main newsfeeds. By just following but not liking it, the page’s updates won’t be shared with all their friends and family. So it allows people to privately follow pages they are interested in without publicly associating themselves with those pages through likes.
Accidental Follows
Another reason people often follow pages without liking them is that they start following accidentally through advertisements or other means. Facebook pages can promote follow actions through boosted posts and ads.
Sometimes these promoted posts encourage people to follow pages without realizing what they are doing. People aim to just dismiss or hide the ad, but wind up clicking follow instead. This leads to them passively following pages they have no interest in liking.
Pages can also gain accidental follows by promoting to people who are logged into Facebook but not actively using it. For example, some apps and websites use Facebook for logging in purposes. If these services show follow/like actions for pages, users may reflexively click follow just to dismiss a popup. But they aren’t actually interested in the content.
Mild Interest Without Committing to a Like
In other cases, people may generally like a page, but not enough to officially endorse it with a like. For example, someone might follow a store’s page to keep an eye on sales and deals, but they aren’t committed fans of that brand. So they don’t feel the need to like the page, which shows up more prominently on a profile.
This also happens when people want just a minor amount of updates from a page. They follow it to get updates here and there, but don’t want the page’s content dominating their newsfeed. Subscribing as a follower rather than a fan limits the updates they’ll see.
So in these situations, people want just a small amount of content, not enough to warrant fully liking a page. Following allows them to casually monitor a page without a bigger commitment.
Wanting to Further Evaluate Before Liking
Some people follow pages as a way to evaluate the content before deciding if they want to like it or not. They may need to observe the page for a while first to determine if they like what the page shares and stands for. Following it gives them time to evaluate things before endorsing the page as a fan.
For example, someone may follow a new product page when it’s first launched. If they end up disappointed with the products after monitoring the page for a bit, they can simply unfollow the page since they never liked it. But if they are happy with what they see, they can upgrade to an official like.
This allows people to vet and monitor pages thoroughly before associating themselves as fans. Following gives them a chance to change their minds later.
Not Understanding the Difference Between Followers and Likes
Finally, some people follow pages without liking them simply because they don’t fully understand how Facebook works. They don’t realize there’s an important distinction between following and liking a page.
For example, new users may think that following a page is the only way to see updates from it. They don’t realize liking the page not only follows it, but also shows public support. Additionally, different language translations of Facebook may not make the follow/like distinction clear.
So in these cases, people follow pages thinking that’s how you subscribe and assume following and liking have the same effect. They simply aren’t aware of the differences between being a follower versus being a fan.
Best Practices for Driving More Likes
As a page owner, you generally want to convert passive followers into more active fan advocates who like your page. Here are some tips to drive more likes:
- Educate people on the differences between following and liking – explain how liking helps support you more.
- Offer incentives for liking – give rewards such as deals, contests, and exclusive content.
- Make clear calls-to-action asking people to like your page to show their support.
- Highlight your likes in your content – this shows social proof.
- Engage followers – liking lets them see more of your posts.
Putting some focus on converting followers into likers can help strengthen your supporter base on Facebook.
Should You Worry About Followers Who Don’t Like Your Page?
If you notice many people following but not liking your Facebook page, is that a bad sign? Not necessarily – it depends on the context.
As we covered, there are many valid reasons people may follow a page without liking it that are not cause for concern. For example, getting accidental follows from ads or wanting to evaluate a page before fully endorsing it are expected. You don’t need to worry about these passive followers, as long as you also have a core group of active engaging likers.
However, if you see that the majority of your followers aren’t becoming likers, that might mean your content isn’t resonating as hoped. Very few likes in addition to many follows could signal your page isn’t interesting enough to fully win people over.
In this case, you may need to analyze your content strategy and refine it to be more engaging and shareable. Producing higher quality content that really connects with your target audience can help boost those like numbers.
You can also look at your competitors’ pages – if their follower/likes ratios are much higher, try to emulate what they are doing right to gain more loyal fans.
Overall, the key is having a healthy combination of both followers and fans. A few inactive followers are fine, but you want to aim for an actively engaged community of supporters who actually like your brand enough to endorse you.
Should You Delete Followers Who Don’t Interact?
You may be tempted to just delete followers who aren’t actively engaging with your page. But proceed with caution before purging your followers.
There are a few risks to deleting followers:
- It may backfire and upset those followers instead of incentivizing them to interact more.
- You lose the potential to re-engage them later even if they are inactive now.
- Mass deleting followers could be perceived negatively and hurt your brand image.
- You reduce the overall number of followers you have, which doesn’t look ideal.
That said, it may make sense to prune your followers list if:
- Your follower count is inflated with a ton of fake or bot accounts
- You have evidence that certain accounts are actually harmful rather than just inactive
Otherwise, focus more on creating content that followers want to engage with. Ultimately you want these inactive followers to convert to active engagers and advocates for your brand over time.
Be patient and use Facebook analytics to better understand your silent followers. With the right content strategy, you can motivate them to become more involved fans.
Conclusion
There are many legitimate reasons people may follow a Facebook page without liking it, such as wanting to silently observe a page before endorsing it. While you ultimately want to convert these passive followers into active likers, having some inactive followers is normal and expected on Facebook. Focus on producing engaging content, highlighting your likes, and making strategic calls to action. This can inspire more of those followers to become fully-fledged fans of your page over time. But avoid aggressively purging followers unless absolutely necessary. With patience and an improved content strategy, you can motivate your silent followers to become your brand’s biggest advocates.
| Reason | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Wanting to See Updates Without Endorsement | Don’t necessarily want to endorse a page publicly, but casually interested in its updates |
| Accidental Follows | Clicked follow accidentally through ads or other means without intention |
| Mild Interest Without Committing to a Like | Not interested enough to fully endorse page through a like |
| Wanting to Further Evaluate Before Liking | Following to evaluate the page first before deciding to like |
| Not Understanding the Difference Between Followers and Likes | Don’t realize following and liking have different meanings |