Getting more Likes or Fans on Facebook can be both a challenge and an art form at times.

If you’ve had a page for a while you know that getting fans is a struggle. Especially if you listen to any of the noise that circulates around the internet.

You’ve likely seen or heard people saying that buying Likes is what you should be doing. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

I can speak from experience that when you buy Likes you hurt your page. I have a page that I ended up buying about 2000 Likes on and the page is much more inactive than it should be now based on the number of Likes I have. So PLEASE don’t fall for buying fans or Likes from any site or slick marketer you might run across.

Below I want to share with you 7 creative ways to get more Likes to your page that are tried and true methods of increasing the number of fans/Likes your pages has. Keep in mind there is no “Quick Fix” or “Magic Bullet” to getting Likes. It takes hard work and dedication to build a fan base on Facebook.

1) Post a Status Update: It might sound like a no brainer but if you aren’t adding quality posts to your page no one will interact with you. People rarely come back to your page to converse with you so posting an update puts you onto their newsfeed! The goal is a high number or impressions and for the post to be of quality.

2) Link your Personal Profile to your Facebook Page:

3) Custom Sidebar Banner: Facebook currently gives pages a big chunk of real estate to use on your page. The current image size is 180 pixels wide by 540 pixels tall. As in the example below make sure your image has your logo, a slogan, and a call to action on it. 

4) Ask Questions: By this I don’t mean use the Questions feature Facebook gives us either. I’ve seen no clear increase in fans by asking questions using it. What I mean is asking questions in your posts. Something like “[Question] Who’s going to win the Presidential Election in 2012?”  Keep in mind your question doesn’t always need to be about y our niche either. I’ve seen the highest number of comments and Likes on a Question I post when it’s about a current event or issue. Also notice how I used the [ ] in the post. We have found that if you use these brackets on your posts it tells your fans what the post is about immediately and they appreciate it.

5) Custom Apps/Tabs: Obviously we support this idea and have based our business around it. But, it is very true that if you don’t have a custom tab (called an app now) on your page you are less likely to get that person to Like your page when they come to it the first time. If you are just sending people to your wall or info tab you are committing what I call “Facebook Suicide”. You only get one chance to make a first impression to a new fan and by sending them to your wall or your info they don’t get a good impression of who or what you are. A custom tab will do this for you. Now it doesn’t need to be over the top full of graphics either. Something simply welcoming them to the page, telling them a quick bit about what the page is about and asking them to Like your page is sufficient. If you don’t know how to code apps don’t worry because I don’t either! That’s why almost 2 years ago I started using our Fan Page Engine product. Check it out if you are like me and don’t want to know code!

6) Use a Reveal Tab: As mentioned above having a custom tab makes a huge impact when getting more Likes. But, what could even increase or double your likes is using a reveal tab. Sometimes called a Fan Gate or Like Gate. Basically what this does is display simply an image or even a video that instructs visitors to your page to Like your page to get some additional content or gift. The best type of reveal tabs have an image telling them to like to get something for free and after they hit Like they get the free gift. Similar to what you see below. Keep in mind that the Reveal feature is something that is included in the Fan Page Engine. 

7) Add Your Like Box to Your Website: Facebook has made this super easy to do. Just go to this LINK on Facebook and follow the steps to generate your code. Then depending on what type of site you have install it on your site. If you’re like many you are using WordPress for your site. All  you have to do is drag “Text” widget to your sidebar and paste the code into that widget and hit save. And you’re done! What this does though is allows visitors to your site to Like your page from your website. They don’t even have to go to your page on Facebook to Like it! Plus what the plugin does is pull any friends your web visitor might have and shows their faces in the box first. Which adds incredible social credibility to your website and your Facebook page. In the image below every face show to me in the box is a friend of mine on Facebook! Super easy to install but very powerful.

So there are 7 Creative Ways To Get More Likes. If you want to learn more ways to get Likes join me on my webinar called “21 CREATIVE WAYS TO GET MORE LIKES“. In it I’ll go over these 7 ways in addition to 14 more that are sure to GROW your page! Just click HERE to register or on the big thumb in the sidebar!