We Don’t “Like” You

There are very few reasons why Millennials will “like” a company on Facebook. Before I get into those reasons, let me be clear: even if we do like you, that doesn’t mean we will “like” you on Facebook. On the flip side, even if we don’t like you, that doesn’t mean we won’t “like” you on Facebook.

1. Free Stuff

Mostly, Millennials “like” a company for selfish reasons. We like to win contests and receive free stuff. Trust me, we understand that we probably won’t win, but just like trying to win the lottery- we do it anyway. I recently signed up for a free trip for two to Paris. During the five minutes I was on the page I thought to myself how amazing it would be if I won. What I would wear, where I would go, and who I would take. Then after my dream cloud vanished, I clicked on the register link and like always, it hit me like a ton of bricks. The free trip to Paris turned into a free trip through the cyber-world. I started at a website in which I had to sign up with my general information, which would then take me to a website in which I had to conduct a survey, which then led me to a site that asked for my information again. If I would have continued on, I am sure my journey would have lasted longer than the plane ride to Paris.

Don’t. Do. That.

If you are planning to put the work into coming up with a campaign and launching it, why would you make it so difficult to the point of us potentially loving you to us definitely loathing you? Your campaigns should be beneficial to both you and your target audience. Don’t hang a free trip on a fishing pole, out of arms reach just to piss us off.

2. Coupons

Another selfish reason is coupons. We like to save money. Especially those of us in college, with little pocket change. The coupons don’t even have to be great, they just have to be good. A sandwich shop in town where I attend college has a campaign going that if you like the page, you can get a $1 off of their sandwiches. Even though their sandwiches are close to $7, that $1 makes a difference to us.

We “like” that.

3. Loyalty

I won’t forget about those of us who genuinely like a company and want to learn more about them. It would be unfair of me to say there are none. Companies just have to understand that if they believe they have enough loyal customers to gain a fan base, they at least have to be on Facebook.

So, why aren’t we more loyal? Overload.

Millennials have a problem when it comes to Facebook Friends. We have been on Facebook since the beginning of High school (and some the beginning of Middle School). With this, we have felt obligated for years to be friends with meaningless acquaintances because we had a high chance of future interaction with them. We continued this trend into College. Currently, I have 935 friends on Facebook. I talk to maybe 10% of them- throughout a good year. So what happens when we sign onto Facebook? We get to learn about people we don’t even talk to anymore and have to scroll through our news feeds to find our friends. Add to that, the posts from the pages we like and BAM- overload.  So yes, we aren’t loyal, because we are lazy. We don’t want to have to sort through useless information to find what we are looking for.

If your goal for a facebook campaign is to increase your “likes”, make it easy for us to be compelled by your offer. Don’t make us go through hell, just to be considered for your offer. Or create a new goal. It’s good to take a stance in the idea that Facebook and Twitter are not necessarily a numbers game. Sure, a larger fan base can increase more brand exposure, but if those “fans” don’t follow through to purchase your product, they are dead weight.

As far as Millennials go, if we “like” you and we like your offer, we will come back for more- maybe even your product.