Have you ever had a casual conversation with your friends and you heard them criticize individuals who constantly express their thoughts on social media regarding current issues?

Or have you ever seen some videos posted on social media and you go like, “Wait, what?” or “How is this going viral? I can do this too!”

I know many of us would simply jump to conclusion that these contents are made merely to get more ‘LIKES’ and ‘COMMENTS’. Most viewers would either enjoy it or judge these posts as a way of getting more audience or attention.

Based on my observation, these comments can be seen in both local and international digital scene so, it’s not a cultural matter. It comes naturally, we think that a person’s personality on social media represent themselves outside. If a person likes to be the centre of attention outside, whatever he or she does on socmed will be perceived as attention-seeking too, right?

But in real life, wouldn’t we all want to be LIKED? After all, it is human nature. Whether you like it or not, truth be told. We are all social beings who seeks others for approval. As simple as getting complemented by how we dress could certainly put a smile on our face the whole day!

Nonetheless this is not where I’m heading to for this topic. Let’s discuss on the importance of digital ‘LIKES’ that many people see as just an ordinary symbol of support. I’m hoping that the points below would change your perspective on why LIKES and COMMENTS are important not just for our personal self-gratification, but also for our professional career growth:

 

1| Digital Value Influence Trust

According to the Founder of OpenMinds, Jan Wong, your digital presence will determine your digital value. In this world of technology where internet is our second home, have you ever wondered how much is your value, digitally? How often do you appear on social media and established a persona that everyone can remember about you? Saying the posts that you share or write is 100% representing your true character is not entirely accurate, but the support you received from writing those posts does contribute a portion of digital value to your presence. This value could be stretched to the extent that people look forward to your views whenever new issue arises.

This also explains why celebrities with high number of followers can effortlessly influence others' purchasing decision. Big followers resulted in big chunks of LIKES and COMMENTS, and hence, the Bandwagon Effect comes into action.

However, that doesn’t mean you have to be a celebrity to get the same effects but improving your digital value might help you attain a solid status for recognition by giving insights or stating your take on particular issues regularly, especially in your field of expertise. The LIKES and COMMENTS you receive will influence the level of trust that people put on you.

 

2| Generate More Income

If you think that the only way for people to survive is by working a 9am-5pm job, then you might still be stuck living in the 90s.

Your expectation of seeing flying cars in the 2020s may not become a reality but have you ever thought of ‘flying money’? Yes – money can travel these days; they even travel across countries via digital realm! But how do you make money fly, you may ask? Well technically, you can work for overseas companies while still living in a house in Setapak, KL (which is nothing new), but how often do you find Malaysians working this way? With higher cost of living and faster pace of digital evolution, people are exploring ways to expand their income by getting paid in a different currency. And one of them is by making funnels to bring audience into reading, watching, or listening to their digital contents via back-links. This eventually generates income through ads revenue, which can be a mixture of local and international resources. Or if you are running a business, this can be a great way of spreading the words and channel these audience into checking out your products.

With that being said, these funnels ARE important and what better ways to strengthen your funnels if not by LIKES and COMMENTS? Getting more LIKES and COMMENTS on your posts means more people will be entering your income-generating-zone, so do not underestimate the power of the ‘thumbs-up’!

This is also the reason why marketing agencies (or local film producers) look for micro and macro influencers – they were actually looking for people (read: influencers) with more followers, LIKES and COMMENTS as this brings in the perception that the more reactions these influencers receive, the bigger exposure their products were given.

And the more visibility an influencer is able to give, more income opportunities will be coming to his / her doorstep (inbox)!

 

3| To Enhance Engagement

How can you stay on top of your game if there is no engagement between you and your audience? Is it possible that people will still remember you after making those two or three posts, or after you went viral recently? Perhaps yes, but only for a limited time and they will ultimately move along.  Remember, people come and go. And if you want to be remembered, you can’t just go, you have to keep it coming.

Being in social media means, you are creating your own brand. According to Monique Holtman, the Founder of Copyworks Group, every time an individual interacts with you on social media, overall awareness of your brand increases. For me, it is key to staying relevant. To be relevant in your industry, you have to keep talking about it and continue to respond whenever people commented on your page. Your regular interactions would also affect social media algorithms, so if you want your contents to show up on others’ newsfeed frequently, continue to post and share good contents. Do not get demotivated when looking at those low numbers of LIKES and COMMENTS, because bear in mind that there are many silent readers out there who are watching you. Keep going as this will improve your digital reputation and credibility over time which leads to higher LIKES and COMMENTS.

 

4| Get People to Notice You

Fact: popularity increase attention. Hence, famous people can easily attract audience.

But what about ordinary people like you and me? Well, as I mentioned earlier, you don’t have to be a public figure to get that attention on social network. All you have to do is get those LIKES and COMMENTS.

For avid socmed users, LIKES and COMMENTS act as a ‘popularity metrics’ used on non-celebrity pages. If you want people in your industry to start recognizing you, maintain an active digital presence in your field – prompt interactive discussions, provoke positive reactions and stay connected to get more LIKES and COMMENTS. Hiring managers could even be watching you on your social network. Latest research shows that 70% employers use social media to screen candidates during the hiring process, so your popular posts might get recruiters to notice, follow and offer you jobs.

And if you are lucky enough, you could even get a chance to be noticed by well-known figures and social influence like this can be contagious. A LIKE or COMMENT by an influencer could well be a kick-off to more followers, LIKES and COMMENTS as your audience learned that they share the same opinion with the mass society. More LIKES and COMMENTS drive new career opportunities, so use your social network wisely.

 

Sources:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/after-service/201705/the-science-behind-why-people-follow-the-crowd

https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/2377-social-media-hiring.html

https://www.theukdomain.uk/why-engagement-rates-are-important-on-social-media/

https://www.adcocksolutions.com/post/the-bandwagon-effect