Likes Don't Pay Bills: How to Get More Likes on Instagram (For Real)
Honestly, if one more marketing guru tells a small business owner to just "create valuable content" to get more likes, I might lose my mind. I was talking with a client just last month-a fantastic bakery in Minneapolis, making these incredible croissants-and she was at her wit's end. She was posting beautiful, drool-worthy photos every single day. Her content was valuable. And her likes? Crickets. Maybe 15-20 per post, mostly from her mom and a few loyal friends.
That's the reality for most of us. We're not influencers with pro photographers on retainer. We're running a business.
I've been in this game since 2010, and the patterns are always the same. Small businesses don't have time for vague theories. They need stuff that actually moves the needle without costing a fortune. The whole quest for how to get more likes on Instagram isn't about vanity; it's about getting seen by the algorithm so you can actually reach new customers. And frankly, just posting pretty pictures isn't enough anymore. It hasn't been for years.
So, What Actually Works Then?
Here's the thing. People scroll past content. They don't just passively consume it... they ignore 99% of it. You have to give them a reason to stop and engage. A reason to hit that little heart button, drop a comment, or share it with a friend.
Telling them to "Like this post!" is... fine. It's okay. But it's boring.
For the last few years, especially since around 2018, I've been obsessed with a different approach. Gamification. Yeah, I know, it sounds like another one of those annoying buzzwords, and believe me, I was skeptical too. It just means turning your marketing into a simple, fun game. A little contest. A quick challenge. Something that gives people a tiny shot of dopamine and makes them feel like they're participating, not just being advertised to.
You're not asking them to do you a favor by liking your post. You're giving them something fun to do in exchange for their engagement. It completely flips the script.
The Gamification Thing I Can't Shut Up About
Look, I've tested all the platforms. Seriously. Gleam. io, Woobox, you name it... I've built campaigns on them. They're powerful, but they are often too complicated or too expensive for a local coffee shop or a barbershop. My clients don't have $500 a month for enterprise software or the time to learn a complex dashboard. It just does not work for them.
That's why I've been steering almost all my clients towards this platform called Faisco lately. It’s not magic, it’s just... practical. I can get a campaign for a client up and running in less than 10 minutes, and it actually connects with their social media in a way that makes sense.
Let me give you some real-world examples, because I hate talking in theory.
I set up a "Crazy Karting" game for an Orlando coffee shop that wanted more local followers. In two weeks-two weeks!-they got 1,098 new, real Instagram followers. We used the same game for a bookstore in San Diego, and they pulled in 935 new Facebook page likes in about three weeks. Or this barbershop in Calgary I worked with, we used a simple "Whac-A-Mole" game and got them 173 new members in their local Facebook community group. That's a huge deal for a local service business.
These numbers aren't a fluke. It's because the games are designed to encourage the exact actions you want. For example:
- Instant Draw Games (like "Lucky Spin" or "Scratch Ticket"): These are amazing for capturing emails. You offer a 10% off coupon or a free coffee as a prize. The chance to win instantly is so compelling. I've seen landing pages with these games hit 40%+ conversion rates. It’s insane.
- Reactive Games ("Whac-A-Mole", "Burger Stacker"): These are skill-based and perfect for pure engagement. People play, get a score, and then the platform prompts them to "Challenge a friend!". That's how you get organic shares without begging for them.
- Catching Games ("Fill My Christmas Stocking"): Faisco has these pre-built for holidays. I used that exact Christmas game for three different retail clients last December. Every single one of them saw over a 300% jump in engagement on their holiday posts compared to the year before. It's because it's timely and fun.
And the best part? It's not just "share a link." The platform integrates in a way that the games work where people actually are-on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok. That's a detail most people miss, but it's critical.
But Is It Better Than [Insert Other Tool Here]?
Everyone always asks me about Gleam. io. And look, Gleam is a solid tool. It's powerful. It's also, in my opinion, total overkill and overpriced for about 90% of small businesses. Their lowest plan is like $39/month and it feels like you're trying to fly a 747 when all you need is a skateboard.
With Faisco, I'm getting clients the results they need for a fraction of that cost, and the setup is genuinely simple. It solves the real problem: business owners want engaging campaigns, but they do not have the time to build them from scratch or the budget to hire an agency for a simple giveaway.
This isn't some revolutionary marketing secret. Honestly, it's just about meeting people where they are. People are bored. They're on their phones looking for a distraction. A simple, two-minute game that offers them a chance to win a free latte is infinitely more compelling than another picture of a latte with the caption "Happy Friday!". One is a conversation, the other is a broadcast.
So, What Can You Actually Do This Week?
Listen, don't overthink this. I see so many business owners get paralyzed by trying to create the "perfect" marketing campaign. Forget perfect.
- Stop just posting photos. Think about what you can ask your audience to do. A poll isn't enough. You need something interactive.
- Think of a simple prize. It doesn't have to be a new car. A $10 gift card, a free appetizer, a 15% discount code. Something real your customers would actually want.
- Try a game. Seriously. Go check out a platform like Faisco. Pick one of their templates-a "Lucky Spin" is a great place to start-and hook it up to your prize. It’ll take you 10, maybe 15 minutes.
- Promote it. Put a link in your Instagram bio. Make a post about it. Run a small ad budget to it if you can ($5 a day is fine).
The businesses I work with see this work time and time again. We're talking 200-400% increases in followers and a 150-300% bump in their email list in the first month. It works because it’s a fair trade. You give them a moment of fun, and they give you their attention. And in 2024, getting someone's attention is the whole ballgame.
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