Mobile Like Button Expanding Reach and Engagement for Apps

A few weeks ago we launched the mobile Like Button to all Android and iOS mobile app developers. With this button, people using your mobile app can directly Like your app's Facebook Page, or any Open Graph object within your app. Then, they can choose to share their activity on Facebook. The mobile Like Button works seamlessly with the Facebook account the person is logged into on their device, allowing people to Like any piece of content, while in your native app.

Since implementing the mobile Like Button, many apps have seen significant growth in engagement.

MusiXmatch — the largest and most exhaustive official catalog of lyrics for over 30 million people who love karaoke & singing — wanted to make it easy for people using their app to become fans on their Facebook Page. To do so, musiXmatch implemented the Like Button right after people log into the app.

A month after integrating the Like Button, musiXmatch saw a 10x increase in Page Likes and a 3x increase in engagement on its Page. MusiXmatch also found that more Likes generated higher engagement, which then led to increased organic growth via people sharing their activities on the app with their Facebook friends.

Another app, Runtastic — a running and fitness tracking tool — allowed people to Like its Facebook Page after completing a fitness activity. By showing the Like Button when people feel a sense of accomplishment, Runtastic was able to significantly increase its fan base and engagement on its Facebook Page. Joannes Knoll, VP of Marketing at Runtastic, states:

“The value of someone Liking the Runtastic Facebook Page coming from a finished session in our app is very high. The people who Like our Page from our app are truly interested in our content and are more likely to engage, comment & share our postings. We've also seen that if a friend proactively Likes or engages on our Page, their friends are more likely to have a look at the Page and become a fan themselves.”
- VP of Marketing, Johannes Knoll

In October 2014 alone, Runtastic doubled the growth rate of new Facebook Page fans and increased its fan base by 15k, of which 61% came through the mobile Like Button on iOS (Runtastic's rollout of mobile Like on Android is in progress).

Tips From Early Adopters

1. Allow everyone who uses your app to see the Like Button.

There's no need to limit those who see the Like Button to those who log into your app via Facebook's Login. When the Like Button is tapped, it will fast-app-switch to the Facebook app and present the Like Dialog. If the Facebook app is not installed, it will use the default mobile browser instead. This flexible response means you can implement the Like button for everyone who uses your app — even if they haven't logged into your app with Facebook, or don't have Facebook installed on their phone.

2. Test the optimal time to present the Like Button.

Established apps with multiple platforms may benefit from presenting the Like dialog as soon as an existing user logs into the app on a new platform. On the other hand, a new or fast growing app may benefit from waiting to present the Like dialog until after a user has engaged with the app (e.g., unlocked a new achievement, opened the app a specified number of times).

3. Use the Like Button to increase your fan base on your Facebook Page.

Your Page is the best way to communicate with people and keep them up-to-date on information related to your app or game across platforms. As such, having a bigger fan base on your app's Facebook Page allows you to bolster engagement with those most loyal to your app, and also makes it easy for fans to spread the word to their friends on Facebook.

4. Maintain an engaging Facebook Page.

While the Like Button is a great way to drive awareness and initial traffic to your Facebook Page, you still need to have a wisely-planned content strategy in order to keep your users excited and engaged. Post regularly with interesting content that will keep your app's audience engaged.

Start growing your fan base with the Like Button with just a simple line of code!

• iOS mobile Like Button documentation
• Android mobile Like Button documentation

Check out musiXmatch and Runtastic's detailed success stories.

Please note that you will have to submit your implementation for review via the Status and Review tab in the Dev Tool before the Like Button is live in your mobile app.