While just about every Thomas, Richard and Harold is still referring to people added to your community page on Facebook as fans, the Powers-That-Be at the world’s largest social site have come to the conclusion that a broader “like” system is better for all.

The verdict is still out on this one and while I personally think they’ve now made distinguising between the types of pages about as hard as scraping a steamrolled jellyfish from hot tarmac, the new system is here to stay. And until I become supreme-overlord of Earth, there isn’t much I can do to change it. And because you can’t either, here are some tips on getting more of those elusive Facebook ‘likes’.

1. Buy Facebook Likes

Shameless plug for uSocial? Yes. But the simple fact is that while we at uSocial still call them fans as if we were some kind of social-media relic hanging on to better days gone past, you can still buy ‘likes’ from us in packages starting from 1000 and soon to go up to one million and beyond. Without any further plugging, buy Facebook likes here.

2. Join Relevant Groups

By searching for groups with interests which are similar to that of the page you want more likes for, and then subsequently promoting the page to the group, you’ll likely get a load of new people liking your community page in no time at all. But whatever you do, don’t make the mistake of joining groups which have absolutely no similarities in interest to yours, as you won’t get many sign-ups (if any) and people may report you for spamming Facebook’s system. That, and you’ll look like a right wanker.

3. Buy Facebook Advertising

Like point #1 this will cost you money, however it’s a tried-and-tested way of increasing the numbers on your community page. The main benefits for those of you who know nothing of the fantastic world that is Facebook advertising is that your ads can be targeted to the audiences you’re looking for within the site itself, as well as the fact that your ads will begin showing basically immediately, pending approval. To check out FB’s own in-house advertising, click here.

4. Promote to Your Friends

One powerful resource which almost all Facebook users have access to, though most seldom use, is their own base of friends related to their personal account. If you’re looking to promote any kind of community page and get ‘likes’ fast, simply click the ‘Suggest to Friends’ button on the page itself (it’s underneath the profile image, if you haven’t found it already) and it will then be magically suggested to all your friends. While all of them may not like the page and become a fan, you can always threaten that you’ll self-harm if they don’t.

5. Be Powerful

If you want your community page to stand out, you need to get noticed and have a powerful message. The best way by far of doing this that I’ve found is by being controversial, or by making your community page interesting. For example, if you have a page which is relating to the welfare of stray dogs, don’t call your page something like ‘Help Stray Dogs’ — while this does communicate the message of the page, it’s quite boring, no? Instead, call the page something along the lines of ‘Stop 1000’s of Strays Being Brutally Slaughtered’, or anything like that. The title has a powerful and moving message which will

6. Grow A Brain

I honestly cannot count the number of groups and community pages these days that have titles which appear as though a retarded horse bashed on a keyboard with it’s lame hoof to spell it out. For the sake of the newborn infant Zombie-Jesus, don’t even think about launching a page if you can’t spend a meager amount of time with a dictionary making sure each word in the title is spelled correctly. You will look like an absolute sea-sponge if you’re recommending a page to your friends called ‘Lern How 2 Make Munny On Fcaeboook!’ — not only that, but I will find a way to slap you in the face via email if you do.

7. Harness The Power Of Viral Marketing

If you really want your new community page to spread like Swine-Flu in a nursing home, you must do something to attract the attention of the masses. And above all, you want people to naturally recommend the page to their own friends, which is how the whole viral marketing game works. By implementing point #5, promoting your page to everyone you know on a regular basis, as well as adding a section on the community page itself telling everyone who becomes a member to recommend it to their own friends, your page will grow exponentially without you having to do a further thing. So now that you know how to get more Facebook likes, just sit back, pick your nose a little and watch your page grow!