Sometimes, it pays to like something.

In the case of Dowagiac’s Dawn Ausra, she and 15 of her friends and family will get to enjoy the city’s upcoming Candle-light Parade from the comfy confines of the James E. Snow Professional Building, just for clicking a “like” button on Facebook.

Last week, the City of Dowagiac offered the reward to anyone who liked their page on Facebook, or who invited others to do so, in order to reach their goal of 1,000 likes.

On Saturday, they accomplished their goal, reaching 1,007 likes as of Monday afternoon.

The milestone is the latest accomplishment in the city’s push toward offering services and information to residents and visitors on their computers and smartphones. In operation since last fall, the Dowagiac Facebook page has had several hundred posts, highlighting upcoming local events or sharing stories about

local residents.

“We wanted to spread the word about cool stuff in our city, be it an activity or an accomplishment,” said Bobby Jo Hartline, who helps maintain the page for the city. “You don’t have to be from a big city or be famous to have something cool go on in your life that can be shared with your neighbors.”

Over the past year, traffic to the Facebook page has continued to grow, especially during popular events such as the Ice Time Festival in February or the Rod and Roll Classic Auto Show in August.

“It’s been growing steadily,” Hartline said. “We’ve been pleased with how people share these stories with their friends and families on their own pages, and how it starts more conversations about our town.”

The page is just one of several online outlets the city maintains, including a YouTube channel, with monthly videos highlighting why Dowagiac is the center of the universe.

While reaching 1,000 likes is an important achievement, the city is looking to reach even more people via the internet over the next several months.

“It’s one of our initial steps,” Hartline said. “Where social media helps us connect in a year will be much more exciting.”

The city’s Facebook can be reached at www.facebook.com/dowagiacmichigan.