Blogkid

With over 6 billion clicks of that unmistakable little ‘like’ button each day – it has undoubtedly been one of the game changing metrics used in online advertising, that this generation of marketeers has seen. Not only that, but it has also become part of Facebooks core identity.

SO WHY CHANGE IT?…

We as humans are incredibly expressive – and given the way Social media has become interlaced in almost all our lives in one way or another, it’s no surprise that we grew into the habit of sharing not only the good, but the bad too.

As a result of some over-zealous tapping, and often in the interests of raising awareness, you’ll now often find stories and articles relating to tragedies with several hundred likes associated with them. It’s plainly inappropriate..

THE SOLUTION. USE FACEBOOK REACTIONS

From the outset creating a ‘dislike’ button to counter this was shunned, as it would spur too much negativity on the platform. Instead, the Facebook team have analysed the most recognised emotions, which easily translate around the world and cover as many contexts as possible. Following months of testing for the Facebook Reactions, today marks the day they begin rolling them out globally:

With Chris Cox (Facebooks Chief Product Officer) finally launching, what is arguably the biggest change Facebook has seen, the big question to ask next is how this is likely to affect businesses like yours?

One of the most common concerns for any business to consider when diving into the sea of social, is what your customers might say about your business, and what to do if when you get a negative response.

To me, that always presents an opportunity for your business to turn a bad situation into a good one. Showing that your business cares about complaints and concerns openly and promptly also shows how much you value your customers. The key is retaining personalities on your social channels whilst adhering to an overarching company wide tone.

WHAT WILL IT CHANGE?

The fear with the new Facebook reactions release is that companies will now lose their opinions, individual tones and flavours in favour of content that is designed to appeal to as many people on Facebook as possible to avoid any upset. Let’s hope not!

In any case Facebook’s Sammi Krug  has insisted that (for now at least) all Reactions will be treated equally by it’s algorithm as far as the news feed is concerned.

On the other hand, the positive outcome we expect to see from these new reactions, is a much clearer and more easily measurable insight into how customers feel about content.

So instead of simpler metrics such as how many likes an article receives (in other words how many people you’ve spoken to and moved in some way), are we looking at a future of also finding out how users are engaging with the content and more about what makes them tick in a much more personal way..