So Facebook is continually in the media making changes (almost monthly) to their platform and making it difficult for marketers and users to know what is going on next…and when it might happen.
The latest word on the street is that Facebook fan pages will change the words “Become a Fan” to a simpler “Like” function. Instead of opting in to becoming a fan, a user can “like” the page and become a “connection.”
Why? Well, Facebook noticed the amount of users who “fan” pages and compared it to the amount of users who “like” posts and decided users are more inclined to click the “like” button (duh!). Facebook believes adding the “Like” button in lieu of “Become a fan” will encourage more users to click and interact with businesses.
Hmmm…not so sure about that.
People choose to “like” updates, photos ,and other posts, do so because they want to acknowledge the post is something they “like” and agree with, but users do not necessary want to comment or engage beyond the click. Users choose to fan a page because they want to support the page, interact with the page and become a part of their online community. “Become a fan” and “like” mean two different things to Facebook users…and this change might just cause confusion.
For marketers, this could cause a conflict with existing social strategies using the verbiage “Become a fan,” which seems minor… but questions about how this will affect interactions and page capabilities are still left unanswered. Will “connections” still receive information through facebook page updates and will page status updates be visible in newsfeeds?
Facebook keeps an eye out and monitors the online perception and opinions of users, and they seem to respond to the online sentiment…so if you have an opinion, voice it…and we will see what happens.
For more information on this change, read AdAge’s article and PC World’s view.
Jen Cohen is a social media and marketing maven knocked down many times in 26 yrs. Something Creative http://somethingcreativemarketing.com
Tags: Facebook, Facebook change, Social Media
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