Last week, Facebook updated its platform to include more “like” features to enhance the flow of social information, and make users’ experiences online more personal and social. This “social graph” connects not only people to each other, but people to what they care about. Two of the major functionality changes with the most impact are:
- Facebook users now “like” a brand instead of becoming a fan
- The universal “like” button that can be installed on any web page
So the big questions people are asking now are how brands and users will be affected by these updates.
The Brand Perspective
As a marketer, at first I was upset to learn that users were no longer “fans” of a Facebook page, but rather people who “liked” the page. There are already so many “likes” on Facebook, it seemed like it would eliminate the distinction between a fan page and basically everything else on Facebook, such as groups, photos, or every-day status updates. But there are several reasons why the fan page likes and universal like buttons will benefit brands.
- Low barrier to entry. Becoming a fan of a page seems like more of a commitment. But “liking” a page is so simple. Users endorse your brand by liking your fan page and the action still appears on their newsfeeds, just as becoming a fan would. And now this lower-barrier action will allow your updates to appear in their newsfeeds.
- Increased brand presence. Attaching “Like” buttons to each page or piece of content on your website creates a way for users to share your brand with their friends with a single click. Again, “liking” something seems easier than “sharing” something, bringing us back to the low-barrier action. More likes for you equals more of a presence for your brand on people’s newsfeeds.
- Expose brand to non-site visitors. When site visitors click the “like” button on your site, they will allow their friends who do not visit or know about your site to discover your brand. This friend-to-friend endorsement is more powerful than traditional communications, and will help bring in new site visitors.
- Gain new insights. The like button adds another dimension of insights to your site, so you can see which of your content is most popular. Although share counters like Tweetmeme and Facebook share allow you to see how many times your content has been shares, the Facebook like button is measured in clicks; all it takes is one click to “like” your content and share it with friends.
- Gain credibility. If your brand is smaller or just getting started, adding this Facebook functionality to your site will make current site visitors more comfortable interacting with your website. Seeing that Facebook “like” graphic would spark recognition for the nearly 400 million active Facebook users who visit your site. This will equate to more brand exposure for you once visitors start clicking.
The User Perspective
Facebook users’ reflexively perceive significant Facebook updates as being invasive of their privacy, without realizing (1) the awesomeness of these features. Here are the benefits to users or (2) how easy it is to opt out. Facebook is trying to change the way we experience browsing the web, and here’s how users can benefit:
- See what your friends like. We could already see before when people became fans of a brand, so I’m not referring to the newsfeed stories; rather, the activity feeds on third party websites. One of Facebook’s social plugins is the Activity Stream. For example, if you go to CNN.com and are logged into Facebook, you can see what your friends liked on CNN.com right on CNN’s homepage. If friend activity is minimal, the feed will display activity from everyone on Facebook.
- Get recommendations. The recommendations plugin lets you see what the most-liked content on a site is amongst your friends, but some sites are taking recommendations a step further. Pandora is using the Facebook Open Graph to personalize users’ experiences. There is a stream that displays what music my Facebook friends have “liked”. Also, Pandora recommends playlists for me based on bands I have liked on Facebook.
- Easily share what you like. The universal Like button makes sharing content even easier, without dedicating too much space on your newsfeed. The newsfeed story size is the key difference between “liking” something and “sharing” something.
- Stay connected with friends. These Facebook features scattered throughout the web keeps users tuned into their friends interests, provides meaningful recommendations, and creates points of conversation. The original allure of Facebook was to be able to see what your friends are up to, and now you can see what they’re up to throughout the web.
Whether you’re a marketer or a regular Facebook user, these new instant personalization features have its perks. Continue the discussion below: What do you think the pro’s and con’s of the open graph are?
