For years, many Facebook users have been clamoring for a ‘dislike’ button. They’re not getting it, but Facebook is finally ready to change up how you’re able to respond to posts on the social network.
The new feature is called Reactions, and Facebook is finally ready to bring it to the US. in the coming weeks. Along with the Like button (it’s not going away) you’ll be able to react with any one of five emoji: angry, sad, wow, haha, yay, or love. Facebook’s chief product officer Chris Cox announced recently the feature would rollout in Japan, the sixth country to get it.
Facebook Finally ‘Likes’ Change
An extensive profile of Cox revealed a lengthy decision-making process leading up to the change. That’s primarily because the Like button is a central component in how Facebook operates.
According to the report, Facebook’s 1.6 billion users click the Like button 6 billion times per day. That’s even larger than the number of Google searches performed daily. All that interaction brings valuable data for the social network, determining the content that appears in your news feed and of course providing context for advertising partners.
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More Time on Facebook
The result may be you spend more time on Facebook because the report found the new emoji to be quite addictive. That’s good for Facebook, which can ensure its advertisements get in front of more eyes if everyone is spending more time with the social network.
The idea behind rejecting a specific “Dislike” button is that it would bring too much negativity to a platform that’s supposed to be about sharing. Plus, there’s plenty of dislike going on, if you read the comments to any post about politics.
Given that this is the biggest retooling to come to Facebook in a while, brands will want to see how the new features impact their customer interaction. There is a lot of potential to get more specific feedback since Facebook users will have more ways to share their opinion. While it’s cool to rack up Likes, it might be even more fun to collect a ton of “yays” or “loves.”
