Unless you’ve been vacationing offline, you’ve probably heard the big news – the highly-anticipated Facebook Reactions have gone live around the globe. Facebook users have been lamenting the limitations of the “like” button for years and many have requested the addition of the ability to “dislike” posts. While Facebook declined the option, they have presented users with six emoticon logos, opening up the ability to quickly express opinions of shared content without the need to explain with a comment. Facebook Reactions does away with the awkward side of “liking” content on the platform. Users have always been divided when liking posts containing sad or tragic news stories. Some like the content as a show for support, others refrain but may want to have a way to show they care. While a comment could clarify any of these scenarios, we are all faced with plenty of content all day and simply don’t have the time to elaborate for every share on our News Feeds.
The six emoticon logos include a “like” emoticon, “love”, “haha”, “sad”, “angry” and “wow”. Each face connotes the reaction more or less with the exception of “wow” which can and will surely be used for a variety of reactions.
The Benefits of Facebook Reactions
Facebook Reactions instantly widens the scope of available insights from fan and follower engagement. Reactions will be available on Page Insights for each and every one of your posts. Reactions will also make Facebook an even more useful and powerful customer service tool as it hands you the ability to reach out to individuals who are “sad” about or “angry” with your business or content you’ve shared who have not decided to comment or email regarding their concerns. It’s an opportunity to improve product and service offerings, and to better satisfy customers.
A Closer Look for Marketers
Facebook is currently counting every Reaction as engagement so the more Reactions your posts receive, the better your organic reach will be via Facebook’s algorithm as with any other form of engagement on the platform. However, Facebook is conducting further research to determine how it could be possible for them to further customize users’ feeds according to Reactions. If they are able to figure out the proper balance, it could lead to certain Reactions having more weight than others. To add, Facebook has still not revealed whether or not Reactions will be used on Facebook ads. If they will be available at some point, it will be a significant option for marketers to further segment audiences for increasingly targeted future Facebook ads (and even better targeted ads outside of the platform).
